Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years, 1924-1974

This dual biography of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, the thirty-ninth President of the United States and his wife, chronicles the unique political and business relationship of a couple who together rose from obscurity to national and international power. His life in an isolated, prosperous, locally powerful, Baptist farm family prepared him for a career in public service and business. Rosalynn came from a more modest, but well-connected and intelligent, Methodist family in the town of Plains. Each was the oldest of four children, ambitious, eager to learn, able to shoulder heavy responsibilities, and committed to humanitarian interests. Together, they compromised their religious and career differences, enjoyed a short career in the United States Navy, built a small agribusiness empire, plotted political strategy, won the governorship of Georgia in 1970, and announced his candidacy for President of the United States on December 12, 1974. This volume, which covers the years from his birth to the end of his governorship, offers substantial, detailed information about their childhoods, marriage, personal lives, Navy career, business success and entry into politics. In a racially-charged atmosphere, Carter won a contested state senate seat in 1962 but lost the governor's race to Lester Maddox in 1966. In 1970 he won a stunning victory over the old Georgia politics, revealing that Rosalynn was so emotionally and professionally close to her husband that his career often seemed inseparable from hers. Carter shocked the state of Georgia and the entire country with his statement in 1971 that the time for racial discrimination was over, thus launching a national political race. Godbold's research has spanned two decades, much of it in rarely seen documents in the Georgia Department of Archives and History and the better-known Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, both in Atlanta. Working from millions of pages of primary sources, he has added contemporary scholarship, oral histories, and new interviews. From academic and military records, the governor's correspondence, the memories of the Carters, the accounts of Georgia and national politicians, and public documents, this volume details how the Carters rose to power, managed their private and public lives, governed Georgia, and seized control of the national Democratic party. It is a blueprint for what they would do on the national and international stages after 1975. The cast of characters ranging from Jimmy, Rosalynn, Miss Allie Smith, Mr. Earl, Miss Lillian, Brother Billy, Rachel Clark, Admiral Rickover, George Wallace, Lester Maddox, Richard Nixon, Baby Amy, Charles Kirbo, Hamilton Jordan, Jody Powell, and many more is set in a true Faulknerian tale that has changed the image of the South in the national mind and the role of the South in the presidency. The Carters were ordinary people whose dramatic and colourful story resonates with human life, defeat, courage, inspiration, hope, and extraordinary accomplishments.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Carters and the Smiths Ch 1: A Boy in Archery Ch 2: A Girl in Plains Ch 3: School Years Ch 4: Annapolis Ch 5: Navy Couple Ch 6: The Shadow of Mr. Earl Ch 7: The Emergency of Rosalynn Ch 8: First Campaign Ch 9: Politics and Business Ch 10: Reach for the Governorship, 1966 Ch 11: Born Again, Running Again Ch 12: A Conservative Progressive Ch 13: "A Trace of Demagoguery" Ch 14: "Enigma and Contradiction" Ch 15: Georgians at Home Ch 16: The Trail of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ch 17: Rosalynn in Power Ch 18: Phoenix Rising Ch 19: Georgians Abroad Ch 20: Jimmy, God, and Fortune Selected Bibliography Abbreviations Used in Notes Notes Acknowledgments Index

About the Author :
E. Stanly Godbold, Jr. is Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University. He served as off-camera consultant and on-camera commentator for the American Experience documentary on the life of Jimmy Carter (2002). He lives in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi.

Review :
"Stanly Godbold knows more about Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter than any other scholar. He brings to this book a fluent writing style, thorough knowledge of Georgia politics, and sensitivity to southern culture, all of which allow him to go beyond prevailing clichés about the Carters."--Leo P. Ribuffo, George Washington University "An engrossing story, told with verve and superb literary style, that squarely sets Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter where they need to be: at the heart of American politics and reform in post-WWII America."-- Jamil S. Zainaldin, President, Georgia Humanities Council "This book is a stunning accomplishment. In simple and spare prose, E. Stanly Godbold lays out the engrossing story of two complex and remarkable individuals who, together, constitute a formidable couple."--Laura Kalman, University of California, Santa Barbara "Godbold displays an obvious respect for both of his subjects, but he doesn't hesitate to show Jimmy's bare-knuckles style of campaigning and governing as well as his tendency to make crucial decisions. A copiously researched but compact and highly readable book." --Booklist *Starred Review* "Lucidly written biography" -- The Times Literary Supplement "A thoroughly researched and evenhanded look at Carter's journey from a farm in southern Georgia to his improbable decision to run for the presidency." -- Journal of American History "Goldbold allows his readers to make what they will of the 'enigma and contradiction' in Jimmy Carter's public character(ibid). With a prose style that is simple and spare, he also sketches the relentless emergence of an ambitious man whose political agenda grew steadily more progressive over time."--Frye Gaillard, University of South Alabama