Historians have ranked Carter's presidency as below average. After leaving office, he told allies he predicted history would be kinder to him than voters were in the 1980 election.Historians rate best and worst presidents. Wisconsin State Journal. January 10, 1982. Retrieved December 22, 2024. In a 1982 Chicago Tribune survey, when 49 historians and scholars were asked to rank the best and worst U.S. presidents, Carter was ranked the tenth worst.Presidents rated: Truman, Ike near the top. Chicago Tribune. The World. February 4, 1982. Retrieved September 29, 2024. In 2006, conservative British historian Andrew Roberts ranked Carter the worst U.S. president.Roberts, Andrew (November 11, 2006). Jimmy Carter. The Independent. Retrieved December 21, 2024. Yet some of Carter's policy accomplishments have been more favorably received.Schumann, Megan (February 23, 2023). Jimmy Carter's Legacy: Historian Reflects on the 39th President. Rutgers University. Retrieved December 21, 2024. The 2009 documentary Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace credits Carter's efforts at Camp David, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt, with bringing the only meaningful peace to the Middle East. Stuart E. Eizenstat, who served as Carter's chief White House domestic policy adviser, wrote, "Carter's accomplishments at home and abroad were more extensive and longer lasting than those of almost all modern presidents."Eizenstat, Stuart, "History views Carter's legacy — and his many accomplishments — all wrong", The Washington Post, December 29, 2024.
Historians have ranked Carter's presidency as below average. After leaving office, he told allies he predicted history would be kinder to him than voters were in the 1980 election.Historians rate best and worst presidents. Wisconsin State Journal. January 10, 1982. Retrieved December 22, 2024. In a 1982 Chicago Tribune survey, when 49 historians and scholars were asked to rank the best and worst U.S. presidents, Carter was ranked the tenth worst.Presidents rated: Truman, Ike near the top. Chicago Tribune. The World. February 4, 1982. Retrieved September 29, 2024. In 2006, conservative British historian Andrew Roberts ranked Carter the worst U.S. president.Roberts, Andrew (November 11 2006). Jimmy Carter. The Independent. Retrieved December 21, 2024. Yet some of Carter's policy accomplishments have been more favorably received.Schumann, Megan (February 23, 2023). Jimmy Carter's Legacy: Historian Reflects on the 39th President. Rutgers University. Retrieved December 21, 2024. The 2009 documentary Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace credits Carter's efforts at Camp David, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt, with bringing the only meaningful peace to the Middle East. Stuart E. Eizenstat, who served as Carter's chief White House domestic policy adviser, wrote, "Carter's accomplishments at home and abroad were more extensive and longer lasting than those of almost all modern presidents."Eizenstat, Stuart, "History views Carter's legacy — and his many accomplishments — all wrong", The Washington Post, December 29, 2024.