Last Sunday, the United States lost its 39th president, Jimmy Carter, at the age of 100. A native of Plains, Georgia, Carter rose from political obscurity to the highest office in 1976. Though his final years as president were plagued by economic woes at home and political instability abroad, he eventually became beloved through his work at the Carter Center, alongside his wife, First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Dr. John Maltese is the Associate Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. In 2007, Maltese also organized a three-day conference at the University of Georgia commemorating the 30th anniversary of Carter’s inauguration, which the former president attended. Maltese sat down to explore Carter’s often under-appreciated legacy, starting with his unlikely rise to the presidency.
