Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, Transcript, Miller Center at University of Virginia, April 18, . 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. ", And this from a young Chicano: "Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives. It makes it harder for us to balance our Federal budget and to finance needed programs for our people. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. 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. Our Nation's economic and political independence is becoming increasingly vulnerable. 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. 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 . This lack of moral and spiritual confidence, he concluded, was at the core of Americas inability to hoist itself out of its economic troubles. Will Obama and his ilk learn the lessons of history? With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime. ; Carter went on to serve in the US Navy and was sworn in as president in 1977. Within 10 years, we would not be able to import enough oil from any country, at any acceptable price. Exactly 3 years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. These are the goals that we set for 1985: On this day in 1979, with energy prices soaring and interest rates spiking, President Jimmy Carter told an anxious nation in a prime-time televised address that it faced "a crisis of. All of us have heard about the large oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. We have the world's highest level of technology. During the next few weeks, attention will be focused on the Congress, but the proving of our courage and commitment will continue, in different forms and places, in the months and the years, even generations ahead. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. to reduce gasoline consumption by 10 percent below its. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. If they succeed with this approach, then the burden on the ordinary citizen, who is not organized into an interest group, would be crushing. Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. This difficult effort will be the 'moral equivalent of war' except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy. 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. I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. In this speech, Carter recognizes that Americans have lost faith in government, in part because of the energy crisis. On June 30, 1979, a weary Jimmy Carter was looking forward to a few days' vacation in Hawaii, as Air Force One sped him away from a grueling economic summit in Tokyo. 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. Last year we spent $36 billion for imported oilnearly 10 times as much. A few weeks ago, in Detroit, an unemployed steelworker told me something that may reflect the feelings of many of you. The third principle is that we must protect the environment. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. Address to the Nation on Energy | The American Presidency Project Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problemswasteful use of resources. We can regain our confidence. These funds will go to fight, not to increase, inflation and unemployment. During the 1950's, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940's. Just since April, our oil imports have cost us $23 billionabout $350 worth of foreign oil for the average American family. We can't substantially increase our domestic production, so we would need to import twice as much oil as we do now. Thank you very much, and good night. God Bless You Jimmy Carter, Pioneer Deregulator | Newsmax.com There's Still Time to Speak Ill of Jimmy Carter - PJ Media Primary Source: Jimmy Carter, "Crisis of Confidence" (1979) I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. "We can't go on consuming 40 percent more energy than we produce. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It costs us business investments. But if we fail to act boldly today, then we will surely face a greater series of crises tomorrowenergy shortages, environmental damage, ever more massive Government bureaucracy and regulations, and illconsidered, last-minute crash programs. There is something especially American in the kinds of changes that we have to make. All rights reserved. We have the ability to administer the new energy legislation, and congressional work on the National Energy Plan has now reached the final stage. ", "If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow. 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. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. Our imports have more than tripled in the last 10 years. 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. It costs about $13 to waste it. A look at Jimmy Carter's legacy in Georgia and around the world This is an effort which requires vision and cooperation from all Americans. On July 15, 1918, near the Marne River in the Champagne region of France, the Germans begin what would be their final offensive push of World War I. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967, and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.. Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia, graduated from the United States Naval . That is the concept of the energy policy that we will present on Wednesday. But when this Nation critically needs a refinery or a pipeline, we will build it. If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social, and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions. Posted by RockyTCB 3/1/2023 6:11:41 AM. Our national security depends on more than just our Armed Forces; it also rests on the strength of our economy, on our national will, and on the ability of the United States to carry out our foreign policy as a free and independent nation. I hope that, perhaps a hundred years from now, the change to inexhaustible energy sources will have been made, and our Nation's concern about energy will be over. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. 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. Jimmy Carter speaks on 'a crisis of confidence,' July 15, 1979 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. On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation via live television to discuss the nations energy crisis and accompanying recession. Conservation helps us solve both problems at once. The tenth and last principle is that we must start now to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy that we will rely on in the next century. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us. The corporation will issue up to $5 billion in energy bonds, and I especially want them to be in small denominations so that average Americans can invest directly in America's energy security. Jimmy Carter, "Address to the Nation on Energy," April 18, 1977 (excerpts). Carter didn't directly recommend rationing, but it's clear he . No one will be asked to bear an unfair burden. President Carter speaks to the American people about the importance of an energy policy that focuses on conservation of the nation's natural resources and a new energy department. There, in the next few weeks, the strength and courage of our political system will be proven. Each American uses the energy equivalent of 60 barrels of oil per person each year. 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. I know that many of you have suspected that some supplies of oil and gas are being withheld from the market. Thank you very much. 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. Intense competition for oil will build up among nations and also among the different regions within our own country. I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. But we still have another choice. "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. I will sign the energy bills only if they meet these tests. Those citizens who insist on driving large, unnecessarily powerful cars must expect to pay more for that luxury. But our energy problem is worse tonight than it was in 1973 or a few weeks ago in the dead of winter. Along with that money that we transport overseas, we will continue losing American jobs and become increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions. Carter retreated to Camp David, where he met with Americans from various backgrounds and spoke . Unless we act, we will spend more than $550 billion for imported oil by 1985--more than $2,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. The cost will keep going up. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 sent energy prices soaring, and four years later, the impacts were still rippling through the economy. Die Hard also became read more, John Christie, one of Englands most notorious killers, is executed. We will feel mounting pressure to plunder the environment. - Jimmy Carter, Energy Address to the Nation, April 18, 1977. This button displays the currently selected search type. Confidence in the future has supported everything else--public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. We can't substantially increase our domestic production, so we would need to import twice as much oil as we do now. Conservation is the only way that we can buy a barrel of oil for about $2. The former . 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. Exactly 3 years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. We often think of conservation only in terms of sacrifice. ", "Mr. President, we're in trouble. On July 15, 1979, amid stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter delivered a televised address to the American people. Jimmy Carter, "Malaise" Speech, July 15, 1979 - Bill of Rights We've always been proud, through our history, of being efficient people. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down. This has already started. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search . We can decide to act while there is still time. All Rights Reserved. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. In 1979, America could still feel the effects of OPECs (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 1973 cuts in oil production. These quotas will ensure a reduction in imports even below the ambitious levels we set at the recent Tokyo summit. This effort will permit you to build conservation into your homes and your lives at a cost you can afford. I believe that the duties of this office permit me to do no less. Second, as I've said before, it's designed to meet our important goals for energy conservation, to promote a shift to more plentiful and permanent energy supplies and encourage increased production of energy in the United States. These are serious problems, and this has been a serious talk. I promised you a President who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you. I will be working closely with them. More of our oil is coming from foreign countries. ", This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: "Mr. President, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.". You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. One such lesson is don't count conventional energy out. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. These were the promises I made 3 years ago, and I intend to keep them. One of the visitors to Camp David last week put it this way: "We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. 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. This change became the basis of the Industrial Revolution. There should be only one test for this programwhether it will help our country. Vast amounts of American wealth no longer stay in the United States to build our factories and to give us a better life. But sometime in the 1980's, it can't go up any more. The Congress is facing very difficult decisions, courageously, and we've formed a good partnership. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past. This major legislation is a necessary first step on a long and difficult road. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. 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. What can we do? Point five: To make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of achieving these goals, I will urge Congress to create an energy mobilization board which, like the War Production Board in World War II, will have the responsibility and authority to cut through the red tape, the delays, and the endless roadblocks to completing key energy projects. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act. But the sacrifices can be gradual, realistic, and they are necessary. 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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. 12874 Into Law," November 4, 1978. April 18, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy | Miller Center Never speak ill of the dead, the old saying goes, but Jimmy Carter, 98, still lives. Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our Nation's history to develop America's own alternative sources of fuel--from coal, from oil shale, from plant products for gasohol, from unconventional gas, from the Sun. It costs about $13 to waste it. Each new inventory of world oil reserves has been more disturbing than the last. 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. 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. When President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation on April 18, 1977, the U.S. was in a crisis. It causes unemployment. Jimmy Carter, "Crisis of Confidence" (1979) - American Yawp With God's help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. During the 1960's, we used twice as much as during the 1950's. This plan is essential to protect our jobs, our environment, our standard of living, and our future. And above all, I will act. I have faith that meeting this challenge will make our own lives even richer. Danny De Gracia: What Hawaii Legislators Can Learn From Jimmy Carter Supplies will be uncertain. Every $5 billion increase in oil imports costs us 200,000 American jobs. We can drift along for a few more years. How does Carter link the energy crisis to a crisis of the American spirit? Imports have doubled in the last 5 years. The second principle is that healthy economic growth must continue. They will endure. 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. Unlike the billions of dollars that we ship to foreign countries to pay for foreign oil, these funds will be paid by Americans to Americans. These proposals would provide adequate incentives for exploration and production of domestic oil and gas, but some of the oil companies want much moretens of billions of dollars more. ", "You don't see the people enough any more. Now we have a choice. Carter quoted one of the Camp David meeting participants as saying that Americas neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife. In addition, inflation had reached an all-time high during Carters term. It is a clear and present danger to our Nation. We ourselves are the same Americans who just 10 years ago put a man on the Moon. Demand will overtake production. The second change took. Tonight, at this crucial time, I want to emphasize why it is so important that we have an energy plan and what we will risk, as a nation, if we are timid or reluctant to face this challenge. Within 10 years, we would not be able to import enough oil from any country, at any acceptable price. We can drift along for a few more 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. 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. This energy plan is a good insurance policyfor the future, in which relatively small premiums that we pay today will protect us in the years ahead. ", "Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. Our emphasis on conservation is a clear difference between this plan and others which merely encouraged crash production efforts. The ninth principle is that we must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. November 8, 1977: Address to the Nation on Energy In his speech, President Carter called the crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and called on Americans to conserve energy. ", "Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good. Perspective | What Jimmy Carter's most famous moment can teach the State of the Union Address 1979 - Jimmy Carter 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. Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem that is unprecedented in our history. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. Now we need efficiency and ingenuity more than ever.