From Camp David to
the Carter Center:
Leadership and Legacy in
th
the Life of America’s 39
President
I
Kahlil Chism
Education Specialist, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
n September 1978, President Jimmy Carter accomplished one of the most momentous feats of U.S. foreign policy ever
attempted—brokering peace between two Middle Eastern countries that had been at war for nearly 30 years. While American
presidents from Harry Truman through Richard Nixon had faced Mid-East region crises while in office, President Carter was
the first to make an effort at establishing a preemptive peace between two of that region’s major powers. Carter put his political
reputation on the line by inviting Mohammed Anwar al Sadat, president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Prime Minister of
the State of Israel Menachem Begin to come to Camp David for a face-to-face summit. The result of that summit was the Camp
David accords, which were signed on September 17, 1978. It stands to reason then that in 1981, as former President Carter was
preparing to chart a course for his future, the success of the Camp David summit would serve as the direct inspiration for the
organization that will become his legacy, The Carter Center.
Camp David, a secluded retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin
Cabin. The Carters followed the same protocol when Prime
or outlines for peace, that led to an Egyptian-Israeli Peace
other. None of the other cottages was more than a few hundred
Mountains, is a complex of small cabins and lodges nestled
among roughly 125 acres of ash, hickory, maple and other
trees. The historic accords signed there were two frameworks,
Treaty the next year. The first delineated ways to give people
of the West Bank and Gaza more political rights. The second
suggested ways for Israel and Egypt to maintain peace
between them: The Sinai region would be given back to Egypt,
and Egypt would recognize Israel as a nation.
At 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5—day one of the
summit— President and First Lady Rosalynn Carter greet Y