On this day, November the 2nd, in the year of 1973, Jimmy Carter (Democrat) was elected as the 39th President of the United States of America over Gerald Ford (Republican, Incumbent).

Going into the 1976 election, the United States was looking for change in Washington. After the Nixon administration, America wanted to move on from the Vietnam War era and away from the Watergate Scandal. 

A holdout from this era was President Ford, who became the President after Nixon resigned from office, before that he became the Vice President when Nixon’s former V.P. resigned.

The man America elected to bring forth this change was Jimmy Carter, a “New Southern” who brought the South back to the Democratic party, helping him defeat Ford with 297 electoral votes over Ford’s 240, and by over a million in the popular vote (Britannica).

Carter would not be reelected President in the 1980 election, losing to Ronald Reagan (Republican) (270toWin).

Today, Carter is the oldest living U.S. President, being 97 years old, and routinely volunteers throughout the nation to today (Insider).