A Century of Changes As Jimmy Carter Turns 100
2024-10-01
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1Former president of the United States Jimmy Carter is turning 100 on October 1.
2The 39th president is celebrating the century mark at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he was born in 1924. He is currently in hospice care.
3Carter's small southern town is much like it was when he was a boy.
4But America, and the world overall, has seen major changes over his long life.
5The U.S. population is almost three times larger than it was in 1924.
6America grew from about 114 million people to about 330 million today.
7The world population grew even faster, from 1.9 billion to more than 8.1 billion, during the same period.
8That great increase has not reached Plains, Georgia, however.
9The town of 500 people in the 1920s, now has closer to 600.
10Much of its local economy revolves around Carter, its most famous son.
11Jimmy Carter first ran for president in 1976 against then-President Gerald Ford.
12That election marked the first time the television network NBC started using a red-and-blue electoral map to cover the election results.
13The colors have since become a permanent part of the American political language.
14The color blue represents the Democratic Party and red represents the Republican Party.
15In 1924, there was no Amazon to order goods online.
16But Americans could order a build-it-yourself house from a Sears catalog for $2,025.
17That amount was a little below the average worker's yearly earnings.
18There was no superstore like Walmart.
19But people could buy bread, milk, and other things at small, local general stores.
20Prohibition, the ban on making and drinking alcohol, had been national law for four years when Carter was born. He was nine when it ended.
21The former president and his late wife Rosalynn were not known as big drinkers.
22They usually served wine as the single kind of alcoholic drink at White House state dinners, mainly to save money.
23Other kinds of alcohol would increase the cost of the events.
24But Carter's brother Billy was known for his beer drinking.
25When Carter became president, Billy sold his name to a beer manufacturer to produce Billy Beer.
26News sources reported that Billy Carter received a $50,000 yearly payment for use of his name from one brewer.
27That would be about $215,000 in today's economy.
28The 19th Amendment that extended voting rights to women went into effect in 1920, four years before Carter's birth.
29And the Voting Rights Act that widened voting rights to Black Americans was passed in 1965.
30Now, Carter is set to vote by mail for Vice President Kamala Harris, says his grandson Jason Carter.
31He added that his grandfather is excited about the chance to see Harris make history.
32If elected, Harris would become the first female and the first person of South Asian ancestry to lead the United States.
33Jimmy Carter was born in a period of isolationism, protectionism and white Christian nationalism in the U.S.
34In 1922, Congress enacted taxes on imports, called tariffs, to help U.S. manufacturers.
35After stock market losses in 1929, lawmakers added more tariffs to help farmers.
36Five months before Carter was born, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924.
37The law created the U.S. Border Patrol and sharply limited immigration, permitting mostly just Western Europeans to enter. Asians were barred from the country completely.
38Congress said the law was meant to "preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity."
39The militant white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan held large marches in Washington in 1925 and 1926 to gather support.
40A century later, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is promising to order the largest deportation effort in U.S. history if he wins office.
41Trump is also calling for tariffs on all goods coming to America.
42Carter has lived through 40 percent of U.S. history since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When Carter took office, just one president, John Adams, had lived to be 90. Since then, Ford, Ronald Reagan, Carter and George H.W. Bush all reached at least 93.
43I'm Caty Weaver.
1Former president of the United States Jimmy Carter is turning 100 on October 1. 2The 39th president is celebrating the century mark at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he was born in 1924. He is currently in hospice care. 3Carter's small southern town is much like it was when he was a boy. But America, and the world overall, has seen major changes over his long life. 4Changes everywhere, but not Plains 5The U.S. population is almost three times larger than it was in 1924. America grew from about 114 million people to about 330 million today. The world population grew even faster, from 1.9 billion to more than 8.1 billion, during the same period. 6That great increase has not reached Plains, Georgia, however. The town of 500 people in the 1920s, now has closer to 600. Much of its local economy revolves around Carter, its most famous son. 7Red state, blue state 8Jimmy Carter first ran for president in 1976 against then-President Gerald Ford. That election marked the first time the television network NBC started using a red-and-blue electoral map to cover the election results. 9The colors have since become a permanent part of the American political language. The color blue represents the Democratic Party and red represents the Republican Party. 10Shopping 11In 1924, there was no Amazon to order goods online. But Americans could order a build-it-yourself house from a Sears catalog for $2,025. That amount was a little below the average worker's yearly earnings. 12There was no superstore like Walmart. But people could buy bread, milk, and other things at small, local general stores. 13Prohibition, the ban on making and drinking alcohol, had been national law for four years when Carter was born. He was nine when it ended. 14The former president and his late wife Rosalynn were not known as big drinkers. They usually served wine as the single kind of alcoholic drink at White House state dinners, mainly to save money. Other kinds of alcohol would increase the cost of the events. 15But Carter's brother Billy was known for his beer drinking. When Carter became president, Billy sold his name to a beer manufacturer to produce Billy Beer. News sources reported that Billy Carter received a $50,000 yearly payment for use of his name from one brewer. That would be about $215,000 in today's economy. 16Voting rights 17The 19th Amendment that extended voting rights to women went into effect in 1920, four years before Carter's birth. And the Voting Rights Act that widened voting rights to Black Americans was passed in 1965. 18Now, Carter is set to vote by mail for Vice President Kamala Harris, says his grandson Jason Carter. He added that his grandfather is excited about the chance to see Harris make history. 19If elected, Harris would become the first female and the first person of South Asian ancestry to lead the United States. 20Immigration and isolationism 21Jimmy Carter was born in a period of isolationism, protectionism and white Christian nationalism in the U.S. 22In 1922, Congress enacted taxes on imports, called tariffs, to help U.S. manufacturers. After stock market losses in 1929, lawmakers added more tariffs to help farmers. 23Five months before Carter was born, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924. The law created the U.S. Border Patrol and sharply limited immigration, permitting mostly just Western Europeans to enter. Asians were barred from the country completely. 24Congress said the law was meant to "preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity." The militant white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan held large marches in Washington in 1925 and 1926 to gather support. 25A century later, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is promising to order the largest deportation effort in U.S. history if he wins office. 26Trump is also calling for tariffs on all goods coming to America. 27Other presidents 28Carter has lived through 40 percent of U.S. history since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When Carter took office, just one president, John Adams, had lived to be 90. Since then, Ford, Ronald Reagan, Carter and George H.W. Bush all reached at least 93. 29I'm Caty Weaver. 30Bill Barrow reported this story for The Associated Press. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. 31_______________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33hospice - n. a place that provides care for people who are dying 34catalog - n. a book of list of things that you can buy 35wine - n. an alcoholic drink made from juice of grapes 36excited - adj. enthusiastic and eager 37isolationism - n. a belief that country should not be involved with other countries 38preserve - v. to keep something in its original state 39ideal - n. the idea or standard of excellence 40homogeneity - n. making up of the same kind of people 41deportation - n. forceful removal of non-citizen to leave a country