Jimmy Carter’s presidency and legacy

Jimmy Carter, the U.S. president from 1976-80, died on December 29. We asked two OHIO faculty members with connections to Carter to join us to reflect on his legacy.

Kevin Mattson is the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History in the College of Arts and Sciences and author of the book “What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?” which explores the “malaise speech” Carter gave in 1979. Pete Mather is a professor in the Patton College of Education who worked at the Carter Center in Atlanta Georgia in the early 2000’s as director of the center’s esteemed internship program.

Our experts challenge the widely accepted assessment that Carter’s presidency was a failure. Mather says it’s “more complicated than that,” and Mattson agrees.

“I think there was a better president than the typical view of him has it,” Mattson says.

Listen to the episode to hear more about the “bizarre” events that led up to the pivotal speech Carter gave in response to the gas crisis; the Sunday school lessons he taught at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for almost 50 years; and the “wry” sense of humor the Nobel Peace Prize winner maintained throughout his life. 

Top photo: Ben Gray/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

Don’t miss this first-person account from Gray, an OHIO School of Visual Communication alumnus who spent two decades photographing Carter and was chosen by the Carter family as an official photographer for the funeral proceedings in January.