1979 gas shortage a combination of sudden price hike by OPEC to exploit strikes in Iranian oil fields against teetering Shah

By 1980 inflation was 12 percent, unemployment 7 percent, interest rates 19 percent 

Announcement on White House roof of solar panels; eventually removed in 1986

Some adjectives: disciplined, incorruptible, omnivorous mind, friendless, stubborn, acerbic, cold, awkward, persnickety

Some accomplishments: nation’s first comprehensive energy policy, doubled the size of the national park system, first civil service reform in a century, established two new Cabinet-level department Education and Energy, diversified federal judiciary times five, legalized craft breweries, established full diplomatic relations with China 

“He shared Theodore Roosevelt’s conservationist ethic and championing of health and safety regulation; Woodrow Wilson’s diplomatic courage and global ideals; Calvin Coolidge’s personal and budget austerity; Herbert Hoover‘s engineering background and humanitarian impulses; FDR’s longheaded concern for future generations; and John F. Kennedy’s “idealism without illusions.”

Childhood through Depression; no running water or electricity until he was 11, but did have telephone and radio 

Grew up in small house in Archery, outside of Plains; all but his and another family was black and dependent on his father for work

Father was a farmer, merchant, and much more hands-on tasks

Nicknamed Hot Shot or Hot by his father; sisters said it was fitting because “his emotions ran deep, and he was always in a rush to do something significant”

Desperate for father’s approval, which rarely came; got his “basic integrity and contempt for lying” from him but also harsh competitiveness

Dad frugal to the extreme; Jimmy forced to wear old women’s shoes that didn’t sell to school 

Electricity and plumbing came to the farm in 1935

Wanted to join the navy at 6 to get an education and see the world 

Got to Annapolis in 1943; brutal hazing instilled stubbornness and repressed anger; as upperclassman was encouraging of plebes

Graduated 60th out of 820 in class; didn’t excel in anything besides cross country; few impressions from classmates except loner

“Like Barack Obama at the same age, Carter was already self-contained and unneedy—rare qualities in politicians.”

Carter’s class included James Stockdale and produced 34 admirals (also Annapolis’s only president and Nobel Peace Prize)

Jimmy and Rosalynn crossed paths in Plains during his leave in summer 1945; she was his sister’s friend; double date movie and kiss on ride back 

They married in July 1946, two weeks after Jimmy’s graduation and commission as ensign, at 21 and 18

Quickly soured on Navy life, but stuck it out and later applied to submarine school

Was in sub patrolling east coast of China in 1949 when Mao’s Communist insurgents fought Chiang Kai-shek’s forces to Taiwan; last Americans in China until 1972

Opted to read or study on board rather than bond with men or play poker, so failed to form friendships; diligent and detail-oriented a good fit for duties 

Carters lived in Honolulu and planned to retire there

“For the rest of his life, he generally avoided prominent people as companions in favor of ordinary folks—often conservative or uninterested in politics—who could teach him a hands-on skill.”

In 1952 promoted to lieutenant and third and final boy born; 3 boys under 5

Gained security clearances as nuclear engineer, working on new nuclear submarines 

Dad Earl died in 1953 in debt, so Jimmy at 29 left the Navy (understanding his career rise would be limited) to take over family business in Plains

Didn’t consult Rosalynn; she was furious, didn’t want to get trampled on my mother and mother-in-law and Plains lacked opportunities for kids

Needed special dispensation from congressman and senator to get honorable discharge; remained enrolled in navy reserves for a decade

Moved into public housing in Plains and took over business; $12K in debt initially but grew successfully 

A joiner of seemingly everything; main motivation was business, but also would help his political network 

Only 20th century president besides Truman not to golf in office 

While a quiet progressive, didn’t oppose racial discrimination in public until governor in 1971

Joined county school board months after Brown vs. Board but reasserted segregation 

Clarence Jordan’s Koinonia Farm outside Plains a model of interracial pacifist communal living that inspired Martin Luther King but was too radical

Repeatedly refused to join the Plains Citizens’ Council, though was friends with vicious sheriff Fred Chappell

1962’s Supreme Court enshrinement of “one man one vote” allowed invalidating of undemocratic legislative districts, which opened up Jimmy to run for state senate

Promised to fully read every bill as senator, which gave him outsized influence as freshman with recommendations and amendments, but his refusal to politic and being a loner meant his own bills struggled

In 1963 SNCC moved into Americus

(unfinished – start with ch 10)