6 People Who Inspired and Shaped Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has thanked many people over the years for helping make him into the person he became. Here are 6 of those people.

Lillian Carter - His Mother - Taught Him Progressive Views on Politics and Race

Jimmy Carter’s mother Lillian taught Jimmy to have more progressive views on politics and race that many of his neighbors in his Deep South Georgia home. Here is an explanation from the Presidential podcast on Lillian’s impact on Jimmy Carter: “In 1964, for example, she was head of the local committee in favor of Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter has talked about how many times during that campaign Lillian Carter would come back to her automobile and found it had been defaced in some way, protesting her rather advanced views on politics, but also on race. One of the things she did as a nurse was to go into African American homes and help provide healthcare. And that I think did make a profound impression on young Jimmy Carter.”

Earl Carter - His Father - Taught Him Importance of Helping Others

Jimmy Carter’s father Earl (above) died from cancer at age 53 in 1953. Jimmy was an officer in the US Navy stationed in New York but rushed down to Plains to be with his father in his last days. Here is an explanation from the Presidential podcast on Earl’s impact on Jimmy Carter: “And rather suddenly, he is summoned back to Plains to stand at the bedside of his father who was dying. And what happened then was, I think, really quite remarkable and informative for Jimmy Carter because he witnessed individuals from the community coming into the hospital to pay their respects. And people would come in and talk about how Mr. Earl helped them carry their mortgage at a time when they faced foreclosure or granted them credit from the Carter store at a time when they couldn't pay their bills. And that had a profound effect on Jimmy Carter, so much so that after his father died tragically at the age of 53, Jimmy Carter went back to Schenectady and promptly informed Rosalin that he was resigning his commission in the Navy and he planned to go back to Plains and have the same sort of influence in the community that his father.”

Tom Gordy - His Uncle - Inspired Him to See the World Beyond His Hometown

Here is how Jimmy Carter recalled the impact his uncle had on him: “When I was a boy, I was strongly influenced by my Uncle Tom Gordy, who served in the Navy, stationed in the Pacific on a ship. And he would often send me letters and souvenir gifts from China, Japan, the Philippines, other places that he visited. One of the presents he sent me was a small model of a Chinese junk or ship. Of course, that was one of my most cherished possessions. One of my fondest memories was a Christmas morning when I was a little boy.”

Julia Coleman - Teacher - Inspired Him that He Could Be an Important Person

Jimmy Carter often spoke about the impact one of his childhood teachers, Miss Julia Coleman, had on him. Miss Coleman reportedly often told her class that “who knows, maybe someone here in our school can someday be president of the United States.” Carter mentioned her in his 1977 Presidential Inauguration Address. He also shared this in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 2002: “I thought often during my years in the White House of an admonition that we received in our small school in Plains, Georgia, from a beloved teacher, Miss Julia Coleman. She often said: “We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” When I was a young boy, this same teacher also introduced me to Leo Tolstoy’s novel, “War and Peace.” She interpreted that powerful narrative as a reminder that the simple human attributes of goodness and truth can overcome great power. She also taught us that an individual is not swept along on a tide of inevitability but can influence even the greatest human events.”

Ruth Carter Stapleton - His Sister - Connected His Faith and Public Service

Jimmy Carter’s sister Ruth was a Pentecostal minister and got Jimmy reconnected to his strong Christian faith when he returned to Georgia after leaving the Navy. He started to see a connection between his faith and public service, as recounted by this story in the Presidential podcast : “When Carter was running for the seat in the Georgia State Senate, the Carter family hosted a traveling evangelist who was preaching at Plains Baptist Church and having dinner in the Carter home. In the course of the dinner conversation, the preacher really tried to chastise Carter for running for political office, telling Carter that his time would be better spent out there preaching or doing good works. Carter got his back up apparently, and he said, ‘well, how would you like to have a church with 22,000 parishioners’ referring to the number of constituents that he would have as Georgia state senator? So he pushed back against that because he thought politics was a vehicle for doing good in the world. And I think Jimmy Carter still believes that. Politics in its noblest form does provide the platform and the tools for making the world a better place.”

Rosalyn Carter - His Wife - His Life Partner in Every Way

The most important influence on Jimmy Carter was his wife Rosalyn. Jimmy Carter adored Rosalyn from their first date through their 70-plus years of marriage. Carter summarized Rosalyn’s importance to him last year upon her death: "Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me."