American History: Carter Brings Egypt, Israel Together in Peace Treaty

04 January 2012

Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as President Jimmy Carter looks on at Camp David, Maryland, in September 1978

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, we tell about the administration of the thirty-ninth president of the Unitefd States, Jimmy Carter.

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It is January twentieth, nineteen seventy-seven. Inauguration Day. America's newly elected president, Jimmy Carter, is on his way to the White House after his swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol building.

But the new president is not riding in a car. He is walking. His wife, Rosalynn, and his daughter, Amy, walk with him. Crowds along Pennsylvania Avenue cheer. Bands play.

On this cold day in Washington, Americans look to the future. Watergate -- the crisis that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon -- is several years in the past. The Vietnam War is history, too.

Republican Gerald Ford served the remaining years of Nixon's term. Many people believe he brought respect and order back to the government. Yet he lost the office to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the election of nineteen seventy-six.

The nation still has problems. Unemployment is high. So is inflation. But the future of the nation looks bright. Jimmy Carter feels sure about his future, too. On the day before his inauguration, he said: