A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967, and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.
Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and joined the United States Navy, serving in the submarine service. Afterward he returned home, where he revived his family's peanut-growing business. He then manifested his opposition to racial segregation, supported the growing civil rights movement, and became an activist within the Democratic Party. From 1963 to 1967 he served in the Georgia State Senate and in 1970 was elected governor of Georgia. As a dark horse candidate not well known outside of Georgia, Carter won the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, and narrowly defeated incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford in the 1976 United States presidential election.
On his second day as president, Carter pardoned all Vietnam War draft evaders. His administration established the United States Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He also created a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. 