Gerald Ford
When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office
on August 9, 1974, he
declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary
circumstances....
This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and
hurts our hearts."
It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the
first Vice President chosen
under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment
and, in the aftermath of the
Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first
President ever to resign. Ford was
confronted with almost insuperable tasks.
There were the challenges of mastering
inflation, reviving a depressed
economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and
trying to ensure world peace.
The President acted to curb the trend toward
Government intervention and
spending as a means of solving the problems of
American society and the
economy. In the long run, he believed, this shift would
bring a better life
for all Americans. Ford's reputation for integrity and
openness had made him
popular during his 25 years in Congress. From 1965 to
1973, he was House
Minority Leader. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1913, he grew up
in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. He starred on the University of Michigan football
team,
then went to Yale, where he served as assistant coach while earning his
law
degree. During World War II he attained the rank of lieutenant commander
in
the Navy. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids, where he began the
practice
of law, and entered Republican politics. A few weeks before his
election to
Congress in 1948, he married Elizabeth Bloomer. They have
four children:
Michael, John, Steven, and Susan. As President, Ford tried
to calm earlier
controversies by granting former President Nixon a full
pardon. His nominee for
Vice President, former Governor Nelson
Rockefeller of New York, was the second
person to fill that office by
appointment. Gradually, Ford selected a cabinet of
his own. Ford established
his policies during his first year in office, despite
opposition from a
heavily Democratic Congress. His first goal was to curb
inflation. Then, when
recession became the Nation's most serious domestic
problem, he shifted to
measures aimed at stimulating the economy. But, still
fearing inflation, Ford
vetoed a number of non-military appropriations bills
that would have further
increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During
his first 14 months as
President he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually
sustained. Ford
continued as he had in his Congressional days to view himself as
"a moderate
in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a
dyed-in-the-wool
internationalist in foreign affairs." A major goal was to
help business
operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the
controls
exercised by regulatory agencies. "We...declared our independence
200
years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers
and
computers," he said. In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to
maintain
U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of Cambodia and
South Viet Nam.
Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major
objective; by providing
aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration
helped persuade the two
countries to accept an interim truce agreement.
Detente with the Soviet Union
continued. President Ford and Soviet leader
Leonid I. Brezhnev set new
limitations upon nuclear weapons. President Ford
won the Republican nomination
for the Presidency in 1976, but lost the
election to his Democratic opponent,
former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia.
On Inauguration Day, President Carter
began his speech: "For myself and for
our Nation, I want to thank my
predecessor for all he has done to heal our
land." A grateful people
concurred.
When Gerald R. Ford took
the
oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency
under
extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles
our
minds and hurts our hearts." It was indeed an unprecedented time. He
had been
the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the
Twenty-fifth
Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal,
was succeeding the
first President ever to resign. Ford was confronted with
almost insuperable
tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation,
reviving a depressed
economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to
ensure world peace. The
President acted to curb the trend toward
Government intervention and spending as
a means of solving the problems of
American society and the economy. In the long
run, he believed, this shift
would bring a better life for all Americans. Ford's
reputation for integrity
and openness had made him popular during his 25 years
in Congress. From 1965
to 1973, he was House Minority Leader. Born in Omaha,
Nebraska, in 1913,
he grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He starred on the
University of
Michigan football team, then went to Yale, where he served as
assistant coach
while earning his law degree. During World War II he attained
the rank of
lieutenant commander in the Navy. After the war he returned to
Grand
Rapids, where he began the practice of law, and entered Republican
politics. A
few weeks before his election to Congress in 1948, he married
Elizabeth Bloomer.
They have four children: Michael, John, Steven, and
Susan. As President, Ford
tried to calm earlier controversies by granting
former President Nixon a full
pardon. His nominee for Vice President, former
Governor Nelson Rockefeller of
New York, was the second person to fill
that office by appointment. Gradually,
Ford selected a cabinet of his
own. Ford established his policies during his
first year in office, despite
opposition from a heavily Democratic Congress. His
first goal was to curb
inflation. Then, when recession became the Nation's most
serious domestic
problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the
economy. But, still
fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of non-military
appropriations bills
that would have further increased the already heavy
budgetary deficit. During
his first 14 months as President he vetoed 39
measures. His vetoes were
usually sustained. Ford continued as he had in his
Congressional days to
view himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a
conservative in fiscal
affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in
foreign affairs." A major
goal was to help business operate more freely by
reducing taxes upon it and
easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies.
"We...declared our
independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose
it now to paper
shufflers and computers," he said. In foreign affairs Ford
acted vigorously
to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of
Cambodia and
South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a
major
objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the
Ford
Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an
interim truce
agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President
Ford and Soviet
leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear
weapons. President
Ford won the Republican nomination for the Presidency
in 1976, but lost the
election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor
Jimmy Carter of Georgia. On
Inauguration Day, President Carter began his
speech: "For myself and for
our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for
all he has done to heal
our
land."