‘He saved our lives.’ A former US hostage reflects on Carter’s legacy : Consider This from NPR

U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the order blocking Iranian funds in U.S. banks, on November 14, 1979 in Washington D.C.

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U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the order blocking Iranian funds in U.S. banks, on November 14, 1979 in Washington D.C.

-/CONSOLIDATED NEWS PICTURES/AFP v

Jimmy Carter’s four years in the White House were largely defined by an event that took place halfway through his term.

On November 4th, 1979 Iranian college students took over the US Embassy in Tehran, and took 52 Americans hostage.

For the next 444 days, the Carter administration tried to secure the hostages’ release. In April, 1980 they even commissioned a rescue mission that ended in failure.

While Carter was trying to end the hostage crisis, he was also campaigning for a second term. A year to the day after the Americans were taken hostage, Ronald Reagan beat Carter in a landslide.

The hostage crisis played a key role in Carter’s defeat.

The Iranian Hostage crisis helped doom Jimmy Carter’s presidency, but for some of the people he helped free, he was a hero.

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This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and edited by Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.