Jimmy Carter And The Iranian Hostage Crisis

There have been many different themes with many different topics for National History Day. The theme for this year’s National History Day is Leadership and Legacy in History. My topic is Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

Iran was a major supplier of oil and in 1977, President Carter went there to celebrate the shah’s rule. This caused internal opposition against America and in 1979, a revolution ensued, over-throwing the shah and declaring Iran an Islamic republic. Because of Carter’s close relationship with the shah, he allowed him to seek medical treatment in the US. As a result of this, Khomeini, Muslim cleric who over-threw the shah, followers attacked and invaded the American embassy in Tehran, seizing 66 hostages. This directly shows that Carter’s bleeding heart policy was not always successful and led to a rapid fall in this popularity. Another failure, sometimes referred to as a greater crisis than WWII, of Carter’s foreign policy also began in 1979 and was initially seen more as America losing power because of Carter’s policy, not a direct result of anything he did. In 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops to Afghanistan to support a government threatened by an Islamic republic. In the end, Afghanistan became Soviet Vietnam, “an unwinnable conflict whose mounting causalities seriously weakened the government at home.” However, when Carter funneled aid to Muslims in Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union, an alliance formed that had unexpected consequences. This aid essentially helped Islamic fundamentalists, also known as the Taliban, rise to power in Afghanistan and America has been fighting them ever

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).

My topic is spies during World War II. During World War II, countries used spies to gather information about each other. It is a specific and broad topic. Since the fifth grade, I have enjoyed World War II history. It’s very fascinating to me. It is a very tragic and fascinating time period. Recently in May, I visited the Holocaust Museum with my school in Washington, D.C. and fell in love with this time period even more. I felt more connected with it. This war was so raw and has great stories behind it. I also feel somewhat connected to it because it was not even that long ago that this happened, we at least all have relatives that are alive that can remember hearing about it, that is what makes it so real to me. Just knowing about World War II occurred was not enough for me; I wanted to know who was behind it all.

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 historical importance of the topic that I chose is it had a huge impact on the United States history, today. The Black Panther Party was responsible for starting many of the service programs that we continue to see. The service programs including clothing, housing, health clinics, and food service to name a few. The party sought out to improve the living conditions of those who were in poverty.

Perhaps the number one event, that will cost Jimmy Carter his reelection for president was the Iranian Hostage Crisis that went on for approximately 444 days and held 52 American diplomat citizens hostage in Iran. Several Iranian students, stormed the American embassy on November 4, 1979. This had all occurred because the former, exiled, Shah of Iran had been permitted entry into the United States to receive medical treatment for cancer. In the 1950’s the Shah of Iran was appointed by the United States. He was a dictator, who ruled with violence and cruelty. The people of Iran, are traditionally Shiite Muslims and the Shah was taking Iran towards a more progressive society. This further upset the people of Iran who did not want their conservative

President Jimmy Carter was put in a difficult situation and his decisions only made United States and Iran relations worse. The revolution in Iran had become a reality when uprisings started. President Jimmy Carter had a choice to support either the Shah or the rising revolutionaries in Iran. There was no response from President Carter to the revolution, and it cost him. The cost came shortly after the Shah was exiled from Iran. The Shah sought refuge in the United States after his exile, and Carter had to choose whether he would interfere with the prosecution of the Shah. In the beginning, Carter refused to accept the Shah because of the anticipated reaction of the Iranian people. When President Carter discovered the Shah 's positive testing to cancer, the Shah requested treatment in the United States and thickened the dilemma. After much consideration and hesitation, Carter granted refuge to the Shah for treatment of his cancer. President Carter had imagined the possible consequences, but he was stunned on November 4th, 1979. The crisis had

Iranian hostility of United States can be traced back to the 1950s. The United States supported any regime that was not communist, even though they would be considered very unpopular with the people of their country. Because of this, Iran became an anti-communist country and the Shah became an ally of the United States. In 1950 the Shah left Iran when Mohammed Mossadegh was elected Prime Minister. After Mossadegh election, he used his authority and nationalized the oil industry in the country. This incident generated fear in the United States. The state department felt that communists could abuse this anarchy and Iran could turn against the United States. The Shah, who had been removed from power, contacted the United States and the Central

In setting their foreign policy agenda, presidents are clearly informed by their previous experiences. As Jentleson notes in The Domestic Context, this has historically come in the form of prior military service or a role in the State Department, yet both of these are far less common of modern presidents than those of the nineteenth century. In lieu of this expertise, the actions of recent presidents may be attributable to factors such as upbringing and personal characteristics. For example, the American Experience series of documentaries attests that Ronald Reagan’s oratory skills and loathing of communism can be traced back to his Hollywood career during the McCarthy era in the late 1940s. Likewise, Jimmy Carter’s humble beginnings as a

The most major ideas I have taken would have to be the slavery topic because, I simply find it interesting how the black community came a long way to receive the freedom and rights they deserved. Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. European settlers in North America turned to African slaves as a cheaper, and a better labor source to help in the production of lucrative crops as tobacco. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. It’s a very inspiring topic and it gives others the hope to achieve anything and that nothing impossible. African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of

It seems that there are three main points in this section, including Gerald Ford becoming president and trying to turn things around, how Jimmy Carter went right behind him and tried to do the same thing, and the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-1980.Gerald Ford only became the president after Nixon resigned. During his time of presidency, he made inflation sky high, the price of gas and oil higher than ever and interest rates climbed. Until reading this passage I didn’t know that Ford had pardoned the former president so that he was able to not be charged with any crime associated with the Watergate scandal. He wasn’t a good fit for president so in the election of 1976 a Democrat from Georgia named Jimmy Carter was elected. He did nothing but

The American government is known to promote democratic values throughout the world. Though the ideals America was fighting for during the Cold War, the government still managed to participate in the overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh threatened to nationalize Iran’s oil in 1951 and later gained the support of the Iranian government. The British companies had many investments in Iranian oil. It is with the approval of nationalization that the economies of both British and Iran were ultimately harmed. The British government requested the help of the US so that they could perform a coup to overthrow Mossadegh. With suspicions of Mossadegh supporting communism, and being supported by the Tudeh Party, the United States government was willing to sacrifice their democratic ideologies and credibility in the region for the insurance of an anti-communist leader. This would prove to cause problems that still resonate in today’s political and military negotiations in this region.

One of the most important themes to me was the one on social justice and wealth versus poverty. I feel like this was an important theme to study because it opened my eyes just a little bit more to what life in the ancient world would be like. In high school we often studied the kings and royalty. I do not remember studying any of the middle or lower classes. In our study this semester. we especially looked at the accessibility of resources and how they create economic stratification. When analyzing the ancient city maps it was eye opening to see how resources were potential inaccessible to certain people. Then when we continued this discussion to the modern world, I realized it was a topic that I have never had an instructor bring to light. I had never heard the term of a ‘food desert.’ This topic was so important to me because it was something that I had never had the opportunity to think about. I can now see how people can