In 1976, as America struggled to recover from the twin traumas of the Watergate scandal and the war in Vietnam, an unlikely figure emerged from the Georgia countryside promising to bring integrity back to the White House. Jimmy Carter was a drawling peanut farmer and former Navy man, whose plain-spoken message resonated with American voters. His election win marked a seismic shift in American politics.

Carter became the first Deep South president since the Civil War, and he quickly pursued controversial actions: granting amnesty to conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War and pushing to give the Panama Canal back to Panama. He then set his sights on bringing peace to the Middle East with a series of risky talks at Camp David. But a lingering energy crisis would shadow his first year in office.

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The Carter Years | "Jimmy Who?" | 1

American History Tellers