- Amy Carter
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For the Georgia State Representative, see Amy Carter (Georgia politician).
Amy Carter 
A young Amy Carter with her cat, named Misty Malarky Ying Yang.Born October 19, 1967
Plains, GeorgiaEducation B.F.A., M.A. in Art History Alma mater Memphis College of Art
Tulane UniversityPolitical party Democratic Spouse James Gregory Wentzel (m. 1996–present) Children Hugo James Wentzel (born 1999) Parents Jimmy Carter
Rosalynn CarterAmy Lynn Carter (born October 19, 1967) is the fourth child and only daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. She entered the limelight as she lived as a child in the White House during the Carter presidency.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Amy Carter was born on October 19, 1967 in Plains, Georgia. In 1970 her father was elected Governor of Georgia, followed by President of the United States in 1976. Amy lived and was raised in Plains until her father was elected president, whereupon she moved with her family into the White House. Sometime after her father's presidency, Amy moved to Atlanta and attended her senior year of high school at Woodward Academy.[1]
Amy is the youngest of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's children and has three older brothers.
Life in the White House
Carter lived in the White House for four years from the age of nine. She was the subject of much media attention during this period, as young children had not lived in the White House since the early 1960s presidency of John F. Kennedy (and didn't after the Carter presidency until the inauguration of Bill Clinton).
While in the White House, Carter had a Siamese cat named "Misty Malarky Ying Yang," who would be the last cat to occupy the White House until Socks, owned by Bill Clinton. Carter was also given an elephant from Sri Lanka from an immigrant. The elephant is currently in the National Zoo. She also had 39 teddy bears. Amy Carter attended Washington, DC, public schools,[2] including Stevens Elementary School and Hardy Middle School as well as Tri-County High School in Buena Vista, GA.[3][4][5]
Carter roller skated through the White House's East Room and had a treehouse on the South Lawn.[2] When she invited friends over for slumber parties in her treehouse, Secret Service agents monitored the event from the ground.[6]
Carter did not receive the "hands off" treatment that the media later afforded to Chelsea Clinton.[6] President Carter mentioned his daughter during a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan, when he said he had asked her what the most important issue in that election was and she said, "the control of nuclear arms". Once, when asked whether she had any message for the children of America, Amy replied with a simple "No".[7] Further controversy resulted when Carter was seen reading a book during a state dinner at the White House, which was seen as offensive to foreign guests.[6]
Activism
Amy Carter later became known for her political activism, participating in a number of sit-ins and protests during the 1980s and early 1990s, aimed at changing U.S. foreign policy towards South African apartheid and Central America.[6] Along with activist Abbie Hoffman and 13 others, she was arrested during a 1986 demonstration at the University of Massachusetts for protesting CIA recruitment there. She was acquitted of all charges in a well-publicized trial in Northampton, Massachusetts. Attorney Leonard Weinglass, who defended Abbie Hoffman in the Chicago Seven trial in the 1960s, utilized the necessity defense, successfully arguing that CIA involvement in Central America and other hotspots were equivalent to trespassing in a burning building.[8] This occurred during Carter's sophomore year at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She was eventually dismissed from Brown for academic reasons and declined an opportunity to return.[9]
Personal life
Amy Carter attended Washington DC public schools but eventually graduated high school at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree (BFA) from the Memphis College of Art and a master's degree in art history from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Carter illustrated[6] her father's 1995 children's book The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer.[10]
In September 1996, Carter married computer consultant James Gregory Wentzel, whom she had met while attending Tulane. Carter chose not to be given away, stating that she "belonged to no one." Carter and Wentzel both kept their own family names. The couple moved to the Atlanta area, where they continue to live and focus on raising their son, Hugo James Wentzel (born July 29, 1999). In Atlanta, Hugo attended Woodward Academy, Carter's alma mater.[1] Since the late 1990s, Carter has maintained a low profile, neither participating in public protests nor granting interviews. She is a member of the board of counselors of the Carter Center that advocates human rights and diplomacy as established by her father.[6]
References
- ^ a b c "Amy Carter is 17". The New York Times. October 18, 1984. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/19/us/amy-carter-is-17.html. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ a b St. Clair, Stacy (2008-11-07). "American Girls: For Obama's daughters, White House life isn't going to be normal". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-first-family-07-nov07,0,6338748.story. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ Explore DC: Hardy Middle School
- ^ First choice: why Chelsea Clinton should attend a public school - President-elect Bill Clinton's daughter
- ^ Carter, Amy (2008-11-07). "Where will the Obama girls go to school?". San Francisco Chronicle blog. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?blogid=46&entry_id=32415. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ a b c d e f Steindorf, Sarah (2000-02-17). "'Whatever happened to...?' Amy Carter". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080410223001/http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/02/17/p19s3.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ Danny Miller: I Heart Amy Carter The Huffington Post
- ^ http://personals.valleyadvocate.com/25th/archives/triumph.html
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3836020.html
- ^ ISBN 0-8129-2731-1
Categories:- 1967 births
- Tulane University alumni
- Living people
- People from Atlanta, Georgia
- People from Sumter County, Georgia
- Children of Presidents of the United States
- Carter family
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