Gerald R. Ford

VP- Nelson Rockefeller

Dates in office: 1974-1977

Comes from Michigan PP: Republican

Born: July 14, 1913 – Died December 26, 2006

Political Background

1948-73 U.S. Representative from Michigan1965-73 U.S. House Minority Leader1973 Appointed vice president by Richard Nixon1974-77 Thirty-eighth U.S. president following the resignation of Richard Nixon1976 Loses presidential election to Jimmy Carter

Ford’s Vice Presidential Appointment

a. Appointed by Nixon and confirmed by congress after the resignation of VP Spiro Agnew under the terms of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution

b. Sworn in as VP on December 6, 1973

Terms of Acquisition to the Presidency

a. August 9, 1974 – Ford took the presidential oath of office after Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal ( …with not a single vote)

b. “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” He Asked the American public to pray for Nixon and his family.

c.Ford selected New York governor Nelson Rockefeller as his VP and kept Nixon’s cabinet in place

d.Ford and Rockefeller are the only president and VP never elected to their

positions serving at the same time

Pardon of Nixon a.Proclamation 4311, Granting a

Pardon to Richard Nixonb.“Someone must write an end to

an American tragedy”c.Once Nixon was pardoned (the

forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it) Ford’s approval rating nosedived – 71% to 49% in less than a week

Speech Pardoning Nixon d. Critics believed a Republican “deal” allowed him to become president if he pardoned Nixon

V. Domestic Policya. Vietnam Era Reconciliation Program

1. Clemency plan for draft-dodgers- to give them leniency/compassion/

forgiveness for avoiding to go to Vietnam (controversial because Ford had draft-dodger sons… and what about the guys who did go fight for our country!)

b. Economic Troubles1. Inflation continued to

increase – called by Ford “domestic enemy number one”

2. “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) – program designed to reduce federal spending and created a national volunteer organization to find ways to keep prices down

VI. Foreign Affairs

a. Presided over the official end to the Vietnam War

Cease fire 1973

South Vietnam falls to communism with the fall of Saigon, April 30, 1975 to North Vietnam control

b. Approved several million dollars in aid for war in Angola – area trying to fight communist guerrillas

c. Approved aid to Israel and Egypt – helped leaders of the warring nations to agree to interim peace proposals

d. Negotiated an arms-reduction agreement with the Soviet Union

e. Authorized a successful military response to a seizing of an American merchant ship by Cambodian Khmer Rouge forces

f. Reorganized the CIA after reviewing involvement Cuba and Watergate (other problems as well)

Helsinki Accords•the Helsinki Accords were

pretty broad, but opened up communication between east and west Europe, lessening tensions

h. Aid to South Vietnam and

Cambodia•The most important aid offered to these two countries after the withdrawal of American involvement was helping refugees escape

VII. Random Information about Ford

a. Asked the Marine Band to play the University of Michigan fight song rather than Hail to the Chief every time he made a public entrance

b. Two assassination attempts1. Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Frome

– follower of Charles Manson, approached Ford in a Sacramento hotel with her hand extended (had a gun – Ford thought she wanted to shake hands!)

2. Sara Jane Moore – identified as a radical, fired at Ford across the street from his hotel in San Francisco, California

Squeaky Frome and Ford Escaping an Assassination

Attempt

Sara Jane Moore

3. Both are serving life sentences (1965 law making the attempt to assassinate a president a federal crime)

c. Press began to highlight Ford’s mishaps after LBJ commented that Ford had played football too long without a helmet1. One network newscast

replayed footage of him (11 times) falling down Air Force One

Ford Falling Down Air Force One Stairs

VIII. President during the Bicentennial Celebration1. “Never in my wildest

dreams had I imagined that I would be President of the United States on its 200th birthday” July 4, 1776

2. Celebrated the day in NYC

Aid to Cambodia: Authorized a military response trying to defeat Cambodian Khmer Rouge forces ***The Khmer Rouge is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to two million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor. Following their leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge imposed an extreme form of social engineering on Cambodian society—a radical form of agrarian communism where the whole population had to work in collective farms or forced labor projects (est. 7.5 million people dead , as of 1975),