From 1963 to 1967, Carter served in the Georgia State Senate, and in 1970 was elected as the governor of Georgia, defeating former Governor Carl Sanders in the Democratic primary. He became an activist within the Democratic Party. During this period, Carter was motivated to oppose the political climate of racial segregation and support the growing civil rights movement. Nevertheless, his ambition to expand and grow the Carter family's peanut business was fulfilled.
Carter inherited comparatively little because of his father's forgiveness of debts and the division of the estate among himself and his siblings. After the death of his father in 1953, he left his naval career and returned home to Plains, where he assumed control of his family's peanut-growing business. Since leaving office, Carter has remained engaged in political and social projects.īorn and raised in Plains, Georgia, Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree and joined the United States Navy, serving on numerous submarines. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia State senator from 1963 to 1967.
(born October 1, 1924) is an American philanthropist, author, and former politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
