Presidential Powers and Precedent: Jimmy Carter, Alaska and the Antiquities Act

About The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum (National Archives)

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum (National Archives) is not a library in the usual sense, but is instead a research facility and museum. The archives is a repository of approximately 27 million pages of Jimmy Carter’s White House material and papers of administration associates, including documents, memoranda, correspondence, etc. There are also half a million photographs and hundreds of hours of film, audio, and video tape.

About the class

Between 1978 and 1980, President Carter used the Antiquities Act of 1906 as leverage to bring Congress to the table and pass the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). ANILCA protected over 150 million acres of public land and expedited implementation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. But was he justified? Or did he exceed his Constitutional authority? Were there checks or balances to his actions by the other branches of government or state governments? Has the Antiquities Act of 1906 strengthened or weakened our democracy? These and other questions will be discussed during this live, interactive workshop that will examine primary sources from the holdings of the Carter Library and National Archives Catalog.

Meet your instructor, Josh.

Josh Montanari has been an Education Specialist at Jimmy Carter Presidential Library since 2017. He also has ten years of experience as a National Park Ranger, with notable duty stations including Denali National Park, Crater Lake National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park.