Before he was President, Governor, or even a State Senator, Jimmy Carter's first political office was on the Sumter County School Board in rural, south Georgia filling a seat vacated when his father passed away in 1953. On this episode of Recollecting Carter, I talk with Dr. Jason Berggren about how understanding Carter's earliest political appointment helps us to better appreciate just how much he evolved over the course of his career.

You can find Jason and co-author Adrienne Petty's research at: https://www.npshistory.com/publications/jica/sumter-co.pdf