AP US History
Gerald Randolph Ford (1974-76)
1) Background
Born in Nebraska, raised in Michigan
Attended the University of Michigan (played football) and then
Yale Law School
Navy combat officer during WWII and saw action in the South
Pacific
Elected to House of Reps (1948), served for 25 years, in 1965 he was selected as Minority Leader
(the highest ranking Republican in the House of Reps); as Leader he opposed LBJ’s Great Society
and wanted him to pursue the Vietnam War more vigorously; it had
been his ultimate goal to become the Speaker of the House
Married Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren 1948, (Faced breast cancer
in 1974 – talked openly about the ordeal. Was equally frank about her
dependency on alcohol and drugs and the successful battle to overcome it. Later founded Betty
Ford Center – substance abuse treatment center)
2) The “Accidental President” (never elected as VP or Pres)
Spiro T. Agnew forced to resign as Nixon’s VP
Ford was nominated by Nixon as Agnew’s replacement, mainly because he was well-liked and
Congress would easily confirm him; he was sworn in as VP on December 6, 1973
Ford spent his time as VP defending Nixon regarding the Watergate Scandals at every turn, but as m ore was coming out
about Nixon’s misdeeds, it became clear that Nixon would either be removed from office or resign; On August 8, 1974
Nixon resigned as President and Ford became President the next day
3) Domestic Affairs
After taking office, Ford declared “Our long national nightmare is over… Our Republic is a
government of laws and not of men.”
First 30 days, reassured nation he was not like Nixon (he was honest and decent) and that he
intended on moving the country forward
The public was demanding more honesty and
accountability from its political leaders, while Congress
wanted to wrest back some control that had been given
to the President since the days of FDR
Ford’s big mistake was pardoning Nixon “a full, free,
and absolute pardon… for all offenses” Nixon
committed or “may have committed”; he thought it was
part of putting the whole ordeal behind the nation and everyone involved had suffered
enough, but the American people wondered if maybe he had been part of a conspiracy
and this was a quid pro quo deal; he wanted this action to bring closure to the whole
ordeal, but instead it set off protests and Ford’s popularity went plummeting
There was an investigation in a special subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee (“The Hungate Committee”) to
question whether or not there was a “deal” made about Nixon’s pardon; there is little evidence to support this deal ever
taking place and Ford declared. “There was no deal, period, under no circumstances.”
Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller the former governor of New York as his VP (leader of the moderate wing of the
Republican Party); this selection alienated members of the conservative wing of the party who would later back Ronald
Reagan
Donald Rumsfeld served first as Ford’s unofficial Chief of Staff, then Secretary of
Defense; Richard “Dick” Cheney became Chief of Staff in 1975
During the 1974 midterm elections, the Democrats gained significant majorities in both
the House and the Senate; Ford’s hope for good relations with Congress due to his long
tenure there fell by the wayside as both Democrats and Republicans in Congress
wanted to reassert their powers and “clean up” Washington politics
Ford offered amnesty to those who fled service in Vietnam so they could return to the
country
The economy was a key problem; the US was no longer dominant in the international
economy, a low-paying service sector had risen in America which led to high inflation, unemployment and the energy crisis
American consumption of oil continued to grow and more and more oil was being imported from the Middle East; this
became problematic when OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries embargoed its shipments of oil to
the US in protest of the Nixon administration’s support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War; while the embargo had ended
before Ford took office, prices remained high for both crude oil and gas at the
pump
Institute “Odd – Even days” Gas rationing
(Could you imagine waiting in line for gas for two hours???)
A new economic situation occurred called “stagflation” - persistent inflation with
stagnant consumer demand and relatively high unemployment
Ford tried to address the problems of the economic recession in October 1974 by
proposing a tax hike and a reduction in federal spending; to build support for this
plan he called it Whip Inflation Now = WIN and asked the American public to
wear buttons with the acronym (12 million were produced, 100,000 were
requested)
When this plan did not work and unemployment
continued to grow, Ford admitted the economy was
in recession and changed his tactics; in January 1975
he called for a $16 billion tax cut and a continued
hold on government spending; Congress passed a bill that called for a $22 billion tax cut but
raised government spending; Ford had no choice but to sign the plan because he had no chance
of his veto not being overridden
Ford fought with Congress for the remainder of his term about the balance between tax cuts
and government spending; a small compromise was won in 1975 with the Revenue
Adjustment Act that featured a modest $9 billion tax cut and an assurance that Congress would
limit future spending
Ford also fought with Congress over energy policy; he wanted a tariff on
imported oil, the end of price controls on domestic oil and a new tax on
domestic oil producers which he believed would stimulate domestic oil
production causing prices to drop and supply increase in the long term
An Omnibus Energy Bill was passed in late 1975 where Ford accepted a
12% reduction in domestic oil prices in return for authority to end price
controls on oil over a 40 month period
By 1976 the economy had begun to recover with inflation dipping and
unemployment receding, but while it was better, the economy remained
sluggish
In the Summer of 1974 riots broke out in Boston after a judge ordered an
immediate end to segregation in schools; Ford chose not to intervene, while
he was in favor of integration, he preferred a less activist federal government and letting
state and local governments decide on local issues
Ford had a reputation for decency, integrity and fairness and a willingness to compromise,
but he had trouble maintaining this image as President
One thing that did not help his image was when he fell down getting off Air Force One and
this was caught on film; he was extremely athletic but got portrayed as a bumbling man,
especially on Saturday Night Live by Chevy Chase who made Ford the butt of many jokes;
it brought back a remark by LBJ that Ford had played too much football without a helmet
3) Foreign Affairs
Ford inherited Nixon’s foreign policies and policy advisors; Henry Kissinger stayed on as
Secretary of State, but Ford made his own appointments naming Brent Scowcroft as the
head of the National Security Council and George HW Bush as the head of the CIA
Ford continued the policy of détente, which was an effort to lessen tensions
between the US and USSR by exploring ways they could work together for
both national security and economic goals
Détente was furthered in August of 1975 with the Helsinki Accords, a
meeting between 34 nations where it was decided to continue to recognize
the borders of Europe as it had been at the end of WWII (which meant that
the Soviet domination of the Baltic states was recognized) and all nations
agreed to promote personal liberties in their own countries which helped to
ease the concern of the West over Soviet human rights violations
In November of 1974, the Vladivostok Accords provided a general outline
for a successor treaty to SALT I; but a detailed new treaty failed to emerge
due to the differences over limits on Soviet bombers and American cruise
missiles
In 1975 in Angola, after it achieved its independence from
Portugal, a Civil War broke out with 3 factions vying for
control and the US, USSR and China were providing financial
and military support to the 3 groups; this led to increased
tensions between superpowers
Saigon falls to North Vietnam (April 1975) The US finally
got out of Vietnam completely; tens of thousands of
Vietnamese refugees came to America as a result
Cambodia fell to their own band of Communists called the
Khmer Rouge; they seized and American cargo ship called the
Mayaguez along with its 38 American crew members; Ford
ordered a commando raid to free the crew (to show American
toughness to the world and public); more than 40 Americans
were killed in the attack and the Khmer Rouge released the
ship and the crew; this was portrayed as a US military victory
and Ford’s approval rating soared
V) Legacy
Ford barely won the Republican nomination in 1976 (narrowly defeating Ronald Reagan) and was plagued by pardon of
Nixon and his seeming denial of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe; lost reelection to Democrat, Jimmy Carter
Ford and his wife retired to California after his defeat and he remained active in politics
He died on December 26, 2006 at the age of 93
Ford faced extreme problems as president from the economy, opposition from both parties, and the American public’s
distrust of the government as a result of Watergate and Vietnam
His actual legacy to America is still being debated, but most would say that Ford did the best he could in a situation that
would have been difficult no matter who was in office; Ford was innately a decent and good man who brought honor back
to the White House