If i get paid, then i have to do what the first lady is supposed to do, but you can do anything you want to do and its such a great soap box. Its just such a great opportunity. So i would, i would advise any first lady to do what she wanted to do. If she doesnt want, and another thing i learned, youre going to be criticized no matter what you do. I could have stayed in the white house, poured tea, had receptions and i would have been criticized. As much i was criticized outside. For what i did and i got a lot of criticism, but you learn to live with it, as i said earlier. Just live with it, expect it and you live with it and never let it influence me. Rosalynn carter in a recent interview conducted for this series in atlanta. She was her husbands political partner from their first campaign. As first lady, she attended cabinet meetings and championed womens rights and Mental Health issues. Their partnership in congress has continued in their long, close white house years. Good evening. Tonight, we turn the page. Were going to begin this biography series by looking at the live of the living first ladies and evelyn Rosalynn Smith carter is the first of these. The wife of our 39th president. Let me introduce you our two guests. Jay hicks is a president ial historian and spent 13 years as the director of the Carter Library. Thanks for being here. Grace hail is director of history at the university of virginia and special iizes in t history of the south. Thanks for coming tonight. I want to pick up on mrs. Carters themes and i should tell folks she was gracious enough to give us an almost hour long interview in atlanta and throughout the hour, well show you clips of it and post the full interviiew online. I want to pick up on things that i learned as she referenced. One of the things thats fascinating is that the carters first visit to the white house was a after he had been elected in the inauguration. Travel dilt, but its unusual for the modern age. What skills did she bring to this job . Well, i think in some ways, you know, the transition for her from planes to the Governors Mansion in atlanta was a big transition. But there, she did get a chance to you know, host parties, to take on issues and do the kind of things that first ladies do at the white house, albeit at a smaller level. So, you know, in one sense, they were the washington outsiders coming into a town where they had not spent much time. But also, they had that experience as governor that a i think she used as a foundation for what she expected to do as first lady. I want to stay with the theme for a second. We have many books on first ladies. This one is by john roberts. He says the first lady completed a 20th century metaphor fi sis. Previous first ladies blazed the trail by campaigning et cetera, but none approached the job with the discipline of carter and her staff. For the first time, the first lady hired a chief of staff whose government salary and rank were waequal to the president s. Under rosalynn, the east wing positions grew by almost 20 , but more important, she used the staff differently, organized the works offin worksings of the office to expand functions. When she grew up almost during her entire childhood, the first lady of the United States was eleanor roosevelt. So one would have to think that that was a pretty powerful image of a first lady who did it differently than it had ever been done before. Who testified before congress, which was something Rosalynn Carter also did. And she wanted to be a serious player on the issue. She want ed the president to tae her seriously. They had a close partnership. They communicated back and forth very openly, very candidly. She was not afraid to criticize him in private. So, it was a strong kind of a modern era first ladies. Get involved with the big substantive issues where you can make a difference. Let me ask another theme throughout the series and that has been the role of women throughout society. Im wondering, weve learned so often that the first lady really is a lynch pin for changes for women in the country. What about women in 1976 and particularly, southern women, how accepting the public was of their involvement in politics . Well, she became the first lady at a time of great change in womens roles and i think that you know, that made her job challenging, but also gave her some really wonderful opportunities, which she really worked hard to seize. I mean i love a story that i read somewhere that she told that it was a lot harder to learn how to be the first lady in the Governors Mansion because she had to train her staff. That they came from the prisons to work in the, to work in various capacities in the Governors Mansion and when she got to the white house, everybody knew what to do so that it was a well scripted machine and that was easier to do. But she came into the white house at a moment when womens roles were really changing greatly across the country. And i think people were surprised that she was such an outspoken person coming from a background in a small town south and that she really tackled issues in a serious way. I think she really made a mark in that way. Well, in the 1976 campaign, those of you who were around will remember the big question was jimmy who. Were going to show you u a bit of a campaign ad that the Carter Campaign put together that picked up on this theme. It involves rosalynn. In the final days, a group of georgia supporters, often referred to as carters peanut brigade, flew into new hampshire. Hello, are you mrs. Carter . Yes, yes. If we had snow on the ground like this, we would be paralyzed for weeks. We couldnt get out of the house. Her schedule was gruelling. Almost as tough as her husbands, yet through it all, rosalynn remained an earn eest d gracious campaigner. People ask me every day, how can you stand for your husband to be in politics and everybody know everything you do. And i just tell them that we were born and raised and still live in georgia. It has a population of 683 and everybody has always known everything i did. And jimmy has never had any hint of scandal in his personal or public life. I really believe he can restore that honesty, integrity, openness and confidence in government that we so sorely need in our country today. I think he would be a great president. Chris hill, what was happen ng the country in 1976 that niese outsiders from georgia who had not mount ed a National Campaign before appeal to the public . Well, i think a lot of things were open in interest iing wayso help carter and first Lady Rosalynn in their rise in national politics. On the one hand, you have the failures of the Mcgovern Campaign and theres no interest in repeating that amongst democratic officials. They want a candidate thats not going to, in their minds, be able to be sort of pigeon holed as representing a certain kind of liberal or left part of the Democratic Party. Carter, with his you know, southern root, small town background, they think hes going to appeal the people who wouldnt vote from for mcgovern or might be alienated from that part of the Democratic Party. Also, i think hes a really interesting candidate because he is from the south and yet, he is publicly speaking out and in support of integration, in support of the gangs of the Civil Rights Movement up until that point and that also really helps to create a kind of momentum behind them. Hes seen as a candidate who can bridge a lot of different divides. Sort of draw in a lot of different people. That video referencing the peanut brigade. Who were the peanut brigade and what was rosalynns role in that . They were mainly friends of the carters from georgia who went to other states to campaign and it was of course very impressive when they went into the snow bound streets of new hampshire. These georgians not used to the snowy weather, but they personally knew the carters, so when youre going up to a telling them to vote for a person i personally know, that personally carries a lot of weight a. And people would wear the gold peanut pins. I think the idea of running as an outsider works, but it was right campaign for the right time. Well, it really became the kind of standard way in which candidates would run after a that. So i think in that way, too, its sbrr very interesting that running as an outsider, what else cowell kar else could he do . It became a model for future campaigns. Nixon campaigned as the majority. Somebodys representing most americans. After that, you see many, many politicians run ining as outsiders. Gorge bush. The second george bush ran in interesting ways as a kind of outsider draw iing on his experiences in texas, so it became a kind of model for the future. We should say not only friends, but the Carter Family. Mrs. Carter, sons, mrs. Carters motherinlaw, all very much involved in making this a family affair. Yeah, as grace mentioned, up to this point, people hadnt really figured out that they had to get outside of washington. So not only did you have jimmy carter getting outside of washington, but the whole family. One of my favorite stories from mrs. Carter, she and her friend, ed na langford, would go around to states, spent 75 days in florida. They would go into a small town and look for the in town because they figured that was probably a Radio Station then theyd drive up and say would you like to interview us . They would bring a sheet of questions that they could ask. So it was a very low budget campaign. But in that particular year under the finance laws of that time, that was the way to do it. They actually stayed in peoples houses when they campaigned. All the different Carter Family members. Thats really a very different way of campaigning than we see now. Staying with people. Certain president ial candidates still do that in iowa and new hampshire. But it gets too large to do. But let me ask you a bit about the learn iing the mechanics of Political Science as it were because again, they had only a little bit of experience in this. When you read the biographies, their systemic approach to learning the mechanics is breast i interesting. What im thinking is that she would number president carters jokes so he wouldnt tell them to the same audiences. She took memory classes so they would be able, as campaigners, to remember peoples faces and names. Would you talk about that aspect to their approach to politics . I think both of the carters really believed in doing their homework. Like he, he would read gary h t harts book on the 1972 campaign to find out what went right. What went wrong, and she would take meticulous notes and when they ran for reelection in 1979 and 80, she pulled out all these note frs the 1975 and 1976 campaigns. She had the names and phone numbers of everybody. They started off know iing they didnt know how to do this, but they did their homework and that was kind of a trait of the family. And they would come home on sundays, so that they were always on the same page. The family members wouldnt all be off saying Different Things. Theyd come back and compare notes on sunday then head back out to the field and it was a a very powerful combination. I cant believe the work schedule she had during that campaign. Very little sleep and visiting multiple towns a day. I guess growing up on a farm, you learn long days, but she was willing to make that kind of commitment. Zwl whats great about this series is your involvement and we welcome that as well. You can send us an email and you can, sorry, you can send us a tweet at first ladies and you can also join our facebook conversation. Facebook, cspans site on there, its already underway. People are posting questions and well get to as many as we can and you can call us. We welcome the conversation. Did rosalynn work before coming a full time politicians wife . Where was she educated . Were going to visit the town of plains, georgia. How big is it . About 600 people. Small town. When she was there, it was dirt roads. Now the roads are paved, but it doesnt look that much different today than it did back then. Theyre probably surprised they ended back up there. Lets learn more about their early years by visiting planes in this video. Not much has changed here. Since the president and mrs. Carter grew up here in the 20s and 30s. If we were to take away this asphalt street here in fropt of the stores and have a dirt road right in front of them, it would look very similar to a photograph of plains circa 1925. The Rosalynn Smith carter story begins here at this house. She lived here with her mom and dad, two brothers and a a sister and one of her favorite memories is when her dad would come home from work, go into the kitchen and meet her mother. Give her a big hug, swing her around the Kitchen Floor there and give her a kiss. Rosalynn carter lost her father at a very young age and jimmy carters mother helped take care of mr. Egger throughout his illness. She was a trained nurse here. And on the night of his passing, actually took young Rosalynn Smith out to the jimmy carter farm to be with jimmy carters sister, ruth. This is the jimmy carter boyhood farm. Its important to miss rosalynns story because she would spend a lot of time out here with president carters sister, ruth. This is a room of jimmy carters sisters, ruth and gloria. When Rosalynn Carter came out to see ruth, this is where they would hang out together. Play games. Do homework. And just enjoy each others company. When miss rosalynn was out visiting president cart ers sister, she would have seen a young jimmy carter and had many interactions with him. This is plains high school. This is where they would have attended first through 11th grade. Her first memory of going to school here is she made straight a as the first quarter. Went home and showed her dad and her mom the straight as and she, they were so proud of her. Her dad gave her a dollar for her accomplishments. Later on in the 7th dprad, a local business man had a contest for the student who had the best grade point average throughout the year. And whoever had that grade point average, he would xwif them a 5. In the 1920s and 30s, that was quite a bit of money and after that 7th grade year, miss rosalynn had won that 5 from a local business man. One of the activities that Rosalynn Carter would have been engaged in was basketball. She was so excited when she made the varsity team here. We have a picture of her in her uniform and her letter jacket. I think it was a very good accomplishment for her at the time. This is the Plains United Methodist Church and its right here on these steps where president carter asked miss rosalynn out on a date for the first time. Its also here where they got married. So its very special place for president and mrs. Carter and a special place for plains. So theres a look at some of the early life in georgia. Regina on twitter asks how did rosalynn and jimmy meet . Well, the park ranger said, they probably saw each other from a distance because rosalynn was a friend of ruth, his sister, but they seemed not to pay much attention to her, but as they got older and it became known he was goinging to go into the navy and travel around the world, i think she started the focus on him then the first date they had, which probably when she was about 17 and he was about 20, he went home and told his mother that he was going to marry rosalynn after the first date. It took him a while to convince her to marry him because she felt she was too young even though she was quite smitten with him. Until this event happened, apparently, they hadnt run into each other. They were three years apart, which may be reason. Married him at 19 . Yes, so she was a young bride. Was she ever able to finish college . She had i believe an Associates Degree to sou southwestern. Her mother went to that school and today, the school has a care giving Program Named after her and shes very active in that school. Grace, i want to ask the second part of the question. Were they both of the same religion as a launch fing point to talk about faith and religion in politics and their political rise. Well, they were always churchgoers. Growing up in plains. And in their married life, attending different church, depending on where they lived, but his aunt, her faith became really important when she was campaigning for National Office for the presidency. That was again, a a really interesting moment. A Pivotal Moment just like for womens rights. A moment when evangelical christians, more conservative theologically conservative christians, were really embracing the publics fear, coming out of a selfimposed e isolation and really taking up a public life and carter really spoke to them. A lot of people that would later find themselves as part of what we would call the new right or christian right. Some of those people, many of those people, voted for carter. And that was for some of them, the first time they voted in a National Campaign so they really foregrounded their faith. Especially after carters experience of becoming born again. They really put that at the center of their campaign. So the carters wed and Rosalynn Carter became a navy wife. What were those years like for her and talk about the birth of their sons. Well, he helped, he was very active in the submarine program. He helped develop the Nuclear Reactors for the us navy, but he was at sea a lot so they had three sons who were born while he was in the navy. I believe jack was born in portsmouth. Chip was born in hawaii and jeff was born in connecticut. So she had a lot of jobs raising the sons because jimmy was not around a lot of the time and she would run the family finances, which is a task she took on at the farm as well. So she was very busy. But she also enjoyed the opportunity to travel to all these great places. I think they really enjoyed l e living the life, for instance, it was a very special experience for them. So, jimmy carter was accepted into the Nuclear Submarine program. Working i believe with admiral high and rick over. The father of the Nuclear Submarine program. He leaves it. Why . Well, you know, i think the main reason is his father dies earlier than expected. His father, earl, was, passed wii way in 1953 and billy was too young to take over the farm. So it was kind of i guess a question that the farm might be lost to the family if he didnt go back then when he went back to his fathers funeral, he found out that his father had been more active in the community, helping poor people, giving loans to people who needed help and he had never realized that as a child and thought well, i could do more good back here. The thing is, he didnt consult with rosalynn on that question and she actually refuse d to tak to him on the trip and he said after that, he learned his lesson. He would never again make a major decision without consuling her. So here, she found herself back after a seeing the world but they put themselves full time into the peanut business and really used it as a way to grow and get around the state. How did that segway into their life in politics . Well, they started off getting involved in local politics. Its a well worn path and jimmy carter became involved, i believe, with the school board there. He used it as a jumping off point. Launching two campaigns for governor. The first wasnt successful and the second was. They really use d their rootedness in plains and i think their experience of the broader world coming together. Helped them to get into national politics. Lets invite our callers in, beginning with steve in ft. Myers, florida. Hi, steve. Youre on. Yes, good ooempk. I was fortunate to meet them in 1994. The reason they came to ft. Myers is the fact that we presented president carter with the audubon medal and this is because of his work to pass the alaska land act, which actually saved about 104 million acres of wilderness and i wondered if mrs. Carter had any affect on his Environmental Policies because she certainly wanted to put forth some information the president carter on some of these policies. Wanted to know how much of his Environmental Policies she wanted to have information about and to least make him form a certain policy. Was she a person concerned with Environmental Issues . They are both avid outdoors man. They always have been and will be. They both loved to fly fish, for instance, and so theyve always had this personal connection to rivers. When he was governor, protect ing the flint river was one of his priorities then he was involved in the environment in many ways. Theyre also serious they go actually around the world looking for species they havent seen before and have quite a notebook of Different Things thaf seen. After roosevelt and president nixon founded epa and passed the cleaner act. Carters sort of right up there behind them in most of the environmental rankings and both have this Great Respect for nature and the outdoors. Keith is watching ining us i greenville, indiana. Hi, susan, how are you . Very well. Whats your question for us . What was the reaction of president carter and the first lady when he lost election to reagan in 1980 . Youre fast forwarding for us, but what was the reaction . They were devastated. I dont really know what to add to that. Do you want to take that up . It was hard campaign. The election was not close, but until the last week or so, the polls showed it was an open race but i think both of them realized before election day itself that it was coming and it was, it was hard. She is very candid, doesnt try to cover up what she feels about things. Everybody tried to pretend they werent bitter, but i sure was. Obviously for anybody, what you put into run for the office and you put in to do that job, the its tough when you get a verdict like that from the vote e ers, but they come to peace with it. A have been able to make a great use for the rest of their lives. It was a fragile victory in 1976. It was a small victory. In some ways, a surprise victory. Before we leave there, steve on twitter wants to know what major accomplishments did they make for the state of georgia that maybe has been replicated by other states. Can you point to either of you . I think in georgia, there was a major reorganization of the functions of State Government so there would be fewer agencies. He was the first one to set up a film bureau to attract films that come to georgia, which has become a big thing. He was very active in International Promotion of Business Trade and the environment, which weve already mentioned. He only serve d one term as governor because at that time, the georgia constitution did not allow anybody to run for a second term, so thats why he only served the one term. I think one of the things thats interesting about his governorship is he really didnt run as particularly liberal on issues about racial integration and the civil, the legacy of the mass Civil Rights Movement that had rocked the south in the years leading up to, and even when he was first running for governor, for the first campaign. He really didnt run as that liberal along these issues, but once he became the governor and perhaps in part because he knew he wasnt going to have to run again in georgia, where a lot of voters were not, white voters were not going to support those kinds of views. He really made a tact, a turn, a tactical turn. Really nurtured the kcareer of young andy young and really began to really moderate what had been some pretty traditional views before that. Sheldon cooper has a question about race on the first lady. Growing up in the south during racially tense times, what views did rosalynn have . She was very impressed by lillian carter. I dont think weve mentioned lillian cart rer yet. Known as miss lillian. She was a nurse and where as the prevailing attitude was that africanamericans had to come through the back door, the schools were separate. As far as miss lillian was concerned, everybody was u equal and she tried to carry out her nursing responsibilities that way. And everybody saw that. And one of rosalynns sisters was named after miss lillian. So there was a respect for her. So even at this time although the prevailing culture was a segregated society, i think both grew up with a basic sense of fairness that said this isnt the way things ought to be. Then as they traveled around the world, theyve broadened their perspective. I would that had neither of them wsh amongst the white southerners that stood up against a kind of segregationist way of life. I mean, they may well have had their personal views that these things arent fair, but they were very quiet about those views and thats what i think is interesting about his governorship is thats when you start to see that kind of change in the carters. You have to distinguish between sort of joining the Civil Rights Movement, but they also supported even his father supported the sale of the land act of africanamericans. That was one of the major forms of discrimination pursue d. And earl carter actually sold some of his land to africanamericans then when carter ran for the school board and state legislature or the state senate, one of the issues was the closing of the schools over segregation and carter was, was very strong about not shutting down the schools. So within plains, those were the kinds of issues that were being debated at the time. Yeah but then he thought about endorsing George Wallace when he was running for president , so i think its a complicated story, but i think in the end, they make the journey and to me, thats whats interesting as a historian to watch the kind of change over time and the positions of the carters on these issues. Michael is in vicksburg, mississippi and youre on the air next. Hi, michael. Good evening. Two months ago marked the carters involvement in 30th anniversary of the habitat for humanity. I was want iing the know how di they become involved in that organization initially . Well, habitat, as you may know, was founded in americas georgia and its only seven miles from plains. So people that founded habitat were wellknown to the carters, friends of the cart ers carters they adwree to is that the organization could be used for fund raising and things like that. Then they spend one week a year working on projects. These are not just photo ops. They go out. Theyre both quite good with tools. So they go back to their first days of habitat and are still active. They spend 51 weeks a year working at the Carter Center, but they have made a major contribution to habitat. Z before we get into the white house year, we have add one more person to the story. Amy carter. She was born in 1967. They arrive at the white house with a young daughter and their son is off doing other things in their lives. But the inauguration was cast as peoples inaugural. We have video that became iconic at the time. The president and first lady getting out of their limousine and actually walking pennsylvania avenue. How important of symbolism was that . I think that was important in a lot of different ways. I mean in part, they were sort of prompted to do it. At least as ive heard a the story. You could jump in here if you want to, by a congressman interested in physical fitness issues, urged him to think about it. It became a desire of their desire to connect with people to not present themselves as kind of elites above the people. To really be in touch with ordinary americans. Thats really how it played out in terms of the inauguration and i believe shes spoken about people along the way just weeping as they walked by and shook hands and spoke to people. So it clearly was meaningful to people who were there. One other bit of symbolism, she wore the same gown for her president ial inaugural balls as she wore in georgia. Whats she trying to say . Well, i think they decided they wanted a less imperial presidency and the walking down pennsylvania avenue was an impressive thing because it was a surprise. The secret service only allowed this because it was kept secret. But its interesting because they, to some extent, disagree ed about some as peblts of the imperial presidency. He didnt want hail to the chief to be played at all and she thought he had overdone that. She thought maybe it ought to be played more. So he was very adamant about reducing the imperial nature of presidency. She thought we should do some, but not go so far. We saw on the clip the transition with the president and main street ford. This was a tough campaign. The fords were devastated by their loss and that mark struck a friendship after each were in office. Did rosalynn and betty ford have a friendship . Absolutely. The friendship really starts when president reagan had been wounded, you know, shot seriously, before the president was assassinated so he could not go to the funeral because of his condition, Vice President bush couldnt go. So he sent three president , nixon, ford and carter, and thats where they really bonded. The same thing happened with the first ladies. Mrs. Carter spoke at betty fords funeral. Susan ford was on the advisory committee. So theres a very close bond between the family and maybe part of it was they both went through the trauma of failing to be reelected. Now the white house was a busy spot because two of the sons and their wives and children moved in. R for part of the time. And amy was there then the nation also got introduced to miss lillian and to president carters brother, billy. Yeah. Miss lillian was really the celebrity. When the Democratic National convention was held in the summer of 1976, most of the delegates had already met the Carter Family. Except for miss lily. She was the Carter Family member that people hadnt met so the big push at the convention, can i meet lillian carter. It was exciting to be in Elementary School at this time. I grew up in georgia and to watch them go to the white house and for amy to grow up in the white house, it was a really exciting thing to watch if you were a kid and she seemed right there in the center of all the events and i remember thinking about that a lot as something that was really exciting. As a mother with a young child in the white house, how did she approach protecting young amy from the press, Public Interest . We have a photograph here coming down the stairs from the blare house. You can see how young u she is. How did they approach parenting . I think they felt all their kids should be able to have a private life if they wanted to and amy surgecertainly did. If youre a kid in the first family, youve got secret Service Protection so its hard to blend in, even if youd like to. I think the secret service recognized that and realized a child shouldnt be exposed to the kind of press their parents get. So i think it worked out well. But it was very hard the to move to washington. And then to have to move back. We have one photograph were going to put on the screen that struck most of us. This is amy carter going to school. And well put i wat on the scre here so you can see. The reporters on this little tiny character going off with her snoopy bag to school. They made a decision about Public School none the less even though yes. And the other thing i should say is that the carters were relatively young occupants of the white house, and then amy was very much the young daughter. So its a little unusual for a president its not unique, but its unusual for president s to have a daughter that young, so, it is kind of exciting for the whole country. She was 8, 9 9 when they moved in . Something like that. Yes. You know, the decision to send her to Public School was really, you know, was really a decision that many people commented on and it became very politicized. But it was really, in many ways, an example to the nation and in some ways a rebuke of a lot of white southerners who were sending their kids to segregated private schools at the time. Before we leave the family, i want to talk about billy carter, the president s brother, because he occasionally became a political issue for the president , in what ways . Well, he didnt seem to, you know, understand how a new, sort of pervasive Media Coverage was not necessarily going to be always his friend. But would you like to add to that . Yes, i mean one thing he got in trouble a lot. One thing with billy was that he was a little bit equivalent to amy, that hed been the last child. And so, theres a big age separation between the two brothers. Billy became an issue in 1980 over issues related to libya. There were all sorts of investigations, and no charges were ever filed or anything like that. But it did create some distractions during the at crucial points of the campaign in 1980. He also chose to try to commercialize the connection. Yes. Yes. I remember billy beer billy beer, yes. Yes. At that time. And so, what was did that strain the relationship with his older brother, the president . I dont think so. I mean, billy was a popular figure around plains. He you know, he had a good sense of humor, and hes a smart, smart guy. But he, of course he, you know, originally was going to take over the farm and run the farm, and then never did, you know, assume that position, so that had to be hard although he did end up running it a lot of times when they were off campaigning. Steven in louisville, kentucky. Hi, steven. Hello. And how are you all this evening . Good. Thank you. Well, i have a few things to say. First of all, this lady is a little bit special to me because i was born the first year that he was in the white house, and the week that i was born, they had the National Womens conference in houston, texas. And mrs. Carter and betty ford and lady bird johnson, as well as maya angelou and all those women convened. I think it was the first time that the u. S. Government ever sponsored an event like this for women in particular. I think its the only time, if im not mistaken. And i know that in particular on womens issues, carter was the first u. S. President at that time to appoint more women to office than any other person at that time. Some other things i wanted to add, the arts this administration was very good to the arts. In performance at the white house was started in 1979 on pbs. They hosted the First National poetry festival in 1980. And also, as far as her image is concerned, ive done some research on first ladies, and i know this lady is interesting, because i think out of all the recent first ladies, it seems like shes not as wellknown. And i think the reason is, is because she was so ahead of her time. She was so multifaceted in her approach as first lady. She didnt just stick to one issue. And i think the press really was upset with her because of that. Ok, id jump in at that point. Thanks very much. Obviously, youve studied and know a bit about this white house. What would you like to say to her . Well, youve highlighted a really important historical moment, and that is that National Womens conference was really a historic event. It was the first event of that kind that was put on by the government with the support of the president. And it was a real moment of the kind of mainstreaming or, you know, sort of broader acceptance of the goals of the womens movement. And it was really, really an amazing event. And its indicative of the kind of things that rosalynn did. I mean, she really did refuse to stick to one event. She championed womens rights, she campaigned for the era, and she also kept up her interest in issues like Mental Health that she had worked on back in georgia. And so, that i think is indicative of her sort of in many ways, creating a kind of modern first lady role. While she pursued her own causes, she also stayed very much involved in the president s issues, and, as we said at the outset, attended cabinet meetings. We have clips next to show you where both the president and the first lady talked about her participation in those cabinet meetings. So rosalynn and i arranged to have one official lunch together in oval office every week. So we would kind of postpone all the things that could be postponed that were official in nature that dealt with the government of the United States of america or International Affairs or health or welfare or housing or transportation, and we would discuss those things in our official meeting in the oval office once a week. When i learned, for instance, that rosalynn was still a little bit frustrated and not knowing enough about what was going on, as she was never hesitant to let frustrated and she hasnt changed since then i decided there would be nothing wrong with rosalynn attending the cabinet meetings. And so ive invited her to attend the cabinet meeting. She sat in the back of the room in an unobtrusive way. Nobody much knew she was there except me. I was constantly aware that my wife was watching me. What a lot of people dont know is that the cabinet meets and they have staff around the room. But i sat by max cleland, he was in a wheelchair and hes not a cabinet member, anyway. He was the head of Veterans Affairs when i sat by him next to the door. And i went every time i could that the cabinet met, because it was i thought it was necessary for me to know what was going on and why the decisions made and so forth. And so that i could explain to people in the country if as i toured around. And we have a photograph of the carters conferring. The late 1970s were a time of many challenges internationally and domestically. As weve done in many programs, we have a list of a number of the major issues during that time period to show you, to demonstrate what the president was working on, including some of these issues such as the panama canal treaty, the Energy Crisis and those of you who were around will remember the long gas lines that people suffered through. Inflation was high, and there was recession going on. Mortgages were in the high double digits at that time for homeowners. I mentioned the panama canal treaty, the camp david accords, the negotiation of the salt ii soviet missile treaty and of course, the big issue that framed the latter half of the Carter White House was the iranian hostage crisis. For her part, mrs. Carter was very much involved in Mental Health. And just one month after taking office, president carter created the Mental Health commission. How did mrs. Carter get involved in Mental Health issues . I think the Pivotal Point for her was when he was running for governor of georgia and so many of the people that came up to her on the campaign trail with things they want her to work on mentioned problems that they had in their family and particularly the stigma that was attached to Mental Health issues. And so, that was the beginning of it, and she had a very strong Mental Health program in georgia and then she had that at the white house. Let me take a call, and then well learn a little bit more about the announcement of the Mental Health commission. Barbara is watching us in nashville. Hi, barbara, youre on the air. Yes. This is barbara lavender. And in 1976, we were invited to the white house, cousins in the music business and we got invited to go to the white house. And then after that, the ladies got to go to see the congress, which you just mentioned, they were discussing the panama canal treaty. And it was just a great event. But that night, it was so it was just so wonderful, being at the white house and meeting with all the and it was a governors meeting as well. And then, we had done campaigning for president carter through some of the towns in alabama along with tammy wynette. And it was just a wonderful event, and we just really loved president carter and mrs. Carter. And they were just so gracious. Thanks very much. Well, we learned that her interest in the arts was much broader than just southern music, and national. But did they, in fact, reach out to that constituency as well . Well, it was interesting during the campaign, again, the expansion of the media during this time, a lot of musicians from the south endorsed carters campaign. And i think most interestingly. And perhaps forgotten today, southern rock was really at its peak. Capricorn records were headquartered in macon, and musicians like the allman brothers band were headquartered there in georgia. And a lot of those musicians became supporters of carter and helped spread the word of his campaign. So it was a broad interest in the arts. He listened to classical music, but he also had a they both also had an interest in more sort of vernacular southern music as well. The people who keep these kinds of statistics say that first lady carter had three dozen specific interviews with media organizations and had 22 press conferences during their term in office. Were going to see one of those instances when she talked to reporters after the president signed the executive order establishing the Mental Health commission. As you probably know, for the past year and a half, or a little more, i have campaigned all over the country. In my biographical sketch, i had a little paragraph that said that i was interested in Mental Health. And so, everywhere i went, if people had a good program, they wanted me to see it. I had a chance to see things happening all over this country that are good. I also had some things happening that i thought needed help. I hope, for the establishment of this commission, i know that we can give some of that help. We have a chance to do great things in our country. Well i thought until today that i was going to be the chairperson. And i got a little i got a little note from somebody that said according to the office of Legal Counsel of the department of justice and so forth, that prohibits a president for appointing a close relative, such as a wife, to a civilian position. A civilian position may be unpaid, as well as paid. Justices advise that the 20 members of the commission including the chair will, in fact, be serving in civilian positions. There is, however, no problem with you being designated as honorary chairperson. So im going to be a very active honorary chairperson. I intend to were going to have we have office space in the executive office building, which is very close. I will be spending many hours a week there. I will be traveling. I will be involved in the factfinding process, traveling over the country for hearings in the next six months. I intend to be active. Im watching that, and its something of appreciation for Hillary Clinton being involved in the Health Care Debate during their white house years. So this again, this evolution of the role of first lady, but it runs into legal limitations. Its a challenge. Its really a challenge. And its i think, particularly challenging during these years when rosalynn is trying to navigate these roles, because womens position in society as a whole is changing so rapidly across the 70s. And so, shes, you know, not only got to negotiate the difficulties of being the first lady in the media all the time, but also really a time when women themselves are very much disagreeing about what the proper role for women in society is and arguing about it. Its not just the time of feminism, after all its the rise of right conservative womens backlash against feminism and critique of it. And so, again, i think rosalynn has a difficult job there. On you can see in that clip that she wasnt going to let that legal opinion close her down. So she, you know, was able to do it, and, you know, had a great impact. You know, she was so committed to reducing stigma for mental illness, to getting it treated as a medical condition. And in her own sweet way, she was running that commission. And her issues really are still very much with us. I mean and recent Health Care Reform is just winning some of the goals that she was working on back in the 70s. Well, they she had a signature piece of legislation that made its way through the congress. Can you talk about what that did, and what its legislative trajectory was . Ok. Well, the Mental Health commission issued reports in 1977 and 1978, and then in 1980, you know, fairly late in the carter presidency, they passed the Mental Health bill, which was basically requiring that Mental Illnesses be treated like other illnesses. Interestingly enough, just in the last few weeks, that has made into the final rules of the Affordable Care act, and secretary sebelius came down to be with mrs. Carter to announce that at the Carter Center. So you have to have a lot of patience in the public sector, and she has been frustrated that more has not happened at a faster pace. But, again, i think grace said shes been ahead of her time on a lot of these issues and now, some of them are coming to fruition. We have a photograph of mrs. Carter testifying before a Senate Subcommittee on Mental Health issues. And from that, well take you to her talking in the present day in this interview she gave us in atlanta just recently about her disappointment about the legislation and what happened to it after it passed. Lets listen in. I got upset with the press, because they covered my Mental Health work the first few meetings i had. And then they never showed up anymore. And one of the things i wanted to do is bring attention to the issue and how terrible it was and what few services there were. And but and thinking, just getting it out in the public, thats what i did in georgia, developed a good program in georgia, by the way. But they just didnt come. And so, one day, i was walking in the down floor down floor in the white house and met this woman who was one of the press people. And i said, you dont ever cover my nobody ever covers my meetings in the she said, ms. Carter, Mental Health is just not a sexy issue. And that would and that i didnt like. But i never did get very much coverage for it. But we toured the country, found out what was needed to develop the legislation, and passed the Mental Health assistance act of 1980. It passed through congress one month before jimmy, as he says, was involuntarily retired from the white house, and the incoming president put it on a shelf, never implemented it. It was one of the greatest disappointments in my life. Thats Rosalynn Carter talking about her frustration with the implementation of the signature legislation of one of her major issues. You mentioned womens rights issues. She was also a big champion for the equal rights amendment to the constitution. They didnt have such Great Success with that. But you would you talk a little bit more about the backlash from the moral majority, as it was beginning it to grow as well, for womens rights issues in the country . Yes. Well, when the carters took office, you know, there were only four states still needed to ratify era, and rosalynn really got out there and campaigned. And it really looked like it would make it. But, again, to return us to that womens conference in houston, that was really a moment when the organization of the fight against era really became a kind of Public Public as well, and conservative women across the country had organized to get themselves elected as delegates to that womens conference. And they really began fighting back against what they saw as changes that they were not welcoming and really began to systematically campaign for era to be stopped, led by people like phyllis schlafly. So it was a it was a kind of a difficult time there. You know, in many ways, if you said that a that a woman from a small town in georgia, somebody like Rosalynn Carter with her background, would be a champion of era and it wouldnt pass, you would have been surprised by that. And i think she really gave it her all. She has also said that was a very disappointing loss for her as well, that that was not ratified. But the conservative women got really organized around the country and began to fight back. Jay hakes, i wanted to talk to you about the use of the white house which we have learned through the course of this series is a deadly serious political business and how president s choose to bring people in to the white house. And if you look at statistics during the carter years, the numbers are really impressive of people who were invited to official events at the white house. In 1977, 30,000, by 78, that had grown to 40,000, in 79, 85,000 and in the 1980, the election year, 100,000 official guests at events in the white house. How did they approach entertaining there . Well, very seriously. A lot of these have a serious purpose because if its a state dinner and you have the head of a foreign country, and if they were invited to a state dinner, it probably has some diplomatic purpose attached to it. And so, they served, you know, very fine american products, very fine wines. And you have to get all the protocol worked out. A lot of its to say thank you for people that have helped you in the campaign and then of course, in the election year, making sure youre touching all the bases. They had some pretty great events at the white house in 1980. One of the callers mentioned the poetry conference which they had in january, i believe. And then they had all the jazz greats came in for a long concert with eubie blake, and that was another stunning event. So, you know, as much as she was the modern first lady in adopting these big issues like Mental Health and era, she also knew that that didnt mean that she gave up the other part of it, was to make all this functions smoothly. And as grace mentioned, she had a very professional staff there to work with her, so that was a big asset. And for the record, the Carter White House was a no hard liquor white house. Well, i think that was more of a budgetary thing than it was aesthetics. They figured they could get better wines and better food if they didnt serve hard liquor. But, yes, that was one way of doing it. They had to do this on a small budget. So, you know, the fact that youre doing more events doesnt mean you have more money to do them. So you do have to have be cost conscious about it. But also, i think that it was part of where they were from, their kind of background. They didnt many people in the south, smalltown south, white and black, who are people of faith, do not drink. And it was also a part of who they were, and they brought that with them to the white house. And i think that was, you know, a cultural issue and also, again, a kind of class choice, you know, this isnt going to be an elite atmosphere. Were going to were going to have more of the peoples white house, and that was part of what they saw as something that they want to promote. In this next clip, mrs. Carter talks about the medias reaction to this peoples white house and what she saw as southern antisouthern bias in the media. Lets listen. There is a bias against southerners, there was. I never would say that out loud when we were there, because i didnt want to think it and i didnt want other people to think it. But you had to keep proving yourself over and over. It didnt matter what you did. You have Great Successes, and then you had to prove yourself again for the next success. And i think it was, you know, i wasnt supposed to be sophisticated enough or something. But, you know, who wants to be sophisticated, i dont know. I think there is a little bit of bias about the south. I remember after jimmy was elected, there was a whole page cartoon in the Washington Post of the Carter Family, jimmys mother, me, and there were haystacks. We had on straw hats and there was straw between our teeth. [ laughter ] and then i went from that to being steel magnolia. But i thought that was pretty good, because steel is tough and magnolia is southern, so and then i was fuzzy. I was fuzzy for a while. And then i was most powerful. So i had a full range of images. Was she correct . Was there an antisouthern bias in the media while they were in the white house . I think that she was correct. But, i mean, most people that had not that are not from the south had a kind of opinion of who white southerners were that were shaped by the medias coverage of civil rights unrest and protest and violence. And i think that many people had those kinds of assumptions that were not from the south. I should clarify and i dont know what she meant when she said bias against southerners, but it would certainly have been more of a bias against whites then against africanamerican southerners in kind of National Media environments. And it was also a time period when images of white southerners were all over popular culture. You had all kinds of Television Series as the Andy Griffith show, petticoat junction, you know, all kinds of series across the 60s and into the 70s, you know, making comedy out of white southerners rural lives. And so thats part of it as well. On this concept of acceptance in the public image, she wrote in her memoirs, image, however, did become an annoyance that wouldnt go away. I thought that if i were working productively and accomplishing something worthwhile, the image would take care of itself. Wrong. I learned that labels are easy to come by and hard to overcome. Besides the press, we should ask you to talk about the carters expectance by the national or the washington establishment. The georgians come to town campaigning as the outsiders against the political establishment, how did the establishment react . Well, i think, you know, one, i would say, that no president or first lady has probably ever been totally satisfied with how they were covered in the press or how they were accepted in washington. You know, look at poor president ford who is pictured as someone who tripped over himself all the time, when hed been an intercollegiate athlete. But, you know, they did you know, they did try to work around the Washington Press corps to some extent. They felt like they could go directly to the press, the local press at the state and local level, and not deal so much with washington. You know, president carter sold off the sequoia which was this great boat where they would take people they were trying to influence in the congress and other people down this nice boat trip down the potomac river. So, you know, they didnt do some of the traditional things that had been expected, again, related to this thing about getting away from the imperial presidency. So, you know, there were some rough relations there. You know, hamilton jordan, his brilliant aide, had made some comment about they werent going to bring in these washington types into the administration. Well, they did end up bringing in people like cy vance and other capable people, but there was always a tension there. Michaels in washington d. C. Hi, michael. Youre on. Yes, susan. I wanted to follow up on the comment you made about hard liquor. Now, is it my understanding that mrs. Carter grew up United Methodist and president carter grew up southern baptist, and there really wasnt is a distinction there with evangelical. And the second part of it is, did they attend the First Baptist of washington, d. C. , when they were in d. C. Or i know they attended st. Johns episcopal, where all the president s go to church. Its my understanding that after they married, they mostly attended Baptist Churches and did attend First Baptist, but you might be able to clarify that. I think thats the place i cant swear that, but im sure thats im pretty sure that they did attend First Baptist. But some of their one of their sons joined the church first, and then they followed them there. Today, they attend Maranatha Church in plains, which welcomes visitors on sunday. And president carter still teaches a sunday school class that the public is welcome to attend. So you go to plains and go to church, you could have a lesson from the former president. Thats right. I need to move because im running out of time, but i want to get in an important part of her work as first lady, and that is representing officially of the United States overseas. And in 1977, she was asked to represent the president and the country in a trip to jamaica, costa rica, ecuador, peru, brazil, colombia and venezuela. And on her return to the United States, she spoke to reporters with president carter looking on. Were going to show you that clip next. I bring you greetings from latin america and the caribbean. Ive done this for two weeks and i couldnt resist. But, seriously, it was a good trip. This morning in venezuela, president perez said to me that jimmys pan american day speech and my visit to latin america had opened new paths in interamerican relations. Instead of the paternalism that has characterized the past, we are ready and eager to develop, balanced, natural, normal and equal relationships. I found goodwill and friendship everywhere i went. They love you in the caribbean and in latin america. And every head of state that i spoke with without exception agreed with me on the importance of cooperating and consulting closely on the issues that concern you, jimmy, and that concern us all, human rights, nuclear nonproliferation, economic development, arms control. I think weve made progress in all of these areas. Im glad to be back home. Im glad to be with amy and with jimmy. Im going to convey all of this information that i have to jimmy. In fact, i look forward to consulting closely with him on a regular basis. [ laughter ] at the onset of that clip, she spoke spanish. You have a little story about her spanish lessons. Well, she started learning spanish when she was in the Governors Mansion in georgia. She and jimmy took a trip to latin america to promote business relationships with georgia with various countries in latin america, and they really began to study spanish. And apparently, she really stuck with it. And one of the things that they would do is read the bible with each other at the end of the day, and she would they would take turns sometimes reading bible verses to each other in spanish. And then, of course, there was her Important Role as the hostess for the camp david summit between antagonistic parties as they were trying to reach agreement. What role did she play during that . And, just following on the last clip, what was the Public Acceptance in these countries of the first lady coming to represent the u. S. . Well, you know, first on latin america, i think it was that trip was somewhat misunderstood both in this country and abroad. That was a very substantive trip, because president carter was trying to send a message, its a new day for human rights. Just because youre an ally doesnt mean you can lock up political prisoners. You cant deliver that message publicly, because people react against it. So by having her deliver it, it was more effective. And at camp david, the feeling president carter had gotten the cia to develop these very fine profiles of the participants, and he knew what made them tick. And so, he felt like they would all perform a lot better if their wives were there. And mrs. Sadat couldnt come, but she was in frequent phone contact with anwar sadat, and mrs. Begin was there, and mrs. Carter was there for the vast majority at the time. So their being there was had a very specific purpose, that they were talking about things that would affect their grandchildren and their families, and having the spouses there would be a positive. And i think it turned out to be that way. Connies watching us in walnut creek, california. Hello, connie. Connie, are you there . Susan yes, i am. Thank you. Mrs. Carter had strong views certainly about passage of the equal rights amendment. Im wondering, since that time, what her view is of the progress that women have made in politics and just in generally in society. And has she ever made any comment about whether a woman could or should be elected president of the United States . Thanks so much. Do you know the answers to those questions . I think she thinks its overdue to have a woman as president of the United States. I mean, the carters today are still involved to some extent in this fight because some parts of the Baptist Church dont allow woman to be pastors or deacons, and the carters have withdrawn their memberships from those churches. So and president carters next book is going to be about the rights of women around the world. So theyre still working on these issues. But i think theyre very proud. The carters appointed a lot of women to the judiciary. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Appeals Court by president carter, elevated to the Supreme Court by president clinton. And, you know, i think she recognizes theres been a lot of progress made, and they were able to be part of that progress. Of course, 444 days of the Carter Administration and this country were consumed with the americans that were held hostage at the u. S. Embassy in iran. In our interview with mrs. Carter, she spoke about those days and how challenging they were. It was awful. I look back now, i have memories of just waiting for the press conference in iran to say what happened that day because we had no idea what was going on. And the only way we knew what was going on was when they would come out and announce it. And so and it was just, you know, thinking about and thinking we met with the families all along and thinking about the people whose family members were there and what it was doing to jimmys presidency, and it was awful. It was awful. But and i would go out. I would go out and campaign. I had found out earlier that i could when a president goes out, hes so surrounded that people, he speaks to them, he says hello and so forth, but he doesnt get close enough to people to have conversations, you know, just normally, like you would otherwise. About what their hopes and dreams or what they thought about what i was doing or what jimmy was doing, anything that could help them. I had learned that early when jimmy was during his presidency. And but i would go out and everybody would say, tell the president to do something and tell him to hes got to do something. I would come home and i would say, why dont you do something . And he said, what do you want me to do . Do you want me to mine the harbors . Which a lot of people were talking about. He said, and then have them bring out one prisoner every day and hang them in public . Well, maybe thats not the best thing to do. And what you know, i wanted it over. And of course, he did too, everybody did, i mean, the people in the country. Every night a new tv program started, and nobody got over it at all. I mean, could get over it, or just think about it, because it was every day, every night. It was awful. Grace hale, earlier, you commented on the role of the Television Media in shaping images of the presidency. Here, we have a situation where every night, what became nightline was, america held hostage, counting down the days. What was the role of the media in focusing the country on this situation in iran . Well, we tend to think of our own day as uniquely the medias uniquely interactive and everywhere and pervasive. And, in fact, there was a real kind of advance in the 70s in the coverage that the media could do and their access to footage and how quickly they could get things on the air. Real leaps forward were made. And you really saw that around the iranian hostage crisis, not only because it was being reported in what, as you said, the show that would become nightline was on the air every night, talking about the crisis, but also in the ways that the iranian themselves were able to use the media to their own advantage to publicize what was going on from their end and to, in some ways, insert themselves into that kind of media conversation that maybe in an earlier era, the u. S. Would have really been able to dominate. And so, thats part of that story as well. And jay hakes, its ironic, sad i dont know what the description is, but today another event that cspan televised, one of many thats been happening over the past few weeks, discussing the accord possible accord with the iranians over nuclear proliferation. Here it is, all these years later, and were still talking about relationships with that country. I wonder i know the Carter Library and center have had many conversations about the middle east in the years ensuing, has the president and those who worked on in his cabinet looked back and say, we should have done something differently here. Well, on iran specifically, i think president carter felt vindicated because the hostages got out alive. You know, there was a choice between using military force which would have been more popular with the public, as mrs. Carters comments suggested, but a high likelihood that a lot of hostages would have been killed, or use punishing economic sanctions and then they eventually all get out alive. Were replaying that same kind of debate today. Obviously, with camp david, camp david was an early step. And i think president carter would have liked more time to expand to deal with the other issues between the arabs and israel, but he didnt have time to do that. So i think that he would have liked more time to work on that issue. But i think he turned out on iran i think as the hostages have looked back on it over the years, they feel that probably the approach he took was the best one for protecting their safety. David is in chicago. Youre on the air. Hi, david. Hi. Good evening. A general question about the relationship between the reagans and the carters. And specifically, i thought i remembered hearing president carter once state that president and mrs. Reagan never invited the carters back either for a state dinner in eight years or that they werent even invited back for the unveiling of their official white house portraits. Is that true . I dont know. Id be a little surprised by that because president reagan came down to the opening of the Carter Library in 1986 and gave a very gracious speech. So at least to that extent, you know, expresident s do and president reagan met with president carter before he sent him off to represent the United States at the sadat funeral. So there may not have been a lot of contact, but there certainly was some. You talked earlier about the 1980 campaign, the carters faced a challenge in the primary from senator ted kennedy. What were some of the issues in addition to the iranian hostage crisis that were framing the debate . Mrs. Carter talked about going out to campaigning. What was she facing with the public . Well, one of the main things she was facing was a pretty fractured Democratic Party. There were divisions within the party, a kind of traditional base in the Labor Movement that the carters had really never been particularly strong on that front or super connected with the large union movement. The liberal wing of the party, obviously represented by ted kennedy, not particularly happy with the carters. In some ways, the carters were the they were the candidates that sort of threaded through the middle of all of these factions within the Democratic Party. And so, the economic decline of the second half of the 70s would be one thing that she would be facing out there on the campaign trail. It was a really interesting time in our national life. The economy didnt necessarily go down for everybody, but for industrial workers, working class americans, it was a really, really tough time. And so, that would have been something she would have faced. Where did the carters go after losing the white house . Well, they moved back to plains and to sort of plan the rest of their life. They were pretty young to be out of the white house. And eventually, they came up with the idea of the Carter Center, still a part of emory university. And from there, they were able to launch a whole new career working on some of the same issues, but to continue to have a very big impact both in this country and around the world. Rosalynn carter, in this interview, talks about her their postwhite house legacy. Its important to say their because they were very much partners in all of this. Yes. Lets listen to how she thinks their years after the white house have been framed and what theyd like to be remembered for. And remember, as of right now, jimmy carter is the longest serving expresident in history. So theres a lot of years since they left the white house, and theyve stayed involved in issues. Lets watch. I hope my legacy continues more than just first lady because Carter Center has been an integral part of our lives i would think. And our motto is waging peace, fighting disease and building hope. And i hope that i have contributed something to Mental Health issues and helped improve a little bit of people the lives of People Living with Mental Illnesses. But i also hope, i mean, i have had great opportunities for so long there. And to go to africa or one of those countries we have programs in we have programs in 77 countries. And we go to africa two or three times a year. And to go to those villages, and now things are coming to fruition weve been working on all these years, like weve almost eradicated guinea worm. I mean, to go to a village where theres no longer guinea worm, it is a celebration. I mean, one of the good things about the Carter Center is we dont give money to the government. We send people in to teach, to help people in that country how to do something. And we work with the people in the villages, with and the Health Department does too, and we work with them. And they do the work. I mean, just to go to a village and explain to them about guinea worm, if you can get the chief to approve thats what you have to do. But if they see that, or hear about it from another country, theyre so happy youre there. But just to see to go back, when its gone from a village or almost gone, and the hope gives to them, that most of the time, its the first thing they have ever seen that was successful. And its just so wonderful, just to see the hope on their faces that something good is happening. I didnt mean to get emotional. Will you comment some more about their approach to their postpresidency, their postwhite house years . Well, these are pretty epic stories when you look at them closely, because when the carters started working on guinea worm in the 1980s, there were 3. 5 million cases around the globe. And this is a very debilitating disease. The worm grows within the body and people cant go to school or work in the fields. And the last official number i saw was 542 cases, and i think its actually a little but lower than that. Its just now in four countries, i think, mali, chad, ethiopia and sudan. So this is a remarkable achievement. Its going to be the second disease after smallpox to be eliminated from the face of the earth. She didnt mention election monitoring, but theyve now monitored elections, i believe in 37 countries. And many of those countries more than once. And, countries like indonesia, liberia, theyve helped sort of nurture them as theyve gone through several election cycles. And then, liberia is a perfect example. Theyve not only moved to democracy, where they elected the first woman president in an african country. But they had no Mental Health care. So the Carter Center organized a program where they train Mental Health nurses. And now, with the cadre of nurses that theyve developed over several cycles of that, most of the country is now covered with basic professional help. So it when you start im just scratching the surface, but when you start to see all of these Different Things going on around the world, because they can open that door as expresident and exfirst lady and its still going on. It hasnt stopped. They you know, president carter was in nepal last week for their elections there. And he is now 89 years old . Correct. And the first lady is 86, i believe. Well, lauren is in elizabethtown, north carolina. Hi, lauren. You are on. Hello. Good evening. I was wanting to know the relationship that ms. Carter had with the late betty ford. Well, they became very good friends, and they worked on the era together as weve mentioned. And they communicated a lot, worked on projects together. And, as i mentioned earlier, mrs. Carter gave a very nice eulogy at betty fords funeral. So they the ford family and the Carter Family became very good friends. And, of course, betty ford, because of her candor, had sort of taken a step forward for first ladies as well, and i think that made it a little easier for later first ladies to speak out and say what they actually thought. And the carters have concentrated on humanitarian issues and globally. But im wondering about the relationship with the Democratic Party. After leaving the white house after a trouncing in the 1980 election, how welcomed were they by the National Party and what was their role . Well, you know, immediately after that kind of defeat, thats not those arent the people youre going to send out on the campaign trail or raising money. So the Democratic Party wasnt super embracing of the carters after that defeat, but it seems that it came around in time. I mean, the whole Democratic Party ended up across the 80s, going in a more moderate direction, and really pulling back from some of its you know, moving away from its more liberal wing, and thats represented in the presidency of bill clinton. And so, in some ways, again, the carters were just a little bit maybe ahead of their time. The Democratic Party seems to have ended up coming around to a lot of the issues that maybe some democrats werent thrilled with him about at the time. Ashantics on twitter asked, does Rosalynn Carter feel that her husband received the credit he deserved for his accomplishments as president . No. Does any first lady ever, i might add . No, you know, its you know, i think if you look at what president carter did, take panama canal treaty, for instance, that was something that was not at all popular at the time, but has opened up the whole range of positive developments in latin america. And mrs. Carter would often caution him, you know, be careful politically a little bit here, because you do want to get a second term. But they didnt want to wait for the second term, so they sort of moved ahead and knocked off of a pretty long list of accomplishments. But they did so as and again, i think grace mentioned this earlier, when youre doing this with high interest rates, you know, we talk in iran about the hostages, but the other thing that happened with iran was the cut off in oil supplies from the middle east, which then raises oil prices, which raises inflation, which raises interest rates. So iran was this double whammy. Not only did we have the hostages in captivity but we had this inflationary economy which no incumbent president wants to have in their election year. And, really, the severest down turn in the economy since the depression of in recent history, so in the time after world war ii. Until 2008. Yes. Yes, i meant before before recent times. David welch on facebook wants to know, where the carter children now and what are they doing . Did any pursue politics . Well, jack, the oldest son, did run for the u. S. Senate as the democratic nominee in nevada a couple cycles ago and he lives in nevada. And his son, who is the oldest carter grandchild, jason, is running for governor in the state of georgia. Hes currently a state senator. Chip lives in the atlanta area. Jeff and amy both live in the atlanta area, so three of them are sort of close to home and jacks out in nevada. And could you also comment about the grandson who made news during the last president ial campaign by unearthing the romney video, changed the direction of that campaign. This is a child who was in the inaugural parade but he was in his mothers womb. He is chips son. And he is a master of the internet and uncovered the candidate romneys speech about the what, the 47 , was it . So he sort of got in in the news as a member of the Carter Family. Do we know his grandparents reaction to what happened in that campaign as a result of it . I think they were pleased. We have one more video about six minutes left in our program and this is plains and the carters life there after the white house. Lets watch. After the white house, mrs. Carter took great interest in downtown plains. One of her projects was to help restore and refurbish the plains inn and antique mall. Each room in the inn is dedicated to a decade in president and mrs. Carters life from 1920 to 1980. Another one of mrs. Carters additions to downtown plains is the Rosalynn Carter butterfly garden, established april 2013. Mrs. Carter established her garden to bring awareness to preserving butterflies, their habitats, and for her love of nature. This is the maranatha Baptist Church. This is where president carter and mrs. Carter attend pretty much every sunday theyre in town. This is where president carter still teaches sunday school, and ms. Rosalynn is a deacon here at the church. I think plains plains is home, you know. I mean, everybody has some place they call home, and for the carters, plains, georgia is home. They could have they could have traveled anywhere after the white house and pretty much settled anywhere, but they wanted to come home. And i think that speaks volumes of the way they think about plains. They love it here. The person who is our interpreter there is the National Park service. Could you talk about the preservation of plains by the federal government through the National Park service and what one would find if they visit there . Yes. The National Park service runs the historic site, and its got several parts to it. Theres the carter boyhood home which is kind of a working farm now. Its a fairly large farm, and you can walk through the house there and have interpretation. Then his Old High School or their Old High School has become kind of a museum, and you can walk through there. Their home they live in now is being deeded to the National Park service. So its well worth a trip to south georgia. You can go through warm springs and learn about fdr. When you get there, you can attend sunday school, stay in the plains inn and visit the historic site. Youre off the beaten path. Its plains is not terribly close to an interstate. But for people who are president ial and history junkies, its a trip well worth making. And the carters, i understand, have chosen plains rather than the Carter Center for their final burial place. Thats correct. You know, theres only two president s im aware of in the sort of the postworld war ii whove gone back to their own hometown. The trumans went back to independence and the carters went back to plains, and they will be buried on the family compound there. Keith is in greenup, illinois. Hi, keith. Youre on. Hello. My question was, if im remembering correctly, ive seen News Coverage of when the carters have kind of intertwingled with the clintons with this habitat of humanity, and im just curious, do they currently do anything with the obamas . Do the carters do anything with the obamas . Well, you know, i think, sure, they have some interaction. We had a picture there earlier of them together at the white house. But president carter sort of marches to his own drumbeat, and, you know, he has views that are very strong about the middle east and other things. But, you know, the expresident s do hang out. Theres a book called the president s club that came out a year or two ago which gives you a lot of behindthescenes look at how the president s interact. And theres a lot of different facets to it. Sometimes, people were together, sometimes they dont. So as we close out here, regina crumkey wants to know, do rosalynn and jimmy still travel and take on new causes . Well, they have this basic set of causes on which they travel extensively. And theyre i mean, theyre going to like the poorest countries of the world. You know, the chads and the malis, you know, make india and other countries look very wealthy. So they still do travel a lot. But they focus on the causes they have to produce the result that theyre trying to achieve. So Mental Health, election monitoring, peace negotiations, river blindness, these are sets of things theyve been working on for a long time and theyre achieving a lot of success. As we close out here, Gary Robinson wants to know, what is the publics perception of the carters time as the carters, as time has passed since their presidency and will it improve more over time . As a historian, can you anticipate the future . Not in our greatest strength as historians, to anticipate the future, but i will say that its been a very successful postpresidency. In many ways, theyve reinvented that job, and it doesnt seem like its going to stop here in their later years. But as a historian, looking back on their on their time in the white house oh, okay. Has Public Perception of that changed in the ensuing decades . You know, i think perhaps the jurys still out. I mean, its not seen as the most successful presidency of the postwar era. But, at the same time, trying to change some of the directions of events, promote some of the issues that he was promoting like energy conservation, energy independence, the spread of democracy in various parts of the world, those are important issues still today. And what about her legacy as first lady . She generally has ranked in the top five or the top 10, depending on which poll you use. Eleanor roosevelt is always at the top and then below that theres some fluctuation. I think in his case, hes not rated as highly as she is by a lot of the traditional polls. On the other hand, he was rated as one of the top three president s in history on the environment, and theres a theres a libertarian book out that ranks him in the top 10, which is interesting, coming from that source. So i think the jury is still out. You know, papers are still being declassified, people are still getting the broader perspective. And hopefully, people will keep having these kinds of discussions. How much of her papers did she preserve for the public . Well, shes got a lot. She took very extensive notes and diaries, and theres a lot of private comments in there. And in general, those are still havent been available to historians. So she is a great documenter. She is a good historian herself. Her memoirs of the white house years is something that i always recommend to people. Its you can still get copies. In fact, i have one here. Its first lady from plains, and it is one of five books that mrs. Carter has authored or coauthored in her years since the white house. Thats it for our time. And i want to say thank you to our partners at the White House Historical association for their continuing help in producing the series. And well also have a list of many of the others who made this particular installment possible. And thanks to our two guests, jay hakes and grace hale, for their information and your conversation with our audience tonight. Thanks for your time. Great. Thanks. Thanks for having me. If you enjoyed watching first ladies, pick up a copy of the book, first ladies influence and image, featuring profiles of the nations first ladies through interviews with top historians. Now available in paper back, hard cover, or as an ebook. Tonight on American History tv beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, a look at the lives of nancy reagan and barbara bush. Cspan in cooperation with the White House Historical association produced a series on the first ladies examining their private lives and the public roles they played. First ladies influence and image features individual biographies of the women who served in the role of first lady over 44 administrations. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3 exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, saturday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern on oral histories, an interview with Courtland Cox and serving as the secretary general of the 1974 aft african congress. The 1963 nbc news report, the American Revolution of 63. A program on the status of the Civil Rights Movement from protests from albany, georgia, cambridge, maryland, and in the northern cities of englewood, new jersey, chicago and brooklyn. At 7 00 p. M. , a discussion on congress, Political Parties and polarization with historians as well as political scientists. At 8 00 p. M. On the presidency, officer andrew cohen talks about his book two days in june, about june 10th and 11th, 1963, that defined jfks response to the Nuclear Arms Race and civil rights. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3
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