Former President Jimmy Carter Has Passed Away at 100

Former President Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday, December 29. His son, Chip Carter, confirmed to reporters that the former president had died in his home in Plains, Georgia, at around 3:45 p.m. local time. Born October 1, 1924, in the very same small town, Carter made it to 100 and was the oldest living president.

Carter, whose single term in office was considered by many a failure, saw his greatest accomplishments after leaving the White House. Jimmy Carter had many ideas of how to reform the government, but his lack of leadership skills and an uncooperative Congress stopped him from accomplishing much. While he continued to enjoy personal popularity, there was always a sense that the job was too big for a peanut farmer from Georgia – or that he was too small for the job.

By the time Carter ran for re-election in 1980, a crushing mix of economic stagnation, harsh mortgage rates, and soaring inflation weighed heavily on the nation. He lost 45 states to Ronald Reagan, failing to get re-elected. The economy wasn’t Carter’s only problem, though. He withdrew America from the 1980 Olympics in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, but that simply drew attention to his own shortcomings as a leader. In 1979, Iran took 52 American hostages and held them for 444 days, releasing them just before Carter left the Oval Office and Reagan took his place.

Jimmy Carter – Much Better at Being Former President

It was after leaving office that Jimmy Carter really found where he belonged. He worked many hours alongside builders for Habitat for Humanity, a charity that builds homes for the homeless and that was practically unknown before Carter drew attention to it. Today, Habitat for Humanity is a major name in charity.  Carter could easily have – as many former presidents have – used his celebrity to enrich himself. Instead, he spent the rest of his life helping others, and he never hesitated to actually get his hands dirty doing the hard work himself.

Carter and won a Nobel Prize for his work in human rights. Bill Clinton awarded both Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on the face of the Earth,” he said at the time.

President Carter was preceded in death by his wife, who passed in November 2023, and is survived by their children, Amy, Chip, Jack, and Jeff; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Takeaways:

1. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, passed away at 100 years old on December 29, 2024.
2. Carter only served one term, losing to Ronald Reagan in 1980, and his presidency was considered by many to be a failure.
3. Despite his poor performance as president, Carter excelled at charity work and championed human rights as a former president.