Gerald Ford
(1974-1977), Republican
Background
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Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913
The only US President to become an Eagle scout
Played football at University of Michigan
Went to Yale Law
Drafted in the Navy for War World 11
Married Elizabeth Warren in 1948
Became Minority Whip Leader in 1964
Commander in Chief
Criteria for A= open about defense and
war situation
Ford= was straightforward with foreign
affairs and war situation.
Grade= A
• Helsinki Accord- fused tensions in Cold
War between Western and Eastern Europe.
• Egypt and Israel peace treaty
Chief Legislator
Criteria for A= Even if he doesn’t
follow party lines, gets things passed
Ford= did not, vetoed unreasonably
Grade= D
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Whip Inflation Now proposal (W.I.N)
vetoes 66 times, only 12 overridden by Congress
Watergate Class- all Democrat group that opposes
everything Ford does
Chief Executive
Criteria for A= Uses executive authority
carefully/ in crisis
Ford= used to help country, but not
necessarily right time
Grade= C
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pardons Nixon one month after going in office
(*Note= to move on from trial and put scandal passed
country)
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closed many foreign issues after Vietnam War because
previous President’s abused power
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gained back trust in government.
Chief of Party
Criteria for A= President wins/retains his party
control in Congress during midterm election
Ford= Stayed with party entire term but failed to
get re elected.
Grade= B
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stuck with party lines completely
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Congress party against him:
Does not get re elected when running against
Jimmy Carter
93rd Congress in 1974: Senate= Democrats-56 Republicans-42 Other: 2; H of Rep= 242-192-1
94th Congress in 1978: Senate= 61-37-2 ; H of Rep= 291-144-0
Guardian of the Economy
Criteria for A= economy improves or stays
good/stable over term
Ford= economy in horrible state and all attempts
to fix it failed.
Grade=F
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Economy already in worst state since
Depression
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inflation gets worse
tax reduction act passes but doesn’t work and makes huge deficit
W.I.N.- failed at Congress
kept switching opinion on taxes
Chief Diplomat
Criteria for A= peaceful interactions with other
countries
Ford= attempted with foreign peace settlements/
affairs, denied by Congress for most
Grade= B
note= both
denied by
Congress
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Helsinki Accords-trying to fix foreign affairs
Egypt and Israel peace
Emergency funds to South Vietnam before it fell to Communism
Aid to Angola Anti-Marxist guerrilla fighters
Head of State
Criteria for A= President is periodically
portrayed in news because of speeches, solid public
figure
Ford= Wasn’t looked in good light as public figure
for letting Nixon get off easy.
Grade= C
• Nixon pardoning developed biggest public
opinion in his term.
• Assassination attempt in 1975
• Fun fact= fell several times in public
appearances
Final Grade= C
If he does win, we pick this face to carve into the
monument >>
• Economy didn’t get better.
• pardons Nixon too soon
• He did attempt to fix everything, but
Congress was completely against him.
Works Cited List
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Composition of Congress, by Political Party 1855-2010. 2010. Infoplease. 1/09/2011. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774721.html>
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Gerald Ford. 2011. Wikipedia. 01/07/2011/. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford>
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Gerald Ford. 2011. NNDB. 01/09/2011. <http://www.nndb.com/people/400/000022334/>
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Gerald Ford American Experience. 2009. PBS. 01/07/2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/38_ford/index.html>
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Gerald Ford History Articles. 2010 History.com. 01/08/2011. <http://www.history.com/topics/gerald-r-ford>
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Gerald Ford Speeches. not listed. History Place/ 01/08/2010/ < <httwww.historyplace.com/speeches/ford.htm>
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President Ford’s Pardon of Richard Nixon. 2009. Watergate Info. 1/09/2011. <http://www.watergate.info/ford/pardon.shtml>