[On November 2nd, 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected President. Perhaps the most delightfully straightforward person ever to hold the office nonetheless connects to a number of compelling contexts, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a handful of them. Leading up to a special weekend post on thi year’s midterm election results (which I don’t know when I’m scheduling the rest of the series)!]
On two complicated layers to Carter’s evolving identity, and one powerfully clear moment.
- Nuclear subs and energy: Most anybody with even a passing familiarity with Carter’s life has likely seen a photo of the dashing young man in his naval uniform. But if you’re like me before researching this post/series, you might not have known that a good bit of his brief but influential naval service was as part of the fledgling nuclear submarine program; Carter joined in its very early days of 1952, serving under the famous Captain Hyman Rickover (the “Father of the Nuclear Navy”) as well as at the Atomic Energy Commission, and even took a course in nuclear power plant operation with the goal of helping lead the Navy’s second nuclear sub. But at the same time, he also led a crew dealing with the fallout of a late 1952 partial meltdown at Atomic Energy of Canada’s Chalk River Laboratories, an experience that (even if somewhat exaggerated, per that hyperlinked article at least) during his presidency Carter would credit with his skepticism toward nuclear energy.
- Civil rights and racism: While Carter’s relationship to nukes was thus certainly complex, his relationship to the Civil Rights Movement has to be described as contradictory. As a school board member and community leader in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Carter spoke out in favor of integration; as a Georgia state senator in the mid-60s, he opposed literacy tests and other voting rights restriction. But when he ran for Governor for the second time in 1970 (having lost in the Democratic primary in 1966), Carter leaned into appeals to white racists: praising George Wallace and inviting him to give a speech; and using photographs of his primary opponent (former governor Carl Sanders) with Black basketball players. The appeals won Carter the primary and the governor’s seat, and Black state senator Leroy Johnson noted, “I understand why he ran that kind of ultra-conservative campaign. I don’t believe you can win this state without being a racist.” Maybe not, but nonetheless, these moments reflect a very different side of Carter.
- An inaugural moment: But speaking of very different sides, in his January 1971 inaugural address, Carter included this stunning section: “At the end of a long campaign, I believe I know our people as well as anyone. Based on this knowledge of Georgians, north and south, rural and urban, liberal and conservative, I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over. Our people have already made this major and difficult decision, but we cannot underestimate the challenge of hundreds of minor decisions yet to be made.” One could make the case that this represented a betrayal of the voters he had courted with those campaign appeals, and with some accuracy. But at the same time, and to my mind far more importantly: fuck those voters. Once he got true political power, Jimmy Carter used a good bit of that power to fight for an integrated, inclusive ideal of his state, and later his nation and the world. More on that all week!
Next CarterStudying tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you think?
PPS. Also thanks to Jason Lee Guthrie for sharing his podcast on Carter!
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