It's important that we promote new oil and gas discoveries and increased production by giving adequate prices to the producers. James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American retired politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Now the energy proposal that I made to Congress last April has three basic elements to ensure that it is well balanced. This is an effort which requires vision and cooperation from all Americans. Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. Within 10 years, we would not be able to import enough oil from any country, at any acceptable price. On July 15th, Carter came down from the mountains and gave what came to be known as the "Malaise Speech," even though he never used the word in his televised address to the nation. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. I believe that this can be a positive challenge. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. The . What are his proposed solutions? Intense competition for oil will build up among nations and also among the different regions within our own country. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: "The Malaise Speech" Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/249458, The American Presidency ProjectJohn Woolley and Gerhard PetersContact, Copyright The American Presidency ProjectTerms of Service | Privacy | Accessibility, Saturday Weekly Addresses (Radio and Webcast) (1639), State of the Union Written Messages (140). How does Carter link the energy crisis to a crisis of the American spirit? We will not be ready to keep our transportation system running with smaller and more efficient cars and a better network of buses, trains, and public transportation. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. The world has not prepared for the future. Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern this Nation. ", And this is one of the most vivid statements: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife. "I am a farmer, an engineer, a businessman, a planner, a scientist, a governor, and a Christian," Jimmy Carter said while introducing himself to national political reporters when he announced his campaign to be the 39th president of the United States in December 1974.. As journalists and historians consider Carter's legacy, this prelude to Carter's campaign offers insight into how he . They are the ones that we must provide for now. Carter became a one-term president after Reagan defeated him in a blowout victory in 1980, but Carter's political defeat intensified his lifelong quest to know whether he had done his best and . I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power. They want even higher prices than those we've proposed for "new" gas and oil, and they want the higher prices sooner. Carter then launched into his energy policy plans, which included the implementation of mandatory conservation efforts for individuals and businesses and deep cuts in the nations dependence on foreign oil through import quotas. I believe that this country can meet any challenge, but this is an exceptionally difficult one because the threat is not easy to see and the solution is neither simple nor politically popular. In April 1977, under the dark cloud of the energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter told the nation that the difficult effort needed to move beyond the shortages and high prices of that era "will be the moral equivalent of war.". This is one reason that I'm working with the Congress to create a new Department of Energy to replace more than 50 different agencies that now have some control over energy. The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. It is the idea which founded our Nation and has guided our development as a people. It unbalances our Nation's trade with other countries. President Carter was elected to office several years after the 1973 Oil Embargo, which devastated the gas turbine market in the United State. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. I will continue to travel this country, to hear the people of America. I know that many of you have suspected that some supplies of oil and gas are being withheld from the market. The second change took. It's also especially difficult to deal with long-range, future challenges. ", This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: "Mr. President, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.". . He also admitted that part of the problem was his failure to provide strong leadership on many issues, particularly energy and oil consumption. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. Last week the Senate sent its version of the legislation to the conference committees, where Members of the House and Senate will now resolve differences between the bills that they've passed. But you did not choose your elected officials simply to fill an office. To jumpstart this program, Carter asked Congress to form an energy mobilization board modeled after the War Production Board of World War II, and asked the legislature to enact a windfall profits tax immediately to fight inflation and unemployment. The American Presidency Project (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7369). This is not a contest of strength between the President and the Congress, nor between the House and the Senate. The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. We will monitor our progress toward these goals year by year. In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our Nation's strength. And the truth is that you cannot talk about economic problems now or in the future without talking about energy. to reduce the annual growth rate in our energy demand to less than 2 percent; Well, I understand how he felt, but I must tell you the truth. The Middle East has only 5 percent of the world's energy, but the United States has 24 percent. We know the strength of America. During the past 3 years I've spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the Government, our Nation's economy, and issues of war and especially peace. But, unfortunately, there are still some who seek personal gain over the national interest. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny. 4 min read. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act. But I'm confident that we can find the wisdom and the courage to make the right decisionseven when they are unpleasantso that we might, together, preserve the greatness of our Nation. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. current level; --to cut in half the portion of U.S. oil which is imported--from a potential level of 16 million barrels to 6 million barrels a day; --to establish a strategic petroleum reserve of one billion barrels, more than a 6-months supply; --to increase our coal production by about two-thirds to more than one billion tons a year; I'm sure that each of you will find something you don't like about the specifics of our proposal. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search . Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. But I think most of you realize that a policy which does not ask for changes or sacrifices would not be an effective policy at this late date. Jimmy Carter's Acceptance Speech, July 15, 1976 Inaugural Address as President, January 20, 1977 State of the Union Address, January 19, 1978 State of the Union Address, January 23, 1979 Energy and National Goals: Address to the Nation, July 15, 1979 State of the Union Address, January 23, 1980 State of the Union Address, January 16, 1981 We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. But after listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America. This from a southern Governor: "Mr. President, you are not leading this Nation you're just managing the Government. Unless profound changes are made to lower oil consumption, we now believe that early in the 1980's the world will be demanding more oil than it can produce. The first principle is that we can have an effective and comprehensive energy policy only if the Government takes responsibility for it and if the people understand the seriousness of the challenge and are willing to make sacrifices. Naval Academy, he served in the submarine corps just after World War II. All of us have heard about the large oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. Twelve hours from now I will speak again in Kansas City, to expand and to explain further our energy program. "Mr. President," he said, "I don't feel much like talking about energy and foreign policy. We've always been proud of our ingenuity, our skill at answering questions. In a few years, when the North Slope is producing fully, its total output will be just about equal to 2 years' increase in our own Nation's energy demand. The energy crisis is real. The history of our Nation is one of meeting challenges and overcoming them. A graduate of the U.S. Our children who will be born this year will come of age in the 21st century. There are two paths to choose. This lack of moral and spiritual confidence, he concluded, was at the core of Americas inability to hoist itself out of its economic troubles. Our biggest problem, however, is that we simply use too much and waste too much energy. It's worse because more waste has occurred and more time has passed by without our planning for the future. All of us in Government need your help. Two days from now, I will present to the Congress my energy proposals.. Its Members will be my partners, and they have already given me a great deal of valuable advice. This is where another major controversy arises. He puts forth several initiatives to push the nation towards greater. On July 15, 1978, the Longest Walka 2,800-mile trek for Native American justice that had started with several hundred marchers in Californiaends in Washington, D.C., accompanied by thousands of supporters. Born as a side project apart from Odeos main podcasting platform, the free application allowed users read more, The unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet. In order to conserve energy, the Congress is now acting to make our automobiles, our homes, and appliances more efficient and to encourage industry to save both heat and electricity. This difficult effort will be the 'moral equivalent of war' except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy. It's fitting that I'm speaking to you on an election day, a day which reminds us that you, the people, are the rulers of this Nation, that your Government will be as courageous and effective and fair as you demand So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. It can rekindle our sense of unity, our confidence in the future, and give our Nation and all of us individually a new sense of purpose. Carter retreated to Camp David, where he met with Americans from various backgrounds and spoke . We have more oil in our shale alone than several Saudi Arabias. These are all controversial questions, and the congressional debates, as you can well imagine, are intense. The first was about 200 years ago, when we changed away from wood--which had provided about 90 percent of all fuelto coal, which was much more efficient. ", "Mr. President, we're in trouble. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. Posted by RockyTCB 3/1/2023 6:11:41 AM. We can decide to act while there is still time. Unless we act quickly, imports will continue to go up, and all the problems that I've just described will grow even worse. It will demand that we make sacrifices and changes in every life. Three-quarters of them would carry only one person--the driver--while our public transportation system continues to decline. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980's, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade--a saving of over 4 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day. The first was about 200 years ago, when we changed away from wood--which had provided about 90 percent of all fuel--to coal, which was much more efficient. Thank you very much, and good night. The fifth principle is that we must be fair. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. But our energy plan also reflects the optimism that I feel about our ability to deal with these problems. By 1972, we were importing about 30 percent. Supplies will be uncertain. We will act together. We could endanger our freedom as a sovereign nation to act in foreign affairs. We have no choice about that. More of our oil is coming from foreign countries. I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping steadily at about 6 percent a year. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war," except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources--America's people, America's values, and America's confidence. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977. President Jimmy Carter (b. Our farmers are the greatest agricultural exporters the world has ever known, but it now takes all the food and fiber that we export in 2 years just to pay for 1 year of imported oilabout $45 billion. Supplies will be uncertain. For them to pass an effective and fair plan, they will need your support and your understandingyour support to resist pressures from a few for special favors at the expense of the rest of us and your understanding that there can be no effective plan without some sacrifice from all of us. that it be. Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this Nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). Many of these proposals will be unpopular. We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third change--to strict conservation and to the renewed use of coal and to permanent renewable energy sources like solar power. Just since April, our oil imports have cost us $23 billionabout $350 worth of foreign oil for the average American family. I'm convinced that we can have enough energy to permit the continued growth of our economy, to expand production and jobs, and to protect the security of the United Statesif we act wisely. They will say that sacrifice is fine as long as other people do it, but that their sacrifice is unreasonable or unfair or harmful to the country. - Jimmy Carter, Energy Address to the Nation, April 18, 1977. Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences and to make sacrifices. --to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. Whether this plan truly makes a difference will not be decided now here in Washington but in every town and every factory, in every home and on every highway and every farm. And it will get worse every day until we act. --to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; President Jimmy Carter delivered this speech on July 15, 1979, exactly three years after accepting the nomination of the Democratic Party to run for president. Our nation's 39 th president, Jimmy Carter, is currently in hospice care. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. The sixth principle, and the cornerstone of our policy, is to reduce demand through conservation. With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. Carter address's the crisis of confidence in America, but tells Americans to first begin addressing problems by addressing the energy crisis within their home. READ MORE: Jimmy Carter: His Life and Legacy, Jimmy Carter speaks about a national crisis in confidence, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jimmy-carter-speaks-about-a-national-crisis-in-confidence. Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war. Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. The Secretary of Defense said recently, "The present deficiency of assured energy sources is the single surest threat to our security and to that of our allies." We've always been proud of our leadership in the world. I hope that each of you will take steps to conserve our precious energy and also join with your elected officials at all levels of government to meet this test of our Nation's judgment and will. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Jimmy Carter, the only Georgian to serve as president, was born in Plains on Oct. 1, 1924, to Earl Carter, a farmer and businessman, and Lillian Carter, a. The congressional conference committees are now considering changes in how electric power rates are set in order to discourage waste, to reward those who use less energy, and to encourage a change in the use of electricity to hours of the day when demand is low. Will Obama and his ilk learn the lessons of history? Obviously, this cannot continue. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Other generations of Americans have faced and mastered great challenges. It's a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. But we still have another choice. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, by making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and by developing a strategic petroleum reserve. It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeperdeeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. We can begin to prepare right now. It is a clear and present danger to our Nation. They made possible the age of automobile and airplane travel. Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problems-wasteful use of resources. And above all, I will act. Our national energy plan is based on 10 fundamental principles. The selection of this time span made perfect sense from a Hollywood read more, On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane, opens in theaters across the United States. Vast amounts of American wealth no longer stay in the United States to build our factories and to give us a better life. In this speech, Carter recognizes that Americans have lost faith in government, in part because of the energy crisis. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. to use solar energy in more than 2 1/2 million houses. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). The political pressures are great because the stakes are so high, billions and billions of dollars. They will say that sacrifice is fine as long as other people do it, but that their sacrifice is unreasonable or unfair or harmful to the country. producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of man's previous history combined. And I'm asking you for your good and for your Nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPECs (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 1973 cuts in oil production. We will monitor the accuracy of data from the oil and natural gas companies for the first time, so that we will always know their true production, supplies, reserves, and profits. The gap between our citizens and our Government has never been so wide. There is some part of this complex legislation to which every region and every interest group can object. The Congress has recognized the urgency of this problem and has come to grips with some of the most complex and difficult decisions that a legislative body has ever been asked to make. These changes did not happen overnight. If they succeed with this approach, then the burden on the ordinary citizen, who is not organized into an interest group, would be crushing. This is a special night for me. It hurts every American family. This incentive for new oil production would be the highest in the whole world. We've always been proud, through our history, of being efficient people. World consumption of oil is still going up. Politics, Carter said, was full of corruption, inefficiency and evasiveness; he claimed these problems grew out of a deeper, fundamental threat to American democracy. He was not referring to challenges to civil liberties or the countrys political structure or military prowess, however, but to what he called a crisis of confidence that led to domestic turmoil and the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation., At a time when Europeans and the Japanese began out-producing the U.S. in energy-efficient automobiles and some other advanced technologies, Carter said that Americans had lost faith in being the worlds leader in progress. He claimed that Americans' obsession with self-indulgence and material goods had trumped spiritualism and community values. We must deal with the energy problem on a war footing. We can regain our confidence. The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. This means that just to stay even we need the production of a new Texas every year, an Alaskan North Slope every 9 months, or a new Saudi Arabia every 3 years. They want greatly increased prices for "old" oil and gasenergy supplies which have already been discovered and which are being produced now. It is a crisis of confidence. Now we have a choice. These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay. We've always believed in something called progress. What can we do? The 1973 gas lines are gone, and with this springtime weather, our homes are warm again. One problem is that the price of all energy is going up, both because of its increasing scarcity and because the price of oil is not set in a free and competitive market. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. ", "Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! They want lower taxes on their profits. This has already started. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. If they succeed with this approach, then the burden on the ordinary citizen, who is not organized into an interest group, would be crushing. To some degree, the sacrifices will be painfulbut so is any meaningful sacrifice. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Note: The President spoke at 10 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White House. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 sent energy prices soaring, and four years later, the impacts were still rippling through the economy. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. The nation is shocked when the President tells them to "put on a sweater" instead of turn up the heat (using energy and fuel). He outlined the creation of a solar bank that he said would eventually supply 20 percent of the nations energy. I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. They have never been healed. We believed that our Nation's resources were limitless until 1973, when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. In the 1970s, oil and gas shortages experienced in many parts of the U.S. were erroneously blamed on resource exhaustion rather than government price and allocation controls. Beginning this moment, this Nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977--never. He had earned it. The fourth principle is that we must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. It causes unemployment. These wounds are still very deep. Another very important question before Congress is how to let the market price for domestic oil go up to reflect the cost of replacing it while, at the same time, protecting the American consumers and our own economy. The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. The car, produced at Fords plant on Mack Street (now Mack Avenue) in Detroit, was delivered to read more, On July 15, 1789, only one day after the fall of the Bastille marked the beginning of a new revolutionary regime in France, the French aristocrat and hero of the American War for Independence, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, becomes the read more. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, by making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and by developing a strategic petroleum reserve. Tonight I want to examine in a broad sense the state of our American Union--how we are building a new foundation for a peaceful and a prosperous world. The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. These are the goals that we set for 1985: --to reduce the annual growth rate in our energy demand to less than 2 percent; --to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its.