FLOTUS: Eleanor Rosalynn Carter Part II

 

Personal life

Marriage and family

Their families were already acquainted when Rosalynn first dated Jimmy Carter in 1945 while he was attending the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. She became attracted to him after seeing a picture of him in his Annapolis uniform. The two were riding in the back seat of the car of Ruth Carter Stapleton's boyfriend when Jimmy surprised Rosalynn by kissing her. This was the first time that Rosalynn had ever allowed a boy to do so on the first date. Rosalynn agreed to marry Jimmy in February 1946 when she went to Annapolis with his parents. The two scheduled their marriage to take place in July and kept the arrangement secret. Rosalynn resisted telling her mother she had chosen to marry instead of continuing her education. On July 7, 1946, they married in Plains. The marriage canceled Rosalynn's plans to attend Georgia State College for Women, where she had planned to study interior design.

The couple had four children: John William "Jack" (b. 1947), James Earl "Chip" III (b. 1950), Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff" (b. 1952), and Amy Lynn (b. 1967). Due to Jimmy's military duties, the first three were born in different parts of the country and away from Georgia. During those duties, Rosalynn watched over and enjoyed the independence she had gained from raising the children on her own. However, their relationship faced its first major crisis when she opposed Jimmy's resignation to return to Plains in 1953 after he learned his father was dying. Jimmy reflected that she "avoided talking to me as much as possible" as a result of his decision and would interact with him through their children. They were fans of the New York Yankees until the Braves moved to Atlanta. [89] They said they never went to bed arguing with each other.

In 1953, after her husband left the Navy, Rosalynn helped run the family peanut farm and warehouse business, handling accounting responsibilities. Around this time, yearning for another child, the Carters discovered Rosalynn had physical ailments preventing pregnancy. She underwent surgery to remove a large tumor from her uterus 12 years later. Her obstetrician confirmed she could have another child, and their daughter Amy was born thereafter. Rosalynn had different relationships with each member of Jimmy's family. Becoming friends with his sister, who was two years younger than she, Rosalynn gave her dresses she had outgrown. However, she and Jimmy's mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, had difficulty living together.

In later years, the couple rode two and a half miles a day on three-wheel electric scooters, and they read the Bible aloud to each other in Spanish before they retired to bed each night.

Since 1962, the year her husband Jimmy was elected to the Georgia State Senate, she has been active in the political arena. Carter backed Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election, which she stated put her and her family at odds with other Georgians and caused them to develop a closeness with each other over shared values that others opposed.

Jimmy thoroughly consulted with Rosalynn before he mounted a bid for Governor of Georgia in 1966. She traveled to multiple towns throughout the state with promotional materials, visited multiple establishments such as radio stations and newspaper offices, and attended civic organization meetings. In one encounter, she tried endorsing her husband to a man in Washington, Georgia, the latter declaring his support for Republican candidate Bo Callaway before spitting on her. Rosalynn would later describe the encounter as the "worst political experience of my life." Summarizing the race, Carter wrote, "This was brief and rushed campaign, but we all learned many things that were helpful to us later." The 1966 gubernatorial campaign began a new interaction between the Carters, with Rosalynn determining that she would know her husband's positions on issues and be informed.

The month after the election, Jimmy Carter began campaigning for the 1970 Georgia gubernatorial election. In this campaign, Rosalynn made speeches, which she had not done in prior campaigns. The Carters were separated for most of their travels, and she also began writing speeches for the first time in her political involvement. When she met a Carter campaign worker who confided in Rosalynn that her daughter had a mental illness, the sight of the exhausted woman haunted Carter and became a factor in her eventual focus on mental health. Jimmy would later disclose that the couple's Georgia years were when they became "keenly aware of the unmet needs of people in our state who suffered from mental and emotional disabilities."

Mary Prince (an African American woman wrongly convicted of murder, and later pardoned) was Amy's nanny for most of the period from 1971 until Jimmy Carter's presidency ended, partly thanks to Rosalynn's belief in Prince's innocence.

Health

In April 1977, Carter underwent surgery to remove a nonmalignant breast tumor.

In August 1977, Carter had a gynecological procedure at Bethesda Naval Hospital, her press secretary Mary Hoyt describing it as a routine private matter.

In May 2023, the Carter Center announced that Carter had been diagnosed with dementia. The statement also noted that she continues to live at home with her husband – who remains in hospice care as of the time of this announcement – "enjoying spring and visits with loved ones".

Activism

The Carter Center

After the Carters left the White House in 1981, Rosalynn and Jimmy continued to lead a very active life. In 1982, she co-founded The Carter Center, a private, not-for-profit institution based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Carters returned to the home they had built in 1961 in Plains, Georgia. She is a member of the Center's Board of Trustees and participates in many of the Center's programs, but gives special attention to the Mental Health Program. Carter and her husband fell into serious debt immediately after leaving the White House but were able to alleviate this by writing projects and were able to open the Carter Center from their revenue. She, like Betty Ford before her, would say the American people made a mistake in not reelecting her husband and was bitter over the election. At this time she expressed resentment of Ronald Reagan and even told interviewer Mike Wallace that he was ruining the country. Rumors at this time spread that she was running for Governor of Georgia, which she denied and outright stated she had no political ambition. When asked nearly two decades later why she had not run for Georgia Senate after Hillary Clinton was pondering to run, she responded "What would I have done in Washington, with Jimmy in Georgia?"

Rosalynn and her husband's first major project with the Carter Center was to help in peace between Israel and its neighbors. The two visited the Middle East in March 1983 worked with Kenneth W. Stein and other associates of the Carter administration, and invited top leaders from a wide range of cities and countries to participate. This included the Palestinian community, Jordan, Syria and Egypt.

 

In the early summer of 1986, she and her husband aided the poor by helping to build homes on the North and West sides of Chicago. The two were accompanied by members of Habitat for Humanity as they wielded hammers and saws while working for a week to construct homes in a vacant lot. The Carters removed themselves and the Carter Center in 1991, from direct involvement in the Middle East at the time that President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker became more active. However, they did monitor the Oslo Peace Agreement of 1993, which sprung from the President and Secretary of State's bringing Palestinians and other parties involved in the matter at a conference in Madrid.

Mental health advocacy

In April 1984, she became an Honorary Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and serves as a board member emeritus of the National Mental Health Association. In 1985, she started the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy. The launch and its proceeds allowed representatives of mental health organizations to come together and collaborate on prominent issues. The success of the Symposium led to the creation of the Mental Health Program in 1991. Carter established the Mental Health Task Force that same year to guide the Symposia as well as other Mental Health programs. Rosalynn became chair of the International Women Leaders for Mental Health in 1992. Three years later, she was honored with the naming of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Georgia Health Forum.

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism provide stipends to journalists to report on topics related to mental health or mental illnesses. The one-year fellowship seeks to promote public awareness of mental health issues, as well as to erase the stigma associated with them. In September 2004, Carter met with the recipients of the eighth annual Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism at the Carter Center.

In 2007, Rosalynn Carter joined with David Wellstone, son of one-time U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, in pushing Congress to pass legislation regarding mental health insurance. She and Wellstone worked to pass the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 which requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses when policies include both types of coverage. Bothh testified before a House subcommittee regarding the bill in July 2007.

Legislation requiring parity in health insurance coverage for treatment of mental illnesses was ultimately passed and signed into law in October 2008.

Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving

Rosalynn Carter is president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, her alma mater in Americus, Georgia. The RCI, which was established in 1987, aims to address issues related to caregiving in America and internationally. The institute focuses its work on both family and professional caregivers for individuals living with chronic illness and disabilities, limitations related to aging, and other health concerns across the lifespan. It plays a major role in moving science into practice for caregivers by supporting the implementation of evidence-based programs and interventions for caregivers in community settings. The inaugural Rosalynn Carter Institute Gala Celebration of Caregivers took place in June 2004 in Symphony Hall and featured Carter presenting bronze medallions to award winners.

Advocacy for women and children

In 1977, Rosalynn Carter was a speaker at the 1977 National Women's Conference among other speakers including Betty Ford, Bella Abzug, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Audrey Colom, Claire Randall, Gerridee Wheeler, Cecilia Burciaga, Gloria Steinem, Lenore Hershe,y and Jean O'Leary.

In 1988, Rosalynn Carter convened with three other former first ladies—Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon—at the "Women and the Constitution" conference at The Carter Center to assess that document's impact on women. The conference featured over 150 speakers and 1,500 attendees from all 50 states and 10 foreign countries. The conference was meant to promote awareness of sexual inequality in other countries and fight against it in America.

Rosalynn Carter served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project (TAP) of The Carter Center, addressing social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide.

In 1991, Rosalynn Carter launched Every Child by Two, a nationwide campaign that sought to increase early childhood immunizations along with Betty Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas. Rosalynn Carter serves as President of the organization and Bumpers as Vice President. The campaign's launch was in response to the deaths of nearly 150 people after a resurgence of measles.

Rosalynn Carter also serves on the board of advisors for Habitat for Humanity and as an honorary chair of Project Interconnections, both of which aim to provide housing for those in need. Additionally, she is a deacon at her and her husband's Plains Baptist church.

Other activities

Shortly after leaving office, Carter signed with Houghton Mifflin for the writing of her autobiography. Carter's memoir, First Lady from Plains, was released in 1984. Mark Updegrove wrote that her memoir, and that of her husband, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President, succeeded in "boosting the bank account and spirits of their authors." Carter's work of the autobiography was noted by her husband during a March 1981 interview, who said that she would be "starting on a book shortly" without disclosing what the contents were.

Early into the Carters' time out of the White House, Rosalynn retained sour feelings toward the loss and questioned her faith as to how her husband could not be re-elected despite what she believed were good choices he had undertaken during his presidency. In a 1984 interview, Carter was asked about her opinions on the 1984 Presidential election, saying she was unsure if it was the right time for a female vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket and that the most important thing for the Democrats should be winning against Reagan, who she charged with committing a tragedy with his policies. Carter also voiced her wishes for her husband to run for a second non-consecutive term. She knew in her heart that her husband would not seek a non-consecutive term and went into depression in the early weeks of retirement, Jimmy's attempts at portraying artificial happiness strained the relationship due to his seeming to not understand her reasons for being disappointed in their current state of affairs.

Throughout the 1980s, Carter developed a pattern of giving speeches to audiences on the subject of caring for caregivers, Carter reflecting that members of the audience "came up to me crying, saying that this was the first time someone understood what they were going through."

After the October 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Carters contacted his wife Jehan Sada,t and traveled with former presidents Nixon and Ford to represent the United States at his funeral. The Carters visited Jehan, whom Rosalynn pledged to stay with during the funeral. Later that month, the Carters attended the National Mental Health Association's gala dinner dance, their first visit to D.C. since leaving the White House. Rosalynn presented former Governor of New York W. Averell Harriman with an award during the event. In December, Carter released a statement on the death of her personal secretary Rita Regina Merthan.

In October 1982, Carter attended the funeral of Bess Truman in Independence, Missouri.

In March 1983, the Carters traveled through the Middle East. In late 1983, Carter visited her ailing mother-in-law Lillian Carter at Americus-Sumter County Hospital and was by her bedside when she died, attending her funeral days later.

In October 1985, the Carters traveled to Nepal for a thirteen-day vacation in the Himalayan kingdom.

In July 1986, Rosalynn traveled with her husband to Chicago, Illinois for a weekend assisting with construction projects for Habitat for Humanity. In October, the Carters gave President Reagan and his wife Nancy a tour of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

On January 19, 198,8 Rosalynn was given the honor of christening the cruise ship Sovereign of the Seas in a gala ceremony in Miami. It was the largest cruise ship in the world at the time. A special oversized 26+1⁄4 liter bottle of Taittinger's champagne was used.

In March 1988, Carter attended a hearing on mental health by the House Select Committee on Aging. She criticized that ten years after a presidential commission found that 10% of Americans needed some form of mental health care, "most that were underserved at that time are still underserved in 1988." Later that month, the Carters traveled to Nigeria for discussions with officials on disease control and rural development projects.

Carter attended the November 4, 1991 dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

In September 1993, the Carters returned to the White House for a ceremony promoting the North American Free Trade Agreement the following day.

In August 1994, the Carters organized a Habitat for Humanity crew for the rebuilding of the house of family friend Annie Mae after it had been destroyed in a flood the previous month.

2000s

On December 4, 2001, Carter delivered a speech to the National Press Club.

In January 2003, Carter attended the benefit for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Betty Ford Center in Indian Wells, California.

During the June 5, 2004 christening of the USS Jimmy Carter in Groton, Connecticut, Carter served as the ship sponsor and christened the ship with a bottle of champagne. On October 11, 2004, Carter delivered the keynote address at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition, stating that she would favor medical school curricula requiring doctors to have the ability to recognize mental health symptoms and stressing the importance of recognizing symptoms in early childhood.

In December 2006, Carter was ordained a deacon at the Maranatha Baptist Church.

In January 2007, Rosalynn and her husband joined other First Ladies and Presidents in attending the funeral of Gerald Ford and six months later, attended Lady Bird Johnson's as well. In a 2007 interview shortly before her 80th birthday, Carter said she would continue a full schedule despite wanting to curtail her schedule with the advancing of age and it had become a regularity for her to plan lowering her workload but failed to do so since she still did not "want to miss anything."

In March 2009, Rosalynn and her husband met with National Security Advisor James L. Jones for a "general briefing". Carter was present for the April 21, 2009 signing by President Barack Obama of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

2010s

Rosalynn Carter with former First Ladies Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama during the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, on April 25, 2013

In 2010, she criticized television crime dramas that portrayed mentally ill people as violent, when in fact they were more prone to being victims of crime. On May 7, 2010, she attended the Michelle Obama-hosted Mother's Day Tea at the White House and was joined by her granddaughter Sarah and infant great-granddaughter. In June, the Carters cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia. On October 26, Carter appeared at a discussion panel at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

After the death of Betty Ford on July 8, 2011, Carter delivered a eulogy during a memorial service. Carter called her one who dared to speak the truth and fight stigmas surrounding illness and addiction, even calling her "a tireless advocate for those struggling."

Carter attended a speech given by Georgia National Guard's Colonel Brent Bracewell in the morning hours of October 25, 2012. Carter gave out the Georgia Paraprofessional Caregiver of the Year, Volunteer Caregiver of the Year, Family Caregiver of the Year, and an award with her namesake, the Rosalynn Carter Leadership in Caregiving Award later that day and expressed happiness in the amount of progress that had been made "since we started."

On April 25, 2013, Carter attended the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum with her husband and other former First Ladies and Presidents. In October 2013, Carter spoke about her confidence in the American people and her lack of confidence in the government on the issue of the income gap in the United States. Carter had "one of the greatest disappointments" corrected when learning from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the Obama administration had passed a mental health insurance rule. She was "shaking" after learning about the government rules that required equal treatment for mental health upon hearing the announcement in November 2013. She and her husband were saddened by the death of Nelson Mandela.

In August 2015, Jimmy announced his cancer diagnosis, stating that it had spread throughout his body. At the time of the announcement, Betty Pope, cousin of the former president, attested to Rosalynn's strength and voiced her belief that the former First Lady would remain committed to her husband. Carter made her first public comments about the illness a month later in September, saying, Despite what's going on, it's been kind of wonderful just to know we have that kind of support, and also Jimmy's attitude is helping". In November 2015, she and her husband traveled to Memphis, Tennessee where they assisted in construction for the town's Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

In January 2016, Jimmy Carter confirmed that he was having regular treatments and said of Rosalynn at the time, "Her support has helped me through the last 69 years since we've been married in everything I've ever tried. Of course, when I was ill and thought I might die at any time, she was there for me." Carter attended the March 11, 2016 funeral of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. In July 2016, Carter endorsed Proposition 62, which would abolish the death penalty in California, releasing a joint statement with her husband in support of the measure. She voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary of that year. Carter differed from her husband in believing Russia had interfered with determining the results of the general election. Upon the death of Barbara Bush on April 17, 2018, Carter became the oldest living former First Lady. On October 17, 2019, she became the longest-married former First Lady.

2020s

In July 2021, the Carters celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary, becoming the first presidential couple to do so.

Books

Rosalynn Carter has written five books:

First Lady from Plains (autobiography), 1984, ISBN 1-55728-355-9

Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life (with Jimmy Carter), 1987, ISBN 1-55728-388-5

Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book for Caregivers (with Susan K. Golant), 1994, ISBN 0-8129-2591-2

Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers (with Susan K. Golant), 1998, ISBN 0-8129-2898-9

Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis (with Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade), 2010, ISBN 978-1-59486-881-8

Awards and honors

President Bill Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter at the Carter Center, in 1999

On October 5, 2002, Rosalynn Carter was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. She became only the third First Lady ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. (Hillary Clinton was inducted in 2005.)

In 1999, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Among Rosalynn's many other awards for service are:

Dorothea Dix Award, Mental Illness Foundation, 1988

Georgia Woman of the Year Award, 1996

Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, 1996

United Nations Children's Fund International Child Survival Award, 1999

Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, Institute of Medicine, 2000

United States Surgeon General's Medallion, 2000

American Peace Award along with Jimmy Carter, 2009

Rosalynn Carter has received honorary degrees from the following institutions:

H.H.D., Tift College, 1979

L.H.D., Morehouse College, 1980

D.P.S., Wesleyan College, 1986

LL.D., University of Notre Dame, 1987

D.Litt., Emory University, 1991

L.H.D., Georgia Southwestern State University, 2001

LL.D., Regis College, 2002

Queen's University, 2012

Rosalynn served as a distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, from 1988 to 1992. She has been a Distinguished Fellow at the Emory University Department of Women's Studies in Atlanta since 1990.