Jimmy Carter's Role In The Iran 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.

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).

On David Farber 's book Taken Hostage, Farber informs us about the Iran Hostage Crisis and America 's First Encounter with Radical Islam. This book tells us how the United States and Iran got into conflict, leading to the Iranians holding American Embassy members hostage as revenge for them feeling betrayed by the United States. It also informs us about other events that occurred in a decade that caused the United States many problems. Farber talked about all the events that lead to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. November 4, 1979, seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran and the hostage of four hundred and forty four days following, were the first steps leading up to the perpetual War on Terror. Farber believes the failure from American policymakers and more specifically from President Carter, to identify the severity of the crisis made for the prolonged crisis. The sheer ineptitude of Carter administration was the cost of the US to lose it’s way economically, culturally, politically and even military. Carter struggled to respond to the impulses of Islamic fundamentalism within the prevailing Cold War paradigm. They saw the real battle as against secular modernism and they recognized that the US was the major force spreading this cultural and political belief throughout the world. The media misrepresentations of the struggle and mass media manipulation of Americans played on the peoples emotions. Although Carter was popular at the beginning of his presidency, this began

“We cannot be both the world's leading champion of peace and the world's leading supplier of the weapons of war.” (Carter). President Jimmy Carter was a true champion of social justice. He knew that to be a champion of social justice, you have to make morally good actions. Being a President of the United States gave him great opportunities to wield influence and that is something he has continued to do since leaving the Oval Office. This living President has set a precedent of justice in the White House and even more so outside of it. Through his industrious life, his work before the White House, his actions during his presidency, and everything he has done since he has left me with a deep pride for the values that make America who we are as a country. I am proud to have Jimmy Carter has one of our great Presidents and he sets the example of social justice embodied in a person.

November 4, 1979, seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran and the hostage of four hundred and forty-four days following, were the first steps leading up to the perpetual War on Terror. In the book Taken Hostage by David Farber informs about the Iran Hostage Crisis and the First Encounter with Radical Islam. United States and Iran got into conflict, leading to the Iranians holding American Embassy members hostage as revenge for them feeling betrayed by the United States. It also informs us about other events that occurred in a decade that caused the United States many problems. Farber believes the failure of American policymakers and more specifically from President Carter, to identify the severity of the crisis made for the prolonged crisis. The sheer ineptitude of the Carter administration was the cost of the US to lose it’s way economically, culturally, politically and even military. Carter struggled to respond to the impulses of Islamic fundamentalism within the prevailing Cold War paradigm. They saw the real problem as against modernism and they knew that the US was the major force spreading this belief throughout the world. The media misrepresentations of the struggle and mass media manipulation of Americans played on the peoples emotions. Although Carter was popular at the beginning of his presidency, this began to change when he was unable to solve economic problems and was unsuccessful in negotiating the release of the American hostages in Iran.

The 1970s was a rough time for Americans. The economy was struggling and gas prices were doublings, sometimes gas stations even ran out of gas. While all this was going on, the media caught the attention of the American people on the story of the sixty six hostages that were captured in Tehran. Soon that became the center of attention. Both in Iran and America, people focused on what would happen and especially how President Jimmy Carter would respond. In his book, Taken Hostage, David Farber closely examines the events that led up to the hostage crisis. He informs us of America’s first encounter with radical Islam and what had caused the conflict between them. For four hundred and forty-four days, President Carter tried to put effort into resolving the issues but he failed on releasing the hostages. Since the American people paid close attention to this issue, they were highly disappointed with President Carter and his processes. From our class lectures and throughout the tensions illustrated in Farber’s book, we learn of how the role of Cold War policy had fueled the crisis between the United States and “Radical Islam”, the Cold War policy shaping the response of the U.S. to the crisis, and also understanding the present War on Terror.

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.

James Earl Carter Jr- better known as our 39th president Jimmy Carter- was born on October 1st, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He eventually chose a career path of politics although neither of his parents were politicians. His mother Lillian was a nurse, and his father, James Earl Carter Sr., was a businessman and farmer. He attended college in Georgia, and later enrolled in the United States Naval Academy where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree. Carter enlisted in the Navy and was posted on submarines in the Pacific and Atlantic. Eventually Carter studied nuclear physics at Union College to prepare for the Navy’s nuclear submarine program. Carter married Rosalynn Smith in 1946, and took over the family farm after his father’s

Although he was the 39th president, between the years 1955-1962 he lead the Board of Education of Sumter County in the state of Georgia. Carter also was a teacher for Sunday school at his church and served as the governor of Georgia as a Democrat. While holding the position as a governor, Carter managed to discredit prejudice and later was named a “dark horse contender” for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1972. During the presidential campaign, the economy was not in much of good condition. The rate of unemployment and inflation were both high and there was a dishonest foreign policy (Ribuffo). When Carter started his 2 year presidency campaign he chose the senator of Minnesota, Walter F. Mondale, to be

Research question/topic How did Jimmy Carter’s commitment to his religion influence his foreign policy and his pursuit for peace and advancement of human rights? Aronoff, Yael S. "In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion: The Political Conversion of Jimmy Carter."  Political Science Quarterly 121, no. 3 (2003): 425-59. Accessed October 5, 2017.

Jimmy Carter’s always wanted American citizens to think he was truly a “good ole boy” from South Georgia. He did this by taking a different approach to the White House when he came to Washington, D.C as the 39th President. Things that were important to President Carter weren’t always important to past president of the United States. He wanted the American people to care about their family roots. He showed this by appointing fellow Georgians that were knowledgeable of his family history as his closest advisors including Hamilton Jordan, Jody Powell, Andrew Young, Bert Lance, and Frank Moore. President Carter had a continuous love to learn about his family heritage while in the White House. His love for his family heritage started as a young child when his

During the year of 1973 Jimmy E. Carter was the president. He served as president through the years of 1977-1981. In 2002 he was awarded, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center. During the years of 1978-1992 The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was taking place. The Republic of Afghanistan was the government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992 recognised by 8 countries. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War. In the year of 1978 the television wasn’t very good. All tv shows were black and white because the technology wasn’t good. The television isn’t like the television that we have today, our television has

Jimmy Carter’s presidency is often met with harsh criticism and unfair judgement. He’s been labeled as a man who was “too smart to be president” but in reality, it was more like he was too nice to be president. Although he was a strong diplomatic speaker, he lacked the assertive nature that prevented him from succeeding in foreign policy. That’s not to say he was without merit but situations such as the Iranian Hostage Crisis have left a permanent blemish on his political career. Carter was in no way a president who sought confrontation. The ramifications of the Vietnam War left him and the American people under a different mindset, one that wasn’t eager to get involved in another overseas conflict. Yet tensions in the Middle East continued rise with both Egypt and Israel at each other’s throats. A more domestic issue arose in the 1979 energy crisis with the number of oil reserves being reduced largely due to the United States supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Ironically, a lot of the problems appeared to have been carried over from Nixon’s time in office. These were the problems caused by a cutthroat conservative and now they were passed on to Carter. This does not absolve the man of responsibility for his decisions but it does provide a viewpoint as to how he was able to overcome global dilemmas.

The worst case scenario for the United States in the late 70s and early 80s was the threat of the Soviet invasion of Iran and subsequent control of the Saudi Oil fields. The best that could be done to counter a possible Soviet invasion would have been the deployment of parts of the 82nd Airborne Division to the Zagros Mountains of Iran, which would take at least a week with reinforcements arriving much later. This was not acceptable to the Carter Administration, which decided on another course of action - to actively support the anti-Soviet Mujahideen “freedom - fighters” in Afghanistan and help protect the Middle Eastern oil fields. This American involvement in the Soviet Afghan war has