Iran Hostage Crisis

Perhaps the number one event, that will cost Jimmy Carter his reelection for president was the Iranian Hostage Crisis that went on for approximately 444 days and held 52 American diplomat citizens hostage in Iran. Several Iranian students, stormed the American embassy on November 4, 1979. This had all occurred because the former, exiled, Shah of Iran had been permitted entry into the United States to receive medical treatment for cancer. In the 1950’s the Shah of Iran was appointed by the United States. He was a dictator, who ruled with violence and cruelty. The people of Iran, are traditionally Shiite Muslims and the Shah was taking Iran towards a more progressive society. This further upset the people of Iran who did not want their conservative

On David Farber 's book Taken Hostage, Farber informs us about the Iran Hostage Crisis and America 's First Encounter with Radical Islam. This book tells us how the United States and Iran got into conflict, leading to the Iranians holding American Embassy members hostage as revenge for them feeling betrayed by the United States. It also informs us about other events that occurred in a decade that caused the United States many problems. Farber talked about all the events that lead to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. November 4, 1979, seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran and the hostage of four hundred and forty four days following, were the first steps leading up to the perpetual War on Terror. Farber believes the failure from American policymakers and more specifically from President Carter, to identify the severity of the crisis made for the prolonged crisis. The sheer ineptitude of Carter administration was the cost of the US to lose it’s way economically, culturally, politically and even military. Carter struggled to respond to the impulses of Islamic fundamentalism within the prevailing Cold War paradigm. They saw the real battle as against secular modernism and they recognized that the US was the major force spreading this cultural and political belief throughout the world. The media misrepresentations of the struggle and mass media manipulation of Americans played on the peoples emotions. Although Carter was popular at the beginning of his presidency, this began

The United States was progressively unsatisfied with the government in 1980. The states had high inflation and unemployment, including gasoline shortages. Not mentioning the hostage crisis in Iran held captive by Muslims. This made Carter seem weak and impotent, Citizens of the United States were now profoundly worried about what the future might hold.

Jimmy Carter took office in January 1977 after he overcame his opponent, Gerald Ford, in a close election. Soon after taking office, President Jimmy Carter set a goal to create jobs for the unemployed. President Carter also tried to make the government more useful and efficient by continuing the reforming of the regulatory system that had started during the time of the Nixon Administration. “Jimmy Carter’s plan did bring down the rate of unemployment, but he increased the cost-of-living stimulated by huge oil price hikes in the Middle East that soon dominated the Administration’s domestic agenda.” As Jimmy Carters relationship with Iran grew quickly, the shah of Iran came into communication with Jimmy Carter and he had accepted to protect

Jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth president of the United States, is considered to have had a controversial presidency. After being elected in 1976, he served as president from 1977-1981. He was a democrat who was known for his belief in human rights. Before he was elected president, Carter was the Senate and governor of Georgia. Jimmy Carter, a controversial president, achieved domestic success during the Energy Crisis and foreign success orchestrating the Camp David Accords, however, his response to the Iranian Hostage Crisis and controversial boycott of the 1980 Olympics marred his presidency.

The American public was so captivated by the Iran Hostage Crisis because they were blindsided by this radical action and their knowledge of America’s involvement in Iran was limited. The media played a major role in influencing their emotions and they already had trouble trusting the American government. This unknown involvement began in 1943 when President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met in Tehran to discuss how to remove the British and Soviet military forces from Iran because Iran wanted to be its own nation. The United States aided the young Shah, the ruler of Iran, and his government with military weapons and loans. Over time, Prime Minister Mossadegh, of Iran, gained more and more power until he was the true ruler of Iran and the Shah was just a figurehead. The United States, fearing the spread of communism, devised a secret plan for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to over throw Prime Minister Mossadegh.

Jimmy Carter served as the United States’ 39th president from 1977 to 1981. He came into presidency not long after the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. In this time of US history, American citizens were mistrusting of the executive branch of government do to these events. Throughout his campaign, Carter warranted for an improvement in the honesty of our government, and repeatedly stated, “I will never tell a lie”. At the core of his presidency, Carter  worked extremely hard to better America by promoting a respect for human rights.

The U.S. involvement in revoking democratically elected president of Iran Mohammed Mossadeq, restoring the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. Mossadeq wanted to nationalize the oil industry while Shah promoted a privatized system. Nationalization would allow Iran, rather than Great Britain, to profit from Iran's natural resource. As a result, the British urged the U.S. to aid the takeover plot.

During the election of 1980 most Americans eyes were fixed on two presidents. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Most Americans hearts were fixed on one issue. The Iranian hostage crisis. Jimmy Carter, the current president, had tried without success to end the crisis diplomatically. Ronald Reagan, an actor turned politician, had very little experience in a political position. Carter was not fit to handle the current crisis. His attempts to free the hostages had gone poorly both diplomatically and through use of force. Ronald Reagan was not very well known as a politician, he was known as an actor and many people believed that he would just act in office instead of being the

The United Sates presidential election of 1980 included Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican opponent Ronald Reagan. From the beginning of the election Reagan knew he had a great chance in winning the election and becoming the 40th president of the United Sates when he found out who he was running against. Back in 1976, Jimmy Carter was brought into the White House and His domestic policies failed to resonate with the American public and his standing as an international leader was badly damaged by the Iranian hostage drama that began in 1979

The US government tried to negotiate, rescue and embargo Iran for the hostages taken under Carters administration. They were released when Reagan was elected. He dealt from a position of power and the Iranians respected that.

President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. was our 39th president. He served one term from 1977 to 1981 (Freidel). Before presidency, he attempted to build his political resume. His platform on which he ran gave him popularity. While in office President Carter held many accomplishments and failures. One reason being his relationship with the vice president and cabinet. His public persona was an important factor to be considered for reelection. There were various events that occurred during his presidency and affected his tenure.

The Iranian hostage crisis was one of the most dramatic events in a series of problems that took place during President Jimmy Carter’s term. The crisis, beginning in November of 1979, received the most coverage of any major event since World War II. It was one of many problems faced in light of the United State’s complex relationship with Iran. The effects on both the US and Iran were astronomical, especially politically as well as economically and socially. It took a heavy toll on American relations with the Middle East and changed the way we engage in foreign affairs. In light of this crisis, Iran started an international war that we are still fighting thirty-two years later.

There is a heightened crisis for the Algerian and foreign hostages currently in Algeria. Arthur Bright presents the issue in his article “Algerian Hostage Crisis heightens as Scores are Reported Dead” in the Christian Science Monitor on January 17, 2013. The same issue is discussed by Jamie Dettmer in his article “Hostages Reportedly Dead in Algerian Oil Field , Siege” which was posted on the Daily Beast on January 17, 2013. The authors discuss the number of hostages which are increasing and so are the endangerment of their lives. Bright and Dettmer present the severity of the hostage issue in Algeria by employing the techniques of word choice, sentence structure and organization; although both authors discuss the same issue and use the same

Furthermore, the Shah purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons of security from the US. In 1979 the realm was overthrown by extreme Islam’s that were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. The intention of the Iranian students was to display their displeasure against the Shah. Their demand was the return of the Shah for a trial followed by his death. In addition, they asked that the US stay out of their country’s affairs. Carter’s approach required the safeguarding of American hostages but also guaranteed an alliance with Iran. Carter’s tactics on the situation had devastating effects on his run for re-election (Hamilton, 1982).