JIMMY CARTER
1977 - 1981
Arizona Timeline
1977 - Wesley Bolin, Arizona Secretary of State, becomes governor when Governor Raul Castro resigned to become U. S. Ambassador to Argentina.
1978 - Kingman inaugurates Andy Devine Days as an annual event.
1980 – US Interstate 40 is opened through Kingman, Arizona. The Duval Corporation, Kingman's largest employer, shuts down most of the
copper/ molybdenum mining operation at Mineral Park.
James Earl Carter was born in
1924 in Plains, Georgia. As a
youth he helped his father on he
family farm. He graduated from
the United States Naval Academy.
During his Naval career he
worked with Captain Hyman G.
Rickover in the development of
the world's first nuclear- powered
submarine in 1952. While serving
on the Sumter County Board of
Education, he opposed
segregation laws.
Rosalynn Smith Carter was born
in Plains, Georgia, in 1927. After
graduation from Georgia
Southwestern College in 1946 she
married Jimmy Carter. When
Carter's Naval service was
completed, they returned to Plains
to run the family farm, and Mrs.
Carter managed the family
finances and cared for their
children.
President Jimmy Carter was first a candidate for Georgia Governor in 1964, but was defeated in the primary. He ran again in 1970 and won the
election. As governor he merged about 300 state agencies and boards into about 30 agencies, and passed a law to provide equal state aid to schools in
wealthy and poor areas of Georgia. He left office in 1975 to run for the presidency, and won the nomination on the first ballot at the Democratic National
Convention, and the presidency in 1976. During his administration the Mental Health Systems Act was passed in 1980, and also the Age Discrimination
Act and the Older Americans Act. At this time, Congress also recognized the importance of the First Lady to the administration and appropriated funds
for the First Lady's staff. On November 4, 1979 forty- four American Embassy employees were taken hostage by Iranian students in support of Iran's
revolution and held for the remainder of President Carter's term. This incident is believed to be the primary reason he was not re- elected to a second term.
Rosalynn Carter has always spoken for the rights of women, children, and the mentally ill, and strongly supported the Equal Rights Amendment to the
Constitution. While First Lady she was honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health. She represented President Carter as his personal
emissary to Latin American countries.
Mohave Museum - U.S. Presidents and the History of Arizona
