Jimmy Carter And The Iranian Hostage Crisis

The Hostage Crisis in the late 1970s was considered one of Carter’s biggest failures. More than 60 members of the United States Embassy were taken hostage in Tehran. Their capturers were mere Iranian Students who were able to keep them captive for 444 days ("Jimmy Carter", 2016). This event portrayed President Carter as inept (“Jimmy Carter”, 2009). He did not negotiate their release and the rescue attempt the government tried failed. A group of student had held American citizens for over a year and nothing much was done about it. This was one of the most undermining events of Carter’s Presidential career and an embarrassment to America (Fink, 2002). Carter’s private negotiations with Panama about the canal led to more mistrust of the American citizens. They thought he was going to simply give it away without thinking about the consequences for America. Once again he lost more respect and distrust from his country (“Jimmy Carter”,

Furthermore, the Shah purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons of security from the US. In 1979 the realm was overthrown by extreme Islam’s that were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. The intention of the Iranian students was to display their displeasure against the Shah. Their demand was the return of the Shah for a trial followed by his death. In addition, they asked that the US stay out of their country’s affairs. Carter’s approach required the safeguarding of American hostages but also guaranteed an alliance with Iran. Carter’s tactics on the situation had devastating effects on his run for re-election (Hamilton, 1982).

Carter took the presidency with several issues that needed resolving, such as rising inflation and unemployment, a country disillusioned with the political system and turbulent foreign relations. To determine the reasons why he was successful in 1976 but not in 1980, it is necessary to look at what his successes and failures were, as well as the different situations in 1976 and 1980.

As President Carter begins to speak about some of the comments that stood out to him, in this meeting at Camp David, it is evident just how out of touch President Carter had become with American citizens. The statement, “If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow” (President Jimmy Carter "Crisis of Confidence", 1979), is a point that stuck out to me. I believe that deep down, whomever is our President, the majority of the people, merely want a leader. Along with someone that will listen to their plight, as reflected in this statement, “Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation” (President Jimmy Carter "Crisis of Confidence", 1979).

Admiring the current situation of modern day America, I would choose an event that relates to today. The Trail of Tears is the removal of Native Americans from their ancestral land to land reserved just for them, that lasted from 1839 to 1850, usually near the area of what is the state of Oklahoma today. Considering the damage and effects it had on Native Americans, I would want to see their travel, their struggle, as well as their hopes of ever being accepted become a lost ideal.

The theme I chose was darkness. This can be seen in the fact that all of the crops and food are dying because of a lack of water and lack of rain. Since there was a lack of water, the dirt was very loose, and was blown around a lot. This created dust storms, which killed or hurt crops and how they grew. This created darkness. Dust was blowing everywhere, making people cough, making it hard for people to breath. It was hard for people to live around all of the dust. It was a dark time.

The Iranian hostage crisis was one of the most dramatic events in a series of problems that took place during President Jimmy Carter’s term. The crisis, beginning in November of 1979, received the most coverage of any major event since World War II. It was one of many problems faced in light of the United State’s complex relationship with Iran. The effects on both the US and Iran were astronomical, especially politically as well as economically and socially. It took a heavy toll on American relations with the Middle East and changed the way we engage in foreign affairs. In light of this crisis, Iran started an international war that we are still fighting thirty-two years later.

There were many steps in choosing my NHD topic. I had to keep in mind the theme, Explore, Encounter, and Exchange. I thought of many different things such as the African American Rights, World War I. And then I thought about the Holocaust. That topic really intrigued me to think about, it was a awful event that changed our history forever. I started doing more and more research on different genocides that have occurred in our history. I saw so many different genocides, that I haven’t really heard about. I decided that the Cambodian Genocide seem the most interesting to me. My family is Vietnamese and therefore my dad talks to me a lot about when he lived in Vietnam and lots about his different experiences there. My dad told me a lot about what the Cambodian Genocide was about, and I found it more and more interesting. This topic affects me in a personally way, which intrigued me to know more about it.

My topic is a marvelous example of this year’s theme. Jimmy Carter led us through the Iranian Hostage Crisis, an insurmountable problem. While Carter ultimately failed to return the hostages within his presidency, the situation was dealt with well and could have been considerably worse. It is also a quality example of how leaders can cope with difficult decisions and how they select options. Jimmy Carter is a stout Christian and an activist, I am sure that this influenced the decisions he made. The legacy of

In his 1979 state of the Union Address, President Jimmy Carter stated “We have no desire to be the world's policeman. But America does want to be the world's peacemaker.” However, nearing the end of Carter’s presidency the peace within the American Embassy located in Tehran, Iran was broken. 53 Americans were taken hostage by Iranian militants on November 4th 1979. The Iranian Hostage Crisis caused a loss of American confidence, caused Americans to view middle easterners differently forever, and also cost Jimmy Carter the chance of a second term.

This investigation determines to what extent American foreign policy, within the years 1953-1982, caused the Iranian embassy siege. Furthermore, it questions the role that the Carter and Kennedy administrations had in furthering the American agenda within Iran. In order to assess the role American influence played, this investigation evaluates the relations between the Carter administration and Mohammed Raza Pahlevi during his tenure as Shah. Carter’s Middle-Eastern foreign policy is examined to gain further insight into the influence that the United States had over Pahlevi. Also, the role that the televised address from

During the historic years of 1981 to 1989, Ronald W. Reagan, actor and politician, was elected and ran as President of the United States of America. All was well with his presidency, until his second term, in the fateful year of 1985, when Iranian terrorists captured seven hostages and held them as collateral against the United States. Unbeknownst to the American people, this situation would set in motion an incredible string of events that would create turmoil within the country in two years time. President Reagan authorized the negotiations with Iran in trading these Americans for thirty million dollars and 2,000 assorted missiles to aid in the ongoing war with Iraq. With the money received from the Iranians in the exchange of weapons for

The 1970s wear a dark time for Americans. Jimmy Carter was president. No one took

During the election of 1980 most Americans eyes were fixed on two presidents. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Most Americans hearts were fixed on one issue. The Iranian hostage crisis. Jimmy Carter, the current president, had tried without success to end the crisis diplomatically. Ronald Reagan, an actor turned politician, had very little experience in a political position. Carter was not fit to handle the current crisis. His attempts to free the hostages had gone poorly both diplomatically and through use of force. Ronald Reagan was not very well known as a politician, he was known as an actor and many people believed that he would just act in office instead of being the

My topic that I have chosen is the Casablanca Conference . This conference basically changed a lot of things during WWII. The Conference was held in the year of 1943 January 14 – January 24, also it was held in Morocco, Casablanca. The conference was decided to be held in Casablanca, Morocco because it was the safest place and closest for all the allies to meet together. Morocco welcomed the allies because they wanted the war to end as bad as anyone. Some countries loved the war because even though it might kill your population a war would bring money into your country because all of the trade going on.