US History Standards: FORD AND CARTER

 Gerald Ford became President at the end of a turbulent time in American history  The country was disillusioned by one of the worst political scandals in American history  The country still hadn’t recovered from the divisions over the Vietnam War  Ford had to prove his legitimacy at the only non-elected President – his Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, had the same problem FORD’S DIFFICULT TASK

 Ford pardoned Nixon barely a month after he took office  He did this largely because he couldn’t get anything done – he spent the majority of his time answering questions about what was going to happen to Nixon  This upset many Americans, but Ford underestimated how much – some Americans suggested that a bargain had been made when Nixon left office PARDONING NIXON

 Concerns over Watergate caused Nixon to overlook the economy in the last year of his Presidency  Ford assumed a country in recession in an economy that was shrinking – the first time this had happened since FDR became President  Ford believed in the Hoover approach – to try and restore public confidence  He introduced his WIN program (Whip Inflation Now), but later saw the need for direct action  Ford backed an increase in unemployment benefits and supported a tax cut – this did little to improve the economy ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES

 In the summer of 1976, the nation celebrated its 200 th Anniversary  Throughout the summer, the nation celebrated with parades, concerts, air shows, political speeches, and fireworks THE BICENTINNEAL

 Ford faced challenges from his own party for the nomination in 1976, but finally won it  His challenger was the former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, who almost no one knew at the beginning of the campaign  Carter could identify with the average voter as a “common” man – he and his family walked down Pennsylvania after his election instead of riding in a limo  Carter was also a Washington outsider and therefore free of any of the scandal that had hung over the town in the last few years  However, this also hurt Carter because he had a hard time working with Congress ELECTION OF 1976

 Carter inherited a problem economy – the actions that he took did not improve the economy  The economy actually got worse, which caused Americans to lose confidence in Carter  The energy problems of the early 70s returned during the Carter administration  Carter responded by passing a series of programs designed to get people to abandon their gas guzzlers and upgrade to more efficient forms of energy INHERITED PROBLEMS

 Israel had been at conflict with its Arab neighbors almost since the first moment of its existence  In 1977, Egypt’s President, Anwar el-Sadat, made a trip to Israel to begin negotiations with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin, but the 2 had trouble compromising  Carter invited the two to Camp David, Maryland in Sept – he assumed the role of peacemaker  After 12 days of intense negotiation, the Camp David Accords was completed – in the treaty, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt agreed to recognize Israel’s existence as a nation CAMP DAVID ACCORDS

OPENING OF ARGO Teacher Note – Start 50 second in

 For years, the US had supported the shah (king) of Iran (pictured top right)  The shah had taken steps to modernize Iran – he also supplied oil  January 1979 – a revolution broke out in Iran and the shah was overthrown by Muslim fundamentalists who wanted to return to traditional ways  The shah was replaced by Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, who had been in exile (pictured right bottom)  In October, Carter let the shah in the US for medical treatment which outraged many Iranians IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS

 As a result, followers of Khomeini seized the American embassy in Tehran and took those inside, mainly American embassy workers, hostage  The hostages were moved around to different locations while being imprisoned for 444 days  Carter sent in a risky commando mission to try and rescue the hostages, but it failed  The American public became frustrated at Carter’s inability to get the hostages released  The release of the hostages was Carter’s primary goal during the final year of his presidency – they were not released until January 20, 1981, shortly after the new president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn into office IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS