Because the state constitution (which has now been changed) prevented Carter from running for a second term, he began contemplating his ascent to a higher office. In the summer of 1974, he became the Democratic National Committee's chairman for congressional and gubernatorial campaigns. This allowed Carter to meet people who would be instrumental in his election as the 39th President of the United States. Historian Douglas Brinkley attributed Carter's win to the idea that "he offered a biography of what we wanted to hear; a farmer, Main Street values, Plains ... the right message at the right time."

Left: Jimmy Carter giving a Labor Day campaign speech in Warm Springs, Georgia, 1976. From the Herman Talmadge Photograph Collection, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries.