Skip to content
12 Axes Test
Portrait of Jimmy Carter

Thirty-ninth US president

Jimmy Carter’s political views

The thirty-ninth president, who signed the Panama Canal treaties, helped broker the Camp David Accords, deregulated airlines, railroads and trucking, and made human rights a theme of foreign policy.

Presidency
39th, 1977–1981
Party
Democratic
Lived
1924–2024
Scored on
7 of 12 axes

Strongest documented leanings

  1. Internationalism78%
  2. Democratic75%
  3. Globalism70%
Where Carter stood on the twelve axes
Take the quiz

Where Carter stood on the twelve axes

Each bar is one axis, between its two poles. Only axes with a documented position are scored; the others are shown as faint stubs on the icon and listed below, never as neutral.

Based on his record from 1977 to 1981. His deregulation and his new federal departments point in opposite directions on the planning axis, so it sits just above the middle.

  • Democratic vs AutocraticDemocratic 75%
    DemocraticAutocratic

    Signed the Civil Service Reform Act and the Ethics in Government Act in October 1978.

  • Nationalism vs InternationalismInternationalism 78%
    NationalismInternationalism

    Signed the Panama Canal treaties on 7 September 1977, which the Senate approved 68–32 in 1978 and which handed the canal to Panama on 31 December 1999, and helped broker the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978.

  • Militarist vs PacifistPacifist 55%
    MilitaristPacifist

    Pulled the United States out of the 1980 Moscow Olympics and in January 1980 declared that the country would use force to defend the Persian Gulf, but he also cancelled the B-1 bomber in 1977.

  • Collectivize vs PrivatizeCollectivize 62%
    CollectivizePrivatize

    Signed the Department of Education Organization Act in October 1979, the Alaska lands act in 1980 and the Superfund law in 1980.

  • Planned vs Laissez-faireLaissez-faire 58%
    PlannedLaissez-faire

    Signed the Airline Deregulation Act on 24 October 1978 and the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carrier Act of 1980, while creating a Department of Energy in 1977.

  • Isolationism vs GlobalismGlobalism 70%
    IsolationismGlobalism

    Signed the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, which put the Tokyo Round tariff cuts into law.

  • Progressive vs TraditionalProgressive 68%
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Fulfilled a campaign promise by pardoning Vietnam-era draft evaders in January 1977, and reoriented foreign policy toward human rights.

No documented position, so not scored: Federal vs Unitary, Security vs Freedom, Assimilationist vs Multiculturalist, Irreligious vs Religious, and Acceleration vs Bioconservative.

What shaped the scores

Dated actions from the record. Each is tied to the axis it informs.

  1. Carter pardons Vietnam-era draft evaders, the day after his inauguration.

    Progressive vs Traditional

    Presidency of Jimmy Carter · Wikipedia
  2. He and Panama’s leader Omar Torrijos sign the Panama Canal treaties; the Senate approves them 68–32 in March and April 1978.

    Nationalism vs Internationalism

    Torrijos–Carter Treaties · Wikipedia
  3. He brings Egypt and Israel to agreement at Camp David.

    Nationalism vs Internationalism

    Presidency of Jimmy Carter · Wikipedia
  4. He signs the Airline Deregulation Act.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Airline Deregulation Act · Wikipedia
  5. He signs the law creating the Department of Education.

    Collectivize vs Privatize

    Presidency of Jimmy Carter · Wikipedia
  6. He signs the Staggers Rail Act, the Motor Carrier Act, the Superfund law and the Alaska lands act, and pulls out of the Moscow Olympics.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Presidency of Jimmy Carter · Wikipedia

Carter compared with other presidents

Measured on the axes both presidents are scored on, with the same rules as the quiz.

Questions about Jimmy Carter’s politics

The thirty-ninth president, who signed the Panama Canal treaties, helped broker the Camp David Accords, deregulated airlines, railroads and trucking, and made human rights a theme of foreign policy. On our twelve axes, the strongest documented leanings are Internationalism 78%, Democratic 75%, Globalism 70%.

Those labels changed meaning over time, so this site describes Carter on twelve axes instead. On the economy, Carter’s record sits between government action and free markets. On social questions it leans progressive. The scores above give the evidence behind each axis.

Jimmy Carter was a Democrat. Carter was the 39th president, serving 1977–1981.

On the axes they are both scored on, Carter is closest to John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Thomas Jefferson and furthest from James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, William McKinley.

Yes. He signed the Airline Deregulation Act on 24 October 1978, and the Staggers Rail Act and the Motor Carrier Act in 1980, which loosened federal control of rates and entry in airlines, railroads and trucking.

Something else on your mind? Get in touch

Sources and credits

Main source: Inaugural Address of Jimmy Carter · The Avalon Project

Also read

Portrait: White House, 1977 · Public domain

Scores are editorial estimates from the public record, not measurements. A place on this site is not praise.

How close are you to Carter?

Take the test and see how your twelve scores compare, axis by axis.