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2. Gerald R. Ford (R) 1974-1977

3. Political Background Political Background  1948-73: U.S. Representative from Michigan  1965-73: U.S. House Minority Leader  1973 Appointed vice president by Richard Nixon  1974-77: 38th U.S. president following the resignation of Nixon  1976: Lost presidential election to Jimmy Carter

4. (1) Not elected into office… How did he get here? (1) Not elected into office… How did he get here?  Appointed VP after the resignation of Spiro Agnew in 1973  Nixon resigned, and on August 9, 1974, Ford took the oath of office. Our long national nightmar e is over.

5. EXTRA!  Ford selected New York governor Nelson Rockefeller as his VP and kept Nixon’s cabinet in place  Ford and Rockefeller are the only president and VP never elected to their positions serving at the same time

6. Rockefeller

7. (2) Pardon of Nixon  Sept, 1974: Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which granted a full pardon to Nixon  Ford’s approval rating nosedived – 71% to 49% in less than a week

8. Speech Pardoning Nixon  Critics believed a Republican “deal” allowed him to become president if he pardoned Nixon

9.  Ford offered gov’t forgiveness to draft-dodgers of Vietnam, who had to reaffirm allegiance to the U.S. and perform public service for 2 years.  controversial because Ford had draft-dodger sons (3) Vietnam Era Reconciliation Program: Clemency plan for draft-dodgers

10. (4) Helsinki Accords  Signed by 35 nations in Helsinki, Finland, in Dec 1975  Pledged its members to respect human rights.  A significant step toward reducing Cold War tensions  We recognized the Soviet’s control of the Baltic states.

11. (5) Economic Troubles & WIN  Inflation continued to increase – Ford: “domestic enemy #1”  W.I.N. – (Whip Inflation Now) program designed to reduce federal spending; created a national volunteer organization to find ways to keep prices down  Congress does approve some tax cuts, but not enough!

12. (6) End of War in Vietnam Ford presided over the official end to the Vietnam War 1. Cease-fire: 1973 2. Fighting continued in Vietnam until April 30, 1975, when Saigon was captured. South fell to North! Watch footage! "Though American equipment still stocked Saigon's markets, the Americans were gone. They counted nearly 60,000 dead and more than 300,000 wounded. It was their first defeat. The promised end of the tunnel had brought not light but a new uncertainty, new questions: what was America's role in the world? What were the lessons of Vietnam?" Operation Frequent Wind

13. (7) Aid to S Vietnam, Cambodia:  Ford requested $722 million in military aid to Vietnam and Cambodia, who were fighting communism.  Congress rejected any military aid, but did send $300 million in humanitarian aid. Khmer Rouge: Khmer Rouge: Communist regime in power in Cambodia from ’75-’79; infamous for the massacre of 1 million+

14. (8) Mayaguez incident  In May, 1975, Cambodian communists seized an unarmed American cargo ship.  Ford launched a military attack, hoping to free the prisoners. This succeeded in gaining him favor in citizens’ eyes.

16. (9)“Communication, Conciliation, Compromise, and Cooperation”:  Republican Ford had to work with a Democratic majority in Congress.  Pledged to compromise with them; didn’t work so well...

17. (10) President during the Bicentennial Celebration  200 th birthday of the United States (July 4, 1776 – July 4, 1976)  Celebrations took place around the country, esp. in big cities.

18. Random Information a. Most recent former pres to die: Dec 2006 Asked the Marine Band to play the University of Michigan fight song rather than Hail to the Chief

19. b. Two assassination attemptsTwo assassination attempts 1. Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Fromme – follower of Charles Manson; tried to kill Ford outside a Sacramento hotel with an inappropriately loaded gun (Ford thought she wanted to shake hands!) 2. Sara Jane Moore – identified as a radical; fired at Ford across the street from his hotel in San Francisco, California

20. Squeaky Fromme (L) and Ford Escaping an Assassination Attempt (R) “It is 25 years later, and I am still satisfied that I did the right thing.” - “Squeaky” Fromme

21. 3. Both sentenced to life sentences (1965 law making the attempt to assassinate a president a federal crime) *Moore released 2007 *Fromme released 2009 Sara Jane Moore: "I am very glad I did not succeed. I know now that I was wrong to try." -2007

22. c. Press began to highlight Ford’s mishaps after LBJ commented that Ford had “played football too long without a helmet” 1. One network newscast replayed footage (11 times!) of him falling down the steps of Air Force One!

23. Ford Falling Down Air Force One Stairs