President Jimmy Carter, Essay Example

Was Jimmy Carter America’s worst president of the 20th century?

I do not think that Jimmy Carter was, by any means the best president of the 20^th century, but I also do not think he was the worst president of the 20^th century.  I think he did the best he could with what he had to work with, it just seemed he sort of had bad luck, such as the debacle with the Iran Hostage Crisis.  During Carter’s administration, there were so many significant events that were taking place, such as a faltering economy and inflation. I think he just became overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions. Or maybe he just was not cut out to be an influencer of sorts.

However, his foreign policy efforts did have some accomplishments that made strides for the country, such as his speech at Camp David. This event was instrumental in brokering peace in the Middle East between Egypt and Israel, which had not been seen in over 30 years.  In addition, human rights advocacy for people in Africa and Latin America were initiated under President Carter’s administration, by the cut off of U.S. aid to those regimes that violated the human rights of their people.

The 1970s was a trying time in America and Jimmy Carter was the unfortunate one who had to be president during this time, and I think he had much trouble trying to deal with all of the things that were on his shoulders at the time. So, this is why some may label him as the worst president.