Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. ", And the last that I'll read: "When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. President, don't issue us BB guns.". I can't tell you that these measures will be easy, nor will they be popular. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act. But, unfortunately, there are still some who seek personal gain over the national interest. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis . During the subsequent campaign, Goldwater said that he thought the United States should do whatever was necessary to win in Vietnam. His remarks were broadcast live on radio and television. We are only Cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford. Carter prefaced his talk about energy policy with an explanation of why he believed the American economy remained in crisis. 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. How does Carter link the energy crisis to a crisis of the American spirit? Those citizens who insist on driving large, unnecessarily powerful cars must expect to pay more for that luxury. I will listen and I will act. Obviously, this cannot continue. To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. Former President Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.), was the 39 th president of the United States, serving from 1977-1981. 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. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. Inflation will soar; production will go down; people will lose their jobs. Versace is shot twice in the head, and Cunanan flees the scene. One such lesson is don't count conventional energy out. 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. I'm sure that each of you will find something you don't like about the specifics of our proposal. On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. 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. This problem has come upon us suddenly. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this Nation. to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; We could endanger our freedom as a sovereign nation to act in foreign affairs. If it were possible to keep it rising during the 1970's and 1980's by 5 percent a year, as it has in the past, we could use up all the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade. The world has not prepared for the future. The third principle is that we must protect the environment. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. So, the solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country. 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. producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer. The message was usually focused on energy conservation. This year, when foreign oil is very expensive, we are importing nearly 9 million barrels a dayalmost one-half of all the oil we use. --to insulate 90 percent of American homes and all new buildings; During the 1950's, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940's. I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. 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. After restoring faith in itself, the nation would be able to march on to the the battlefield of energy [where] we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.. Play Video. Just as the search for solutions to our energy shortages has now led us to a new awareness of our Nation's deeper problems, so our willingness to work for those solutions in energy can strengthen us to attack those deeper problems. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans. In little more than two decades we've gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof. We can delay insulating our homes, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste. We can decide to act while there is still time. If we do not act, then by 1985 we will be using 33 percent more energy than we use today. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation. Nearly everyone who is alive today grew up during this period, and we have never known anything different. 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. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. 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. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). 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. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. We have more oil in our shale alone than several Saudi Arabias. World oil production can probably keep going up for another 6 or 8 years. On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered what became known as his "Crisis of Confidence" or "malaise" speech to the American public on national television. Supplies will be uncertain. I'm sure that each of you will find something you don't like about the specifics of our proposal. Although journalists and historians say the address ultimately undermined his presidency, the Democratic candidates vying to challenge President Trump in 2020 have much to learn from Carter's . We will feel mounting pressure to plunder the environment. I propose the creation of an energy security corporation to lead this effort to replace 2 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day by 1990. We can't substantially increase our domestic production, so we would need to import twice as much oil as we do now. 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. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. This will not be the last time that I, as President, present difficult and controversial choices to you and ask for your help. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more. We have the natural resources. There are three things that we must do to avoid this danger: first, cut back on consumption; second, shift away from oil and gas to other sources of energy; and third, encourage production of energy here in the United States. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. For the fifth time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. 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. Carter, who after the presidency would teach Sunday School, tried to rally the public to have faith in the future of America. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. The history of our Nation is one of meeting challenges and overcoming them. Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our Nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source. It's always been easier to wait until the next year or the next term of office, to avoid political risk. Six years ago, we paid $3.7 billion for imported oil. I believe that the duties of this office permit me to do no less. We have no choice about that. I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. A year later, Ronald Reagan would frame his optimistic . Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. 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. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process rebuild the unity and confidence of America. Carter was unable to solve most of the problems plaguing the country during his administration, including an ailing economy and a continuing energy crisis. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war," except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. But a common national sacrifice to meet this serious problem should be shared by everyone-some proof that the plan is fair. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war," except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. Other generations of Americans have faced and mastered great challenges. To some degree, the sacrifices will be painful--but so is any meaningful sacrifice. He also admitted that part of the problem was his failure to provide strong leadership on many issues, particularly energy and oil consumption. They were more convenient and cheaper than coal, and the supply seemed to be almost without limit. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. ", And this one from a labor leader got to the heart of it: "The real issue is freedom. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny. 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. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual. 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. There is something especially American in the kinds of changes that we have to make. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. Four months earlier, on March 25, the police and a tenant at 10 Rillington Place in West London made an awful discovery: the bodies of four women in an empty apartment, three in a hidden cupboard and one more read more, On July 15, 1903, the newly formed Ford Motor Company takes its first order from Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning: an $850 two-cylinder Model A automobile with a tonneau (or backseat). Download media. And now we have a chance again to give the world a positive example. Conservation is the only way that we can buy a barrel of oil for about $2. I do not mean our political and civil liberties. I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. We remember when the phrase "sound as a dollar" was an expression of absolute dependability, until 10 years of inflation began to shrink our dollar and our savings. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. We've always been proud of our ingenuity, our skill at answering questions. Both consumers and producers need policies they can count on so they can plan ahead. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of man's previous history combined. "We can't go on consuming 40 percent more energy than we produce. I know that many of you have suspected that some supplies of oil and gas are being withheld from the market. We can decide to act while there is still time. Twice in the last several hundred years, there has been a transition in the way people use energy. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. We have the world's highest level of technology. producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the oil companies profiteer. Thank you very much, and good night. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us. First, it's fair both to the American consumers and to the energy producers, and it will not disrupt our national economy. 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 world now uses about 60 million barrels of oil a day, and demand increases each year about 5 percent. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency . This has already started. If this trend continues, the excessive reliance on foreign oil could make the very security of our Nation increasingly dependent on uncertain energy supplies. I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. We've always been proud, through our history, of being efficient people. ", "Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good. April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy. We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. It pushes up international energy prices because excessive importing of oil by the United States makes it easier for foreign producers to raise their prices. Carter also addresses his ideas to improve the economy and reduce the size of government. It causes unemployment. 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. Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in the farming community of Plains, Georgia. On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation via live television to discuss the nations energy crisis and accompanying recession. 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. National Energy Plan: Address to the Nation. They are the ones that we must provide for now. March 9, 1977: Remarks at President Carter's Press Conference. There should be only one test for this program--whether it will help our country. Pike was instructed to seek out headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers and to investigate read more, Spree killer Andrew Cunanan murders world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace on the steps outside his Miami mansion. The sixth principle, and the cornerstone of our policy, is to reduce demand through conservation. We must look back into history to understand our energy problem. Our Nation must be fair to the poorest among us, so we will increase aid to needy Americans to cope with rising energy prices. Too few of our utility companies will have switched to coal, which is our most abundant energy source. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends. ", "You don't see the people enough any more. We can be sure that all the special interest groups in the country will attack the part of this plan that affects them directly. 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. I'll read just a few. If you will join me so that we can work together with patriotism and courage, we will again prove that our great Nation can lead the world into an age of peace, independence, and freedom. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. Americans saw the federal government as a bloated bureaucracy that had become stagnant and was failing to serve the people. Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. 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. It will be money well spent. There is simply no way to avoid sacrifice. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. All of us have heard about the large oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. All of us in Government need your help. Confidence in the future has supported everything else--public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. Demand will overtake production. Never speak ill of the dead, the old saying goes, but Jimmy Carter, 98, still lives. Our plan will call for strict conservation measures if we fall behind. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. Vast amounts of American wealth no longer stay in the United States to build our factories and to give us a better life. 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. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment, and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy. 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. 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. Good evening. Now, I know that some of you may doubt that we face real energy shortages. Jimmy Carter: "Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 Statement on Signing H.R. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. 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. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, Transcript, Miller Center at University of Virginia, April 18, . On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation via live television to discuss the nation's energy crisis and accompanying recession. This is a special night for me. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. Democrat Jimmy Carter served as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. - Jimmy Carter, Energy Address to the Nation, April 18, 1977. We've always been proud of our vision of the future. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Miller Center: April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, March 9, 1977: Remarks at President Carter's Press Conference, May 22, 1977: University of Notre Dame Commencement, September 7, 1977: Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing, November 8, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy, January 19, 1978: State of the Union Address, September 17, 1978: President Carter's Remarks on Joint Statement at Camp David Summit, October 24, 1978: Anti-Inflation Program Speech, December 15, 1978: Speech on Establishing Diplomatic Relations with China, January 23, 1979: State of the Union Address, July 15, 1979: "Crisis of Confidence" Speech. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. We've also proposed, and the Congress is reviewing, incentives to encourage production of oil and gas here in our own country. 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. Presidential Speeches | Jimmy Carter Presidency A graduate of the U.S. that it be. Embed. ", "Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. Working with Congress, we've now formed a new Department of Energy, headed by Secretary James Schlesinger. The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense--I tell you it is an act of patriotism. The oil and natural gas that we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are simply running out. It's crucial that you understand how serious this challenge is. Surprising viewers, who were expecting a laundry list of proposals to deal with the energy crisis, Carter took a different tack. The cost will keep going up. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! If we wait and do not act, then our factories will not be able to keep our people on the job with reduced supplies of fuel. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources--America's people, America's values, and America's confidence. Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. Our nation's 39 th president, Jimmy Carter, is currently in hospice care. And the truth is that you cannot talk about economic problems now or in the future without talking about energy. We are at a turning point in our history. I will be working closely with them. We will have to have a crash program to build more nuclear plants, strip mine and bum more coal, and drill more offshore wells than if we begin to conserve right now. 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. Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third changeto strict conservation and to the renewed use of coal and to permanent renewable energy sources like solar power. I'm announcing tonight that for 1979 and 1980, I will forbid the entry into this country of one drop of foreign oil more than these goals allow. This difficult effort will be the 'moral equivalent of war' except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy. 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. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation. Every gallon of oil each one of us saves is a new form of production. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. Meanwhile, although we have large petroleum supplies of our own and most of them don't, we in the United States have increased our imports more than 40 percent. 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. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. It's important that we promote new oil and gas discoveries and increased production by giving adequate prices to the producers. It's a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. Three-quarters of them would carry only one personthe driverwhile our public transportation system continues to decline. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. The third principle is that we must protect the environment. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. This has already started. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. Thereafter, I was so dismayed by his presidency that I betrayed my natal Democratic Party and voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. They want immediate and permanent deregulation of gas prices, which would cost consumers $70 billion or more between now and 1985. I know that many of you have suspected that some supplies of oil and gas are being withheld from the market. We can delay insulating our homes, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars, and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. 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.