History is usually written by the winners, which is probably why 1979 looks so bleak in the rearview mirror. If you ask someone who the president of the US in 1979 was, they’ll tell you it was Jimmy Carter. Then, they’ll probably mention gas lines. Or the Iran Hostage Crisis. Maybe that weird story about the "giant" swimming rabbit that supposedly attacked his boat in Georgia.
It was a rough year. Honestly, it was a brutal year.
But looking back with the benefit of almost fifty years of perspective, the 1979 presidency is way more complicated than just "malaise" and inflation. Carter wasn't just a guy struggling with a bad economy; he was a man trying to fundamentally pivot how America functioned in a world that was rapidly changing. He was playing 4D chess while the rest of the country just wanted to be able to fill up their tanks on a Tuesday.
The Energy Crisis That Defined a Decade
By the time 1979 rolled around, the United States was hitting a wall.
The Iranian Revolution kicked off in early '79, and suddenly, the oil stopped flowing like it used to. This wasn't just some abstract policy problem. It was real. People were sitting in their cars for hours, waiting for a few gallons of leaded gasoline. Some states even started "odd-even" rationing based on license plate numbers. If your plate ended in a 3, and it was an even-numbered day, you were out of luck.
Carter saw this as more than a supply chain issue. He saw it as a moral failing.
On July 15, 1979, he gave what we now call the "Malaise Speech," though he never actually used that word. He sat in the Oval Office and told Americans that they were having a "crisis of confidence." He wasn't wrong, but man, people hated hearing it. He talked about how we were worshipping "self-indulgence and consumption." Imagine a politician saying that today. They'd be laughed off the stage. But Carter was dead serious. He even put solar panels on the White House roof that year. Reagan took them down later, which is a pretty perfect metaphor for the shift in American priorities.
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Foreign Policy: The Year Everything Changed
If the energy crisis was the domestic nightmare, foreign policy was the waking fever dream.
1979 was the year the world tilted on its axis. In the spring, Carter pulled off a miracle that people still talk about in hushed tones at the State Department: the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. This was the fruit of the Camp David Accords from the previous year. For the first time, an Arab nation recognized Israel. It was huge. It remains one of the few lasting peace structures in the Middle East.
But then, November hit.
The Iranian Hostage Crisis began on November 4, 1979. Fifty-two Americans were taken from the embassy in Tehran. For the rest of his term, Carter was haunted by this. Every night, the news ended with "Day X of the Hostage Crisis." It made him look weak, even though he was working behind the scenes to find a diplomatic way out without starting World War III.
And then there was the Soviet Union.
Just as the year was ending, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Carter’s response was swift and, for many, frustrating. He boycotted the 1980 Olympics and cut off grain sales. He was trying to use economic and cultural leverage instead of tanks. It was a bold move that cost him a lot of political capital with American farmers.
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The Economy: Volcker and the Painful Cure
You can’t talk about the president of the US in 1979 without talking about Paul Volcker.
Inflation was out of control. We’re talking 11%, 12%, creeping toward 13%. Your savings were basically melting in the bank. Carter did something incredibly brave and politically suicidal: he appointed Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Volcker’s plan was basically "tough love." He jacked up interest rates to insane levels—eventually hitting 20%—to break the back of inflation. It worked, but it caused a massive recession. Carter knew this would probably cost him the 1980 election, but he did it anyway because it was the right thing for the long-term health of the country.
Most presidents would have pressured the Fed to keep rates low so they could get re-elected. Carter didn't. That’s the nuance people miss. He sacrificed his career to stop the economic bleeding that had been going on since the Vietnam War.
Why 1979 Still Matters Right Now
We are living in the shadow of 1979.
The deregulation of the airline and trucking industries started under Carter in '78 and '79. If you can fly across the country for a few hundred bucks today, you kind of owe him a thank you. He was a fiscal conservative in many ways, which confuses people who try to pin him as a "bleeding heart liberal."
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He was also a nuclear engineer. He actually went into a melting nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Canada, back in the 50s to help clean it up. So, when the Three Mile Island accident happened in March 1979, he was the only person in the room who actually understood the physics. He went to the site to calm people down. He knew exactly what the risks were.
Realities vs. Misconceptions
People think he was an ineffective micromanager.
While it's true he liked to keep an eye on the White House tennis court schedule, he also managed to pass the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which protected over 100 million acres of land. He was thinking about the environment before it was cool.
They say he was "weak" on the Soviets.
But he was the one who started the secret funding for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan to fight the Russians—a policy that eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union (though it also had some pretty nasty unintended consequences later on).
What You Can Learn from the 1979 Presidency
If you’re looking at this era for lessons on leadership or economics, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- Integrity is expensive. Carter's refusal to play the usual political games made him a one-term president, but it also made him one of the most respected former presidents in history. He's spent the last 40+ years building houses and eradicating diseases.
- Short-term pain for long-term gain is a hard sell. The Volcker shock was necessary but hated. When you're making decisions, ask yourself if you're looking at the next six months or the next six years.
- Energy is everything. The 1979 crisis proved that a country is only as stable as its power grid. Carter’s push for renewables was decades ahead of its time.
To really understand what happened in 1979, you should look at the primary sources. Read the transcript of the "Crisis of Confidence" speech. It’s not a downer; it’s a challenge. Look at the photos of the signing of the peace treaty between Sadat and Begin.
The president of the US in 1979 was a man who refused to tell people what they wanted to hear. He told them what he thought they needed to hear. In a world of focus-grouped politicians, that's actually pretty refreshing to look back on.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Students
- Study the Volcker Shock: If you want to understand how the modern economy works, look at the Fed's minutes from 1979. It’s the blueprint for how central banks handle inflation today.
- Revisit the Energy Policy: Look into the Department of Energy’s creation. Carter centralized energy policy for a reason; see how those structures still influence our shift toward green energy.
- Analyze the Camp David Accords: Read the specific terms of the Egypt-Israel treaty. It provides a masterclass in compromise—both sides had to give up things they considered "non-negotiable" to get a deal done.
- Check Out "The 1979 Project": Various university archives have digitized oral histories from the Carter administration. Hearing the staffers talk about the tension of the hostage crisis gives you a sense of the "real-time" pressure that textbooks leave out.