Jimmy Carter becomes first president to turn 100
Former Democrat President Carter turns 100 years old on Tuesday, earning himself the distinction of being the first president to ever live for an entire century.
Carter, the nation's 39th president, has been a man of several firsts. He was the first U.S. president to be born in a hospital, was the first Naval Academy graduate to become president, and he was the first president to make a formal state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, among other firsts. Now, Carter is the first U.S. president in history to make it to 100 years old.
Carter remains under home hospice care in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he has lived since the culmination of his presidency in 1981. This upcoming February marks two years in hospice for the former president who has outlived his wife, Rosalynn. She died last year at age 96.
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"It's funny, President Carter has accomplished so much and rarely ever fails. But the one thing that he's not been good at is hospice," said Jill Stuckey, a family friend of the Carters for more than 30 years and the superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park in Plains. "He keeps living, and we are so thrilled about that fact. So, if he was to not be good at anything, we're glad it's hospice."
When asked what Stuckey thought differentiated Carter from other past presidents who have lived into old age, she said it was "tenacity."
"He and Mrs. Carter were concerned about living as long as they possibly could, being as healthy as they possibly could, so they could help as many people as they possibly could," Stuckey told Fox News Digital. "They have eaten right every single meal. They have exercised every single day. They are just relentless in taking care of themselves so they can live as long as they possibly can to take care of others. And that's what President Carter is proving today, that all those things make a difference."
Stuckey said that events commemorating Carter's milestone 100th birthday have been going on in Plains since Saturday, when the town held its annual peanut festival.
"We celebrate peanut harvest season here in Plains, and it happens to coincide with President Carter's birthday every year, so we kind of combine them," Stuckey said.
She also indicated that Tuesday, on Carter's birthday, several other events commemorating his birthday will take place in Plains, including a naturalization ceremony for 100 new citizens at Plains High School, where both Jimmy and Rosalynn attended.
After the ceremony, there will be a flyover to honor the former president, organized with the help of Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. In the late afternoon, Plains will also host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new statues dedicated to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Meanwhile, in celebration of Carter's birthday, volunteers in St. Paul, Minnesota, gathered to build 30 new homes over five days. Participants reportedly included country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
"You're one of the most influential statesmen in our history," President Biden said in a video released ahead of Carter's birthday on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Grand Ole Opry member and country music legend Charlie McCoy played a special rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" to honor the former president.
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"I remember the first time I saw him, and I was in awe, and the feeling's always been there. You can be around presidents all the time, but the first time is the most meaningful," said Cathie Skoog, a former member of the White House Communications Agency. "He didn’t care what people thought. He did what he felt was right for the country."
Carter's presidency was marked by efforts to preserve the environment, advance human rights and propel the American education system to new heights. Carter overhauled the civil service system, deregulated the airline industry to spur competition, and created the Energy and Education departments. It was also Carter's administration that required both seat belts and airbags in cars.
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However, Carter's presidency was also marked by trials, including high inflation, an energy crisis and failed negotiations to win the release of dozens of American hostages taken captive in Iran. Carter's Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, eventually resigned in protest of the administration's handling of the hostage crisis.
Amid the Iranian Revolution going on at the time, oil prices in the U.S. rose substantially. In July 1979, Carter blamed Americans discouraged by soaring inflation and the energy crisis for losing confidence in the country.
"The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us," Carter said in his speech. "For the first time in the history of our country, a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world."
"We must face the truth, and then we can change our course," he continued. "We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face."