Early in the 1960s, Jimmy Carter decided to run for public office. After serving seven years on local planning, school, library and hospital boards, he felt qualified to bring progressive leadership to Georgia. He served two terms in the State Senate (1963-66) and one term as Governor of Georgia (1971- 1975).

Carter’s earliest campaigns were full of controversy and drama, set against the backdrop of a state grappling with the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement.

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