Gerald Ford

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Gerald Rudolph Ford 38th President of the United States (August 9, 1974 to January 20, 1977) Nickname: “Jerry” Born: July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska Died: December 26, 2006 in Rancho Mirage, California

Father: Leslie Lynch King Mother: Dorothy Ayer Gardner King Ford Married: Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer Warren Ford (1918-2011), on October 15, 1948 Children: Michael Gerald Ford (1950- ); John Gardner Ford (1952- ); Steven Meigs Ford (1956- ); Susan Elizabeth Ford (1957- ) Religion: Episcopalian Education: Graduated from the University of Michigan (1935) and Yale University Law School (1941) Occupation: Lawyer, public official Political Party: Republican Other Government Positions:

• Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1949-73
• Vice President, 1973-74 (under Nixon)

Presidential Salary: $200,000/year + $50,000 expense account

Presidential Election Results:

Year		Popular Votes	Electoral Votes
1976	James E. Carter, Jr.	40,827,394	297
	Gerald R. Ford	39,145,977	240
	Ronald Reagan		1

Vice President: Nelson A. Rockefeller (1974-77) Cabinet:

Secretary of State

Henry A. Kissinger (1974-77)

Secretary of the Treasury

William E. Simon (1974-77)

Secretary of Defense

James R. Schlesinger (1974-75)

Donald H. Rumsfeld (1975-77)

Attorney General

William B. Saxbe (1974-75)

Edward H. Levi (1975-77)

Secretary of the Interior

Rogers C. B. Morton (1974-75)

Stanley K. Hathaway (1975)

Thomas S. Kleppe (1975-77)

Secretary of Agriculture

Earl L. Butz (1974-76)

John A. Knebel (1976-77)

Secretary of Commerce

Frederick B. Dent (1974-75)

Rogers C. B. Morton (1975)

Elliot L. Richardson (1976-77)

Secretary of Labor

Peter J. Brennan (1974-75)

John T. Dunlop (1975-76)

W. J. Usery, Jr. (1976-77)

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

Caspar W. Weinberger (1974-75)

F. David Mathews (1975-77)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

James T. Lynn (1974-75)

Carla Anderson Hills (1975-77)

Secretary of Transportation

Claude S. Brinegar (1974-75)

William T. Coleman, Jr. (1975-77)

Supreme Court Appointments:

Associate Justice

John Paul Stevens (1975-2010)

Notable Events:

• 1973
  • Ford accepts the Vice Presidency following the resignation of Spiro Agnew.
• 1974
  • Richard Nixon resigns the presidency.
  • Gerald Ford is inaugurated as President.
  • Nixon is pardoned.
  • Clemency for draft evaders is announced.
  • The “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) campaign is announced.
  • Ford becomes the first US president to visit Japan.
  • The Freedom of Information Act is amended.
  • The Privacy Act of 1974 is passed.
• 1975
  • The Rockefeller Commission is created to investigate abuses committed by the CIA.
  • Saigon is taken by North Vietnamese forces and the remaining American troops in the country are withdrawn.
  • Unemployment peaks twice in one year, reaching its highest point since 1941.
  • The Helsinki Accords are signed during Ford’s trip to Europe.
  • The second stage of the Sinai withdrawal agreement is signed between Egypt and Israel.
  • Federal aid is refused to New York City.
  • The “Sunday Morning Massacre” takes place.
  • Loans are granted to New York City to prevent it from from defaulting.
• 1976
  • Unemployment rates drop significantly.
  • Executive Order 11905 and other measures to reorganize and regulate the intelligence community are passed.
  • American oil reserves are built up to protect from future foreign embargoes.
  • The Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty is signed.
  • American nationals in Beirut are evacuated.
  • The American Bicentennial is celebrated.
  • Inflation drops and employment rises.

Internet Biographies:

Gerald R. Ford — from The Presidents of the United States of America

Compiled by the White House.

Gerald R. Ford — from American Presidents: Life Portraits — C-SPAN

Biographical information, trivia, key events, video, and other reference materials. Website created to accompany C-SPAN’s 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits.

Gerald Ford — from U.S. Presidents

From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.

Gerald R. Ford Biography — from Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

This six-part biography covers the time from his youth through his presidency.

Gerald R. Ford — from Character Above All

From a PBS broadcast of the same name, this essay excerpt by James M. Cannon discusses some of the issues and events that molded Ford.

Historical Documents:

Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office (1974)

Remarks on Signing a Proclamation Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon (1974)

Proclamation 4311, Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon (1974)

Media Resources:

Audio

From the 188th State of the Union address on January 19, 1976. (1:23)

MP3 (651K)

From the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University.

Audio & Video

The American Presidency Project‘s Presidential Audio/Video Archive for Gerald R. Ford

Other Internet Resources:

Select Photographs of Gerald and Betty Ford

Images of Ford and his wife provided by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.

Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

Website includes biographical information, photographs, information on the library’s collection (located in Ann Arbor, MI), and tourist information for the museum (located in Grand Rapids, MI).

Gerald Ford as President

Brief history of the Ford administration from From Revolution to Reconstruction.

Points of Interest:

• He was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.
• Ford was the first president to be an Eagle Scout.
• Ford was on the University of Michigan football team from 1931 to 1934. He was offered tryouts by both the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.
• Both Ford and his wife, Betty, had been models before their marriage.
• When Ford proposed to to his wife, he was wearing one brown & one black shoe.
• Ford was the fourth left-handed president of the United States.
• Running for Congress in 1948, Ford campaigned on his wedding day.
• Ford was one of the members of the Warren Commission appointed to study the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
• One night, Ford was locked out of the White House while walking his golden retriever, Liberty. The Secret Service finally let him in.
• Ford’s daughter Susan held her senior prom at the White House.
• He was the first president to release to the public a full report of his medical checkup.
• Ford was the first president to visit Japan.
• Ford was the only president whose two assassination attempts against him were made by women.
• Gerald Ford was the first president not elected by the people to become president. He became vice president when Nixon’s elected vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned. Then became president when Nixon resigned.
• Ford was the first president to pardon a former president.

Previous President: Richard Milhous Nixon | Next President: James Earl Carter, Jr.

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