Jimmy Carter Dies at 100

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr., the Georgia peanut farmer who became the 39th president of the United States, has died at age 100, according to the Carter Center. The nonprofit reported Carter died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by family.

Farm Roots

At age 4, Carter and his parents, Earl and Lillian Carter, moved to a 360-acre farm in Archery, Georgia, a small hamlet outside the city of Plains, southeast of Columbus. His father grew peanuts, cotton, sugarcane, and corn commercially with the help of tenant farmers, plus vegetables for the family. He also raised livestock and cured his own hams, pork shoulders, and sausage to sell.

Five-year-old Jimmy got his start in business selling boiled peanuts for a nickel a bag on the streets of Plains, according to the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, part of the National Park Service (NPS). He would earn up to $1 a day, and up to $5 on Saturdays. At that time, three acres produced one ton of peanuts, which brought $60. 

“My life on the farm during the Great Depression more nearly resembled farm life of fully [2,000] years ago than farm life today,” Carter said in 1975, according to the NPS. “I have reflected on it often since that time; social eras change at their own curious pace, depending on geography and technology and a host of other factors. It is incredible with what speed those changes have totally transformed both the farming methods and the very lifestyle I knew in my boyhood.”

As a boy, Carter had many chores on the farm, including hauling cotton to the gin and watermelons to the railroad. The chore he enjoyed the least, the NPS said, was mopping cotton. During the 1920s, cotton buds needed to be poisoned to kill boll weevils. Boys would carry a mixture of arsenic, molasses, and water up and down rows of cotton in a bucket, using a rag tied to the end of a stick to dab the poison onto the buds of each plant. 

“My Black playmates were the ones who joined me in the fieldwork that was suitable for younger boys,” Carter reminisced in 1975, according to NPS. “We were the ones who toted fresh water to the more adult workers in the field. We mopped the cotton, turned sweet potato and watermelon vines, pruned deformed young watermelons, toted the stove wood, swept the yards, carried slop to the hogs, and gathered eggs — all thankless tasks. But we also rode mules and horses through the woods, jumped out of the barn loft into huge piles of oat straw, wrestled and fought, fished, and swam. The early years of my life on the farm were full and enjoyable, isolated but not lonely. We always had enough to eat, no economic hardship, but no money to waste. We felt close to nature, close to members of our family, and close to God.”

Carter served as secretary of the Plains High School FFA Chapter. He is the only FFA member to be elected U.S. president. In 1977, he was presented with a lifetime membership plaque. In a speech at the National FFA Organization’s State Presidents’ Conference in 1979, Carter said about his role as FFA secretary, “I can vouch for the fact that it’s good preparation for the highest elective office in our nation.”

During his address at the 1978 National FFA Convention, Carter said, “Whether one is the secretary of a local FFA chapter, which I was, or the president of the greatest nation on Earth, it’s our responsibility together as partners, as common leaders, to bring out the best in the people who observe us and to make even greater the greatest nation on Earth.” 

Upon hearing of Carter’s death, Scott Stump, chief executive officer of the National FFA Organization, said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Carter lived out our FFA Motto, ‘Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve,’ every day of his life. Our thoughts are with his family, and we are grateful for the example he set for FFA members and our next generation of leaders.”

Taking the Reins

Carter earned a commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and later became a submariner. He married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith that same year. His father sold the farm in 1949.

After his father died in 1953, Carter resigned from the Navy and went back to Georgia to take over the family business, Carter’s Warehouse, a seed and farm supply store, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.  

Rather than just buying and selling peanut seed, as his father had done, Carter decided to start growing it himself. This provided extra income that allowed him to expand the warehouse.

After serving on several community boards, Carter ran for and was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor before being elected on his second try, in 1970. 

President Carter

Carter was nominated as the Democratic Party candidate for the 1976 election and was elected president of the U.S. on November 2, narrowly defeating incumbent Gerald Ford. During his presidential campaign, the peanut industry saw the effects, as the snack became more popular.

While his presidency was not without controversy, significant accomplishments included the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, establishing diplomatic relations with China, deregulating the energy sector, and environmental protection legislation. Carter had a strong interest in human rights around the world.

His presidential term began amid high inflation and energy prices. A recession and high unemployment followed, along with long lines at the gas pump, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the decision to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, all of which damaged Carter’s approval ratings. He lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.

Back to Georgia

When the Carters left the White House, they returned to Plains and received an unwelcome update on the family farm supply business, which had been placed in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest during his presidency. They learned that due to three years of drought and multiple changes in warehouse management, the business was more than $1 million in debt. The Carters sold the business.

The couple still owned farmland, which they transitioned into a certified tree farm, allowing the land to be economically productive while still supporting wildlife.

They also founded The Carter Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit, that works with Emory University to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health around the world.

From 1986–2011, The Carter Center’s agriculture program worked in 15 sub-Saharan African countries in the areas of crop production, grain storage, seed production, crop processing, establishing farmer associations, and savings and loan services. As a result, the Center reported, more than 8 million small farmers doubled or tripled their yields in an area where malnutrition is an ongoing threat.

Carter authored 32 books. Until 2020, he and Rosalynn volunteered one week a year building homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Carter received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human rights in 1998 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

Presidents React to Carter’s Death

President Joe Biden: “Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian…. With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe. He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism…. [T]o all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning — the good life — study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility. He showed that we are [a] great nation because we are a good people — decent and honorable, courageous and compassionate, humble and strong.”

President-elect Donald Trump: “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as [p]resident understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History. The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Former President Barack Obama: “Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did — advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image. Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. In his Nobel acceptance speech, President Carter said, ‘God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.’ He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it.”

Former President George W. Bush: “James Earl Carter, Jr., was a man of deeply held convictions. He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency. His work with Habitat for Humanity and [T]he Carter Center set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations.”

Former President Bill Clinton: “From his commitment to civil rights as a state senator and governor of Georgia; to his efforts as President to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama, and secure peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David; to his post-Presidential efforts at the Carter Center supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy; to his and Rosalynn’s devotion and hard work at Habitat for Humanity — he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.”