How Did Faulty Foreign Policy Lead To Jimmy Carter Downfall

Did faulty foreign policy lead to Jimmy Carter’s downfall?

When Jimmy Carter preceded Gerald Ford in 1977, he became the 39th President of the United States of America. He won the 1976 election by securing 297 Electoral College votes from 24 States over Ford who narrowly missed out by gaining 240 Electoral College votes from 27 States. However in the 1980 election Carter lost his position as President to Ronald Reagan who secured 489 Electoral College votes against Carter’s 49 votes. Comparing both election results it was clear the Carter’s popularity declined over the 4 years, explaining why he was joint bottom; with Truman, in a public approval vote, scoring 45% (figure 1)[footnoteRef:1]. Also in the final Gallup Poll assessment of Carter’s

Unable to articulate a clear vision for the country and beset by the oil and Iranian hostage crisis, Carter proved ill-suited to assume the strong leadership role taken by many of his predecessors. His political weaknesses, however did not translate into a willingness to allow control over the execution of the law to be transferred from the White House to Capitol Hill. On the contrary, in spite of its other problems, the Carter administration appears for the most part to have solidly defended the unitariness of the executive branch.[footnoteRef:4] Throughout this essay I aim to provide a balanced argument that provides an analysis of a number of points that could explain Carter’s downfall, primarily focusing on his response to foreign policy. Hopefully I will produce a conclusive decision which answers the questions at hand, did faulty foreign policy lead to Jimmy Carter’s downfall? [1:

Jimmy Carter and his advisers believed that many of the traditional rationales that had guided U.S. foreign policy for over a generation were now outmoded and inappropriate to altered world realities.[footnoteRef:10] His most famous mistake and something that is remembered in his legacy was how he handled the Iranian hostage crisis (4th November 1979 to 20th January 1981. It was this crisis that many considered to be the final nail on Carter’s coffin. The crisis initially started due to a Western and Iranian dispute over oil. When Iran elected their new Prime Minister; Muhammad Mossadegh, in 1951, he nationalised the countries oil trade which would alter British and American control over Iran’s investment. This resulted in an operation known as Operation TP-Ajax to be launched by the CIA and British Intelligence Services which aimed to restore Iran politically and overthrow Mossadegh. It was successful and in the summer of 1958 Iran’s political system was re-established, placing the monarchy; Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi back into total power. With help from the Shavok, communists and social democrats were being arrested and overall ruling with a heavy hand. Shah’s government bought a lot of American resources which reduced the country’s GDP hugely, especially between 1976-1978 as shown in figure 4[footnoteRef:11]. As a