Ch.
33
Sect.
1
The
Ford
Administration
Objectives:
1.  Describe
how
Gerald
Ford
became
President
and
why
he
pardoned
Richard
Nixon.
2.  Summarize
the
economic
problems
faced
by
the
Ford
administration.
3.  Explain
the
foreign
policy
challenges
that
faced
Ford.
4.  Describe
the
importance
of
the
nation’s
200th
birthday
celebration.
Main
Idea:
After
becoming
President,
Gerald
Ford
worked
to
reunite
the
country.
He
faced
economic
problems
at
home
as
well
as
foreign
policy
challenges
abroad.
Ford
Becomes
President
•  Gerald
Ford
was
a
former
Representative
from
Michigan
before
being
appointed
Vice
President
in
October
1973.
•  Ford
took
over
after
the
United
States’
worst
political
scandal,
a
war
defeat
in
Vietnam,
and
when
the
economy
was
in
huge
trouble.
•  Ford
then
gave
Nixon
a
full
pardon
preventing
Nixon
from
standing
trial
for
any
wrong
doing
he
may
have
done
during
Watergate
(this
outraged
many
Americans).
•  Ford
appointed
Nelson
Rockefeller
as
Vice
President,
creating
the
Xirst
time
in
U.S.
history
when
the
President
and
Vice
President
were
both
appointed,
not
elected.
The
Nixon
Pardon
• Ford
drastically
misjudged
the
American
people
when
he
gave
Nixon
a
full
pardon.
• Ford
pardoned
Nixon
barely
a
month
into
ofXice.
• Many
Americans
wondered
if
Ford
was
a
crooked
politician
or
if
Nixon
had
negotiated
the
pardon
before
resigning.
• Ford
never
recovered
and
problems
with
the
economy,
Congress,
and
foreign
policy
will
keep
Ford
from
being
reelected.
Ford
Signs
Nixon’s
Pardon
September
8,
1974
StagHlation
• For
the
Xirst
time
in
U.S.
history
both
inXlation
and
unemployment
rose
at
the
same
time,
now
called
stagHlation.
• Ford
faced
the
worst
U.S.
economy
since
the
Great
Depression.
• Unemployment
reached
9%
in
1975
and
a
multibillion
dollar
tax
cut
helped
the
economy
only
slightly.
• Unemployment
and
inXlation
remained
high
and
the
government
deXicit
increased.
ConHlicts
With
Congress
• Ford’s problems with Congress
stemmed from his belief in limited
government with a Democratic
Congress.
• Ford vetoed a bill to create a
consumer protection agency and
funding programs for education,
housing, and health care.
• Congress responded by overriding
more Presidential vetoes since 1850
(Pierce #14).
Foreign
Policy
• Ford
continued
Nixon’s
foreign
policy
by
signing
the
SALT
II
Treaty.
• Congress
passed
the
War
Powers
Act
in
1973
reducing
the
president’s
power
using
U.S.
troops
without
declaration
of
war,
national
law,
or
national
emergency.
• The
Vietnam
War
ended
in
April
1975
with
Vietnam
becoming
one
Communist
country.
• Ford
also
signed
the
Helsinki
Accords
where
35
nations
agreed
to
cooperate
economically
and
to
promote
human
rights.
Ford
&
Brezhnev
Bicentennial
• The
U.S.
celebrated
its
bicentennial
on
July
4,
1976
with
massive
parades
and
Xireworks
(national
pride).
• Many
Americans
saw
the
bicentennial
mood
as
an
optimistic
revival
after
years
of
gloom.
Bicentennial
Fireworks
&
Quarter