Ford, Gerald R., Jr., 1913-

FORD, GERALD R., JR., 1913-

President of the united states, 1974-1977

The Accidental President

When Gerald Ford became president on 9 August 1974, a unique and perhaps unimaginable series of circumstances brought him to the office. In the wake of the Kennedy assassination, the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1967, changing the constitutional order of presidential succession. Prior to the amendment, the office of vice-president stood vacant if, as in the case of Lyndon Johnson, the vice-president became president. The Twenty-fifth Amendment allowed the president to appoint, with the approval of Congress, a new vice-president. The amendment was passed with the death or disability of the president or vice-president in mind; few imagined that the first use of the law would be to replace a vice-president under criminal indictment—especially if that vice-president were Spiro Agnew, renowned for his tough law-and-order speeches. Nonetheless, in 1973, facing prison terms for racketeering and bribery, Agnew resigned the vice-presidency in return for the dismissal of most criminal charges. When Richard Nixon nominated Ford to replace Agnew under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, even fewer imagined that Nixon, who won one of the greatest electoral victories in American history in 1972, would also be forced from office for criminal misdeeds. Yet in 1974 Nixon resigned, and Gerald Ford became the thirty-eighth president of the United States, the only man to become president without being elected to the office of president or vice-president.

Life and Background

Ford's background and life made him the quintessential midwestern American president. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on 14 July 1913, Ford's parents divorced when he was an infant, and his mother resettled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, marrying Gerald R. Ford, a paint and varnish salesman. Given the name of his adoptive and beloved stepfather, Ford grew up in a household animated by honesty and hard work—values that would become crucial to Ford's reputation as a politician. He was an excellent athlete, in 1934 voted the most valuable player for the University of Michigan football team. Graduating the next year, Ford went on to Yale Law School, supporting himself by working as an assistant football coach. Returning to Grand Rapids just before World War II, Ford opened a law practice but quit to enlist in the navy, in which he served as an officer for forty-seven months. Following the war he returned to Grand Rapids and married Elizabeth ("Betty") Bloomer, a professional dancer and model. He began his political career in 1948, winning election to the House as representative for Michigan's fifth district. In Congress he earned a reputation as a hard worker with a spotless personal record and moderately conservative politics. Declining the 1964 vice-presidential slot, he served on the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and in 1965 he replaced Charles A. Halleck as House minority leader. Ford was chairman of the Republican National Convention when Nixon was nominated for president in 1968.

Accession to the Presidency

Ford's 1973 nomination for the vice-presidency came as a surprise to him, as he was contemplating retirement from public life. In his years in Congress, however, he had earned bipartisan respect and trust and was a shoo-in for the nomination. As vice-president he shepherded that trust by keeping himself at a distance from Watergate. Upon becoming president he quickly demonstrated the personal traits that earned him such respect and trust in Congress to a public unfamiliar with him. His disarming modesty—"I am a Ford, not a Lincoln," he said in his first speech as president—and his common bearing restored a degree of public confidence in the presidency lost with Watergate. That confidence evaporated when Ford pardoned Nixon on 8 September 1974 for any crimes he might have committed. The pardon was so widely considered to be part of a secret deal between Ford and Nixon that Ford would have to testify before a congressional subcommittee to dispel the rumors. It would not help. Almost overnight Ford's approval rating dropped twenty-two points, and public disapproval of the pardon was later considered by many to be the cause of Ford's defeat in the election of 1976.

896 Days

As president, Ford's brief period in office—896 days—was too short for any major initiatives, but he acted firmly to build upon the positive achievements of the Nixon administration. He extended détente with the Soviets and courted peace with the Chinese Communists; he made an effort to wean the United States from its dependency on foreign oil. Like Nixon, Ford was sorely challenged by runaway inflation, economic stagnation, and unemployment. Unlike Nixon, Ford returned to traditional Republican solutions, especially spending cuts and higher interest rates, which reduced inflation but sparked the worst recession since the Great Depression. By 1976 the recession had bottomed out, and the economy was rebounding, but it was too late for Ford to gain any real political benefit from the recovery.

Solid Service

None of Ford's policies as president are as important as the character he brought to the office. Ford was steady, solid, and trustworthy. He restored amicable relations between the executive office and the legislature after the combativeness of the Watergate period. Many Americans joined incoming president Jimmy Carter, who, during his inaugural address, thanked Ford to moving the country beyond Watergate. "For myself and for our nation," Carter said, "I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."

Sources:

James Cannon, Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History (New York: HarperCollins, 1994); Time, 102 (22 October 1973): 15-18.