The trials of Jimmy carter
- Jimmy Carter assumed the presidency at a moment when the nation faced problems of staggering complexity and difficulty.
- He left office in 1981 one of the least popular presidents of the country.
- He surrounded himself in the White House with group of close-knit associates from Georgia; and in the beginning, at least, he seemed deliberately to spurn assistance from more experienced political figures.
- He moved first to reduce unemployment by raising public spending and cutting federal taxes.
- He appointed G. William Miller and then Paul Volcker, both conservative economists, to head the Federal Reserve Board, thus ensuring a policy of high interest rates and reduced currency supplies.
- Among Jimmy Carter’s most frequent campaign promises was a pledge to build a new basis for American foreign policy, one in which the defense of “human rights” would replace the pursuit of “selfish interest.
- Domestic opposition to the treaties was intense, especially among conservatives who viewed the new arrangements as part of a general American retreat from international power.
- Middle East negotiations had seemed hopelessly stalled when a dramatic breakthrough occurred in November 1977.
- In Tel Aviv, he announced that Egypt was now willing to accept the state of Israel as a legitimate political entity.
- On September 17, Carter escorted the two leaders into the White House to announce agreement on a “framework” for an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
- On December 15, 1978, Washington and Beijing announced the resumption of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations.
- The treaty set limits on the number of long-range missiles, bombers, and nuclear warheads on each side.
- By the fall of 1979, with the Senate scheduled to begin debate over the treaty shortly, ratification was already in jeopardy.