Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford
Born	Leslie Lynch King Jr. 14 7, 1913
Birthplace	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, attorney
Known for	38th President of the United States; only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president
Education	Yale Law School (LL.B.)
Spouse(s)	Template:Marriage
Children	4
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal
Website	[https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/ Official site]

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. The arc of Ford's life carried him from an unsettled childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, through the football fields of the University of Michigan and the classrooms of Yale Law School, across the Pacific theater of World War II, and into nearly three decades of public service in Washington, D.C. A member of the Republican Party, Ford represented Michigan's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973, serving the final nine of those years as House Minority Leader. He was appointed vice president in December 1973 under the 25th Amendment following the resignation of Spiro Agnew, becoming the first person elevated to that office through the amendment's provisions. When Richard Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974, Ford assumed the nation's highest office—making him the only person in American history to serve as both vice president and president without being elected to either position. His presidency was defined by the controversial pardon of Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal, a severe economic downturn marked by inflation and recession, and the final chapter of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Ford narrowly lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter and lived the remaining three decades of his life as an elder statesman of the Republican Party. He died in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006, at the age of 93.

Early Life

Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Leslie Lynch King Sr. and Dorothy Ayer Gardner. His parents' marriage was troubled from its outset, marked by domestic violence perpetrated by King Sr. Dorothy Gardner left her husband just sixteen days after their son's birth and moved with the infant to her parents' home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The couple divorced in December 1913.

In 1916, Dorothy married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a paint salesman in Grand Rapids who proved to be a steady and caring presence in the boy's life. The family began calling the child Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr., though his name was not legally changed until December 3, 1935. Ford later recalled that he considered Gerald Rudolff Ford Sr. his true father and described his upbringing in Grand Rapids as stable and happy, in contrast to his biological father's absence from his life. He did not learn the full circumstances of his birth until he was seventeen years old, when his biological father made an unexpected and brief appearance in Grand Rapids. The encounter left a lasting impression on Ford, who later described it as one of the most difficult moments of his youth.

Growing up in Grand Rapids during the 1920s and 1930s, Ford was an industrious and athletic young man. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, the organization's highest achievement. He attended South High School in Grand Rapids, where he distinguished himself both academically and on the football field, playing center on the school's team. His athletic abilities earned him attention from college recruiters and set the stage for his career at the University of Michigan.

Education

Ford enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1931, where he majored in economics and political science. He became a standout member of the university's football team, the Michigan Wolverines, playing center and linebacker. He was named the team's most valuable player in 1934 and received offers to play professional football from both the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Ford declined the professional football offers, choosing instead to pursue a legal career. He graduated from Michigan in 1935.

After graduation, Ford took a position as the boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at Yale University while simultaneously applying to its law school. He was admitted to Yale Law School in 1938 and graduated in the top third of his class in 1941. At Yale, he studied under professors who would later gain prominence in American legal thought. Ford was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1941 and briefly practiced law in Grand Rapids before the outbreak of World War II altered his plans.

Career

Military Service

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Ford enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in April 1942. He initially served as an ensign and physical fitness instructor at a preflight school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He later requested sea duty and was assigned to the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey, serving as the assistant navigator and later as the athletic director aboard ship.

Ford saw considerable action in the Pacific theater. The Monterey participated in many of the major naval engagements of the Pacific campaign, including operations in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In December 1944, the ship was severely damaged during Typhoon Cobra, a devastating storm that struck the U.S. Third Fleet. Ford nearly lost his life during the typhoon when the ship rolled violently and he was swept toward the edge of the flight deck, barely managing to halt his slide before going overboard. He was discharged from the Naval Reserve in February 1946 with the rank of lieutenant commander, having earned ten battle stars for his service.

Congressional Career

Ford returned to Grand Rapids after the war and resumed his law practice, but his ambitions quickly turned to politics. In 1948, he challenged the incumbent Republican congressman Bartel J. Jonkman in the party's primary election for Michigan's 5th congressional district. Running as an internationalist against the isolationist Jonkman, Ford won a decisive victory in the primary and went on to win the general election comfortably in the heavily Republican district.

Ford entered the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1949 and would serve there continuously for nearly twenty-five years. He built a reputation as a reliable, hardworking legislator with expertise in defense and appropriations issues. He served on the House Appropriations Committee and its Defense Subcommittee, where he gained deep knowledge of the federal budget and military spending.

In 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Ford was appointed to the Warren Commission, the body established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the circumstances of Kennedy's death. Ford was an active member of the commission and later co-authored a book about the investigation, Portrait of the Assassin (1965), which detailed the commission's findings regarding Lee Harvey Oswald.

Ford's colleagues in the House Republican caucus elected him House Minority Leader in January 1965, defeating the incumbent leader, Charles Halleck of Indiana. Ford held this position for the next nine years, serving as the principal Republican leader in the House during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. As minority leader, Ford developed a cooperative working relationship with the Democratic leadership on some matters while remaining a sharp critic of Johnson's domestic spending programs and, initially, of aspects of the administration's handling of the Vietnam War.

Vice Presidency

Ford's elevation to national office came under extraordinary circumstances. In October 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after pleading nolo contendere to a charge of tax evasion related to a bribery scandal during his time as governor of Maryland. President Nixon, himself under mounting pressure from the Watergate investigation, nominated Ford as Agnew's replacement under the provisions of the 25th Amendment, which had been ratified in 1967 but never before invoked for a vice presidential vacancy.

Ford was confirmed by both chambers of Congress and sworn in as the 40th vice president of the United States on December 6, 1973. He became the first person to assume the vice presidency through the 25th Amendment's appointment mechanism rather than through a national election. During his brief tenure as vice president, Ford traveled extensively, making public appearances on behalf of the administration while maintaining a careful distance from the deepening Watergate crisis.

Presidency

Assumption of Office

On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first president in American history to resign from office, driven from power by the Watergate scandal and the near-certainty of impeachment and removal by Congress. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States the same day. In his inaugural remarks, he famously declared, "Our long national nightmare is over," signaling his intention to restore public trust in the presidency and in the federal government.

Ford entered the presidency without a national electoral mandate, a circumstance that shaped both the opportunities and limitations of his administration. He selected Nelson Rockefeller, the former governor of New York, as his vice president, marking the only time in American history that neither the president nor the vice president had been elected to their respective offices.

Pardon of Richard Nixon

On September 8, 1974, barely one month after taking office, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon for any crimes he might have committed while serving as president. The decision proved to be the most controversial act of Ford's presidency. Ford stated publicly that he issued the pardon to spare the nation the prolonged spectacle of a criminal prosecution of a former president and to allow the country to move forward from Watergate.

The pardon provoked an immediate and severe public backlash. Ford's approval ratings plummeted, and many Americans suspected that a secret arrangement—a "deal"—had been made between Nixon and Ford prior to Nixon's resignation. Ford took the unusual step of voluntarily testifying before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in October 1974, declaring under oath that there had been no prior agreement. His press secretary, Jerald terHorst, resigned in protest over the pardon on the day it was announced. The pardon cast a long shadow over the remainder of Ford's presidency and was widely considered a significant factor in his defeat in the 1976 presidential election.

Domestic Policy and the Economy

Ford inherited an economy beset by severe challenges. The nation was experiencing stagflation—a combination of high inflation, rising unemployment, and stagnant economic growth—conditions that had been worsened by the 1973 oil crisis. Ford's initial response to inflation was a public campaign called "Whip Inflation Now" (WIN), which encouraged voluntary measures by citizens and businesses to reduce spending and waste. The WIN campaign, symbolized by red lapel buttons, was widely mocked as ineffective and inadequate to the scale of the economic crisis.

By late 1974 and into 1975, the economic situation had shifted from inflation to recession, and Ford pivoted to support tax cuts and other stimulus measures. The economy presided over by Ford was the worst the nation had experienced in the four decades since the Great Depression. Ford clashed repeatedly with the Democratic-controlled Congress over economic policy, vetoing numerous spending bills that he believed would worsen inflation. During his presidency, Ford exercised the veto power more frequently than most of his predecessors, issuing sixty-six vetoes, of which twelve were overridden by Congress.

Foreign Policy

Ford's foreign policy was shaped by the waning years of the Cold War, the aftermath of American involvement in Vietnam, and a reassertion of congressional authority over foreign affairs. He retained Henry Kissinger as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, maintaining continuity with the foreign policy approach of the Nixon administration.

The most dramatic foreign policy event of Ford's presidency was the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, approximately eight months after Ford took office. The collapse of South Vietnam effectively ended American involvement in the Vietnam War, a conflict that had consumed American foreign policy for more than a decade. Ford requested emergency military aid for South Vietnam from Congress, but the request was denied, and the administration oversaw the chaotic evacuation of American personnel and Vietnamese allies from Saigon.

In May 1975, Ford ordered a military operation to rescue the crew of the SS Mayaguez, an American merchant vessel seized by the Khmer Rouge off the coast of Cambodia. The rescue operation resulted in the deaths of forty-one American servicemen, though the crew was recovered. The incident was seen by some as an effort by the Ford administration to demonstrate American resolve in the wake of the fall of Saigon.

In August 1975, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, a landmark agreement among thirty-five nations that addressed issues of European security, economic cooperation, and human rights. The accords, which emerged from the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, represented a significant step in the process of détente between the Western and Eastern blocs during the Cold War. Though the accords were criticized by some conservatives who viewed them as a tacit acceptance of Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, they later proved influential in emboldening human rights movements within the Soviet bloc.

Ford's presidency also saw an increased role for Congress in the conduct of foreign policy, partly in reaction to the perceived executive overreach of the Nixon years. Legislation such as the War Powers Resolution, passed during the Nixon administration, continued to constrain presidential authority in military matters during Ford's tenure.

Assassination Attempts

Ford survived two assassination attempts in September 1975, both occurring in California within a seventeen-day span. On September 5, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a loaded handgun at Ford in Sacramento but was subdued by a Secret Service agent before firing. On September 22, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at Ford outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco; the bullet missed the president after a bystander grabbed Moore's arm. Both women were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

1976 Presidential Election

Ford sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1976 but faced a strong challenge from Ronald Reagan, the former governor of California, who ran to Ford's right on both domestic and foreign policy issues. The primary contest was one of the closest in modern Republican history. Ford secured the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, but the prolonged intra-party battle left him weakened heading into the general election.

In the general election, Ford faced Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia, who ran as a Washington outsider promising honesty and transparency in government. The campaign featured the first televised presidential debates since 1960. Ford committed a notable gaffe during the second debate when he asserted that Eastern Europe was not under Soviet domination, a statement that was widely criticized and may have damaged his campaign at a critical moment. Carter won the election with 297 electoral votes to Ford's 240, a margin of approximately two percentage points in the popular vote. Ford's loss was attributed to multiple factors, including the lingering effects of the Nixon pardon, the weak economy, and the challenge from Reagan that had divided the party.

Post-Presidency

After leaving the White House in January 1977, Ford settled in Rancho Mirage, California, and remained active in public life. He served on various corporate boards, gave lectures, and participated in Republican Party affairs, though his moderate views on social issues such as abortion rights and gay rights increasingly placed him at odds with the party's growing conservative wing in the 1990s and 2000s.

Ford set aside the bitterness of the 1976 election and developed a close personal friendship with Jimmy Carter. The two former presidents collaborated on various public initiatives and appeared together on numerous occasions, becoming a symbol of bipartisan civility. Ford also maintained relationships with subsequent presidents and was consulted on matters of national importance throughout his post-presidential years.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were established to house his presidential papers and memorabilia and to promote public understanding of his presidency and career.

Personal Life

Ford married Elizabeth "Betty" Bloomer Warren on October 15, 1948, shortly before his first election to Congress. Betty Ford became one of the most prominent and outspoken first ladies in American history, known particularly for her candor about her struggles with breast cancer and substance abuse. The couple had four children: Michael, John ("Jack"), Steven, and Susan.

Ford was known for his personal warmth, unpretentiousness, and physical vigor. He was an avid golfer and skier throughout his life, though his occasional stumbles in public became the subject of comedic portrayals, most notably by Chevy Chase on the television program Saturday Night Live. Ford took the humor in stride and even appeared alongside Chase at public events.

In his later years, Ford experienced a series of health problems, including strokes and other cardiovascular issues. He died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006, at the age of 93. At the time of his death, he was the longest-lived U.S. president in history, a record later surpassed by Jimmy Carter. A state funeral was held in Washington, D.C., followed by burial at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.

Recognition

Ford received numerous honors during and after his lifetime. In 1999, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, in part for the Nixon pardon, which had come to be viewed more favorably by historians and commentators over the intervening decades. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded Ford its Profile in Courage Award in 2001 for the pardon, recognizing it as an act of political courage that had cost Ford the 1976 election but served the national interest.

The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded jointly to Ford and his wife Betty in recognition of their public service. The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship of the United States Navy's newest class of aircraft carriers, was named in his honor and commissioned in 2017. The vessel is the largest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the world and has served in deployments across the globe.

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, also bears his name, as do numerous schools, government buildings, and public spaces across the country.

Legacy

Surveys of historians and political scientists have generally ranked Ford as a below-average president, though assessments of his tenure have become more nuanced and in some respects more favorable over time. The Nixon pardon, which was widely condemned as a political miscalculation or worse in 1974, has been increasingly reinterpreted as a difficult but defensible decision that allowed the nation to move beyond the Watergate crisis.

Ford's presidency is often characterized as a period of transition and healing. He assumed the office at a moment of profound institutional crisis—the resignation of a president, revelations of governmental abuse of power, a faltering economy, and the final defeat in Vietnam—and is credited by some historians with restoring a measure of public confidence in the presidency through his personal integrity and lack of pretension, even as he struggled with the policy challenges he inherited.

His long career in the House of Representatives, though overshadowed by his presidency, is also a significant part of his legacy. Ford's quarter century in Congress, including his service on the Warren Commission and his years as minority leader, made him one of the most experienced legislative leaders to assume the presidency in the twentieth century.

Ford remains a singular figure in American political history as the only person to serve as both vice president and president without being elected to either office. His accession to power through the mechanisms of the 25th Amendment, and the circumstances that made it necessary, have ensured that his presidency occupies a distinctive place in the constitutional history of the United States.