The elaborate series of ceremonies and services that follow the death of an American president stand in stark contrast to the humble, everyman persona of former President Jimmy Carter, whose body arrived in Washington on Tuesday.

Coming to office after Watergate and Vietnam, Mr. Carter presented himself as a man of the people: On his Inauguration Day, he surprised the crowds by jumping out of his presidential limousine with his wife to walk the parade route to the White House, setting the tone for his tenure.

In addition to banning the welcome trumpets favored by President Richard M. Nixon and others who lived in the White House, Mr. Carter sold the Sequoia, the presidential yacht, and insisted on carrying his own luggage onto Air Force One when he traveled. He barred senior members of his staff from using a White House car service to and from work, and turned the thermostat of the White House down to 65 degrees in his first winter living there to save energy.

Eventually, after coming under criticism for diminishing the stature of the office, Mr. Carter relented on some of these measures, coming to realize that Americans wanted the presidency imbued with a certain majesty. He allowed “Hail to the Chief” to be played again, at least under limited circumstances, although he never bought another presidential yacht.

Mr. Carter came by his humility honestly. Even after he was defeated for re-election, he and Mrs. Carter returned to the simple ranch house that they built in 1961 in Plains, Ga., and lived out the remaining four decades of their lives there. The four-bedroom, three-bath house is valued at $241,200 by Zillow.

While other former presidents have cashed in with six- and even seven-figure checks for speeches, cushy corporate gigs and other multimillion-dollar moneymaking ventures, Mr. Carter earned a living in large part by writing books — 32 in all — and never lived the high life that his presidential peers have.

But at some point along the way, he clearly gave in to the demands of tradition and agreed to the sort of elaborate memorial events generally associated with a head of state. Presidents are deeply involved in the planning of their funerals — in Mr. Carter’s case, he was part of the discussions for decades. He did draw the line at one idea originally in the plans. He refused to let his remains be transported back to Georgia for burial by train. Instead, he will be flown.