Gerald R. Ford | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Gerald R. Ford When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974 as our 38th President, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances...This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President ever to resign. Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace. The President acted to curb the trend toward Government intervention and spending as a means of solving the problems of American society and the economy. In the long run, he believed, this shift would bring a better life for all Americans.

Ford's reputation for integrity and openness had made him popular during his 25 years in Congress. From 1965 to 1973, he was House Minority Leader. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1913, he grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He starred on the University of Michigan football team, then went to Yale, where he served as assistant coach while earning his law degree. During World War II he attained the rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids, where he began the practice of law, and entered Republican politics. A few weeks before his election to Congress in 1948, he married Elizabeth Bloomer. They have four children: Michael, John, Steven, and Susan. As President, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon. His nominee for Vice President, former Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, was the second person to fill that office by appointment. Gradually, Ford selected a cabinet of his own. Ford established his policies during his first year in office, despite opposition from a heavily Democratic Congress. His first goal was to curb inflation.

Then, when recession became the Nation's most serious domestic problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. But, still fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of non-military appropriations bills that would have further increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During his first 14 months as President he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually sustained. Ford continued as he had in his Congressional days to view himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs." A major goal was to help business operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies. "We...declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers," he said. In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I.

Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons. President Ford won the Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1976, but lost the election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. On Inauguration Day, President Carter began his speech: "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." A grateful people concurred. For more information about President Ford, please visit Gerald Ford - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com Google Early Years and Congressional Career Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was born in Omaha, Nebraska , on July 14, 1913. His name at birth was Leslie Lynch King Jr., after his biological father. His mother, Dorothy, divorced King when her son was a baby and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan . She then married Gerald R. Ford, a successful paint salesman who adopted her young son. Ford recalled in his memoirs that he learned about his biological father at the age of 12 and only met the man a couple of times. Did You Know? Although Gerald Ford had a reputation for being clumsy, he was one of the most accomplished athletes ever to grace the Oval Office.

He was a gridiron star who won college football national championships in 1932 and 1933 with the University of Michigan, and was also an expert downhill skier. A high-school football star in Grand Rapids, Ford attended the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship. After earning a degree in economics in 1935, he later went on to study law at Yale University. Shortly after he graduated from law school in 1941, America.entered World War II (1939-45). Ford enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard an aircraft carrier. In 1948, he married Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren (1918-), a former professional dancer and department store fashion coordinator. They eventually had four children: Michael (1950-), John (1952-), Steven (1956-) and Susan (1957-). Ford also launched his career in politics in 1948, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the House for the next 25 years, earning a reputation as a friendly, honest, loyal and hardworking Republican.

In 1964, he served on the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). The following year, Ford became House Minority Leader. An Unexpected Presidency The unusual chain of events that lifted Ford to the Oval Office began in 1972 when operatives connected to President Richard Nixon’s (1913-1994) re-election campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington , D.C. A number of high-ranking Nixon administration officials knew about the break-in, and the president himself took part in efforts to cover up the illegal activities that became known as the Watergate scandal. As the scandal came to light, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew (1918-1996) resigned from office in October 1973 over unrelated charges of accepting bribes and evading taxes. Nixon used his power under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to appoint Ford as his new vice president. The well-liked and respected Ford was easily confirmed by Congress and took office on December 6, 1973.

For the next eight months, as the Watergate investigation heated up, Ford defended Nixon and represented the administration. On August 9, 1974, however, Nixon chose to resign from office rather than face an impeachment trial over his role in the scandal. Ford assumed the presidency and immediately took up the task of reassuring a shaken and demoralized American public. “Our long national nightmare is over,” he declared in his inaugural address. “Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not men.” The Nixon Pardon Shortly after taking office, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as president. The presidential pardon meant that Nixon would never have to face criminal charges over his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Ford’s decision generated a swirl of controversy. Millions of Americans wanted to see the disgraced former president brought to justice. Some critics charged that Ford issued the pardon as part of a pre-arranged deal to reach the Oval Office. But Ford insisted that the nation’s future hinged on ending the ordeal of Watergate and beginning the process of healing. During the remaining two years of his presidency, Ford faced a domestic energy crisis and a weak economy marked by high inflation and unemployment.

He also struggled to work effectively with a heavily Democratic Congress. In fact, Ford vetoed 66 pieces of legislation that conflicted with his basic philosophy of fiscal conservatism. Ford’s foreign policy generated both successes and failures. Unable to convince Congress to approve further military aid to South Vietnam, he could only watch as the country fell to North Vietnamese Communist forces in 1975. Later that year, however, Ford helped reduce tensions with the Soviet Union by signing the Helsinki Accords, which were meant to strengthen the relationship between Western nations and the communist countries of Europe. Post-White House Years Ford understood that his decision to pardon Nixon could have political consequences, and it probably cost him the presidency in 1976. That year, he lost a close election to Democrat Jimmy Carter (1924-). Ford took the loss in stride, however, telling friends that he had planned to retire from Congress that year anyway. He viewed his brief tenure in the Oval Office as an unexpected bonus at the end of a long career in politics. Ford often said that he was pleased to have had the opportunity to help the nation emerge from the shadow of Watergate. The former president remained active in his retirement.

He gave speeches, served on the boards of major corporations and indulged his passions for golf and downhill skiing. He and his wife, who battled alcoholism at a time when the disease was not publicly discussed, also opened the Betty Ford Clinic in California to support research, treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol addiction. In 1999, Ford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor “awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Ford died on December 26, 2006, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 93. At the time of his death, he was America’s oldest ex-president. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today.

Tags Gerald Ford - Biography - IMDb Gerald Ford Biography Showing all 61 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (1) | Trivia (45) | Personal Quotes (8) Overview (5) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (1) Gerald Rudolph Ford was the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 until January 1977. Ford was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., being the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. His parents separated two weeks after his birth and his mother took him to Grand Rapids, Michigan to live with her parents. On February 1, 1916, his mother Dorothy King married Gerald R. Ford, a paint salesman. The Fords began calling their son Gerald R. Ford, Jr. but this name became legal only on December 3, 1935.

Aged 13, Ford knows that Gerald Ford Sr., was not his biological father, but it lasted until 1930 he met his biological father Leslie King, who made an unexpected stop in Grand Rapids. Ford grew up in a family with three younger half-brothers (Thomas, Richard, and James). He attended South High School in Grand Rapids, where he already showed is athletics skills, being named to the honor society and the "All-City" and "All-State" football teams. As a scout he was ranked Eagle Scout in November 1927. He earned money by working in the family paint business and at a local restaurant. Ford attended The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor from 1931 to 1935. He majored in economics and political science and graduated with a B.A. degree in June 1935. He played on the University's national championship football teams in 1932 and 1933 and was voted MVP of Wolverine in 1934. He also played in All-Star and benefit football games.

He denied offers from two professional football teams, (Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers), but chose to become boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at Yale hoping to attend law school there. Ford earned his law degree in 1941. After returning to Michigan and passing his bar exam, Ford set up a law partnership in Grand Rapids with Philip Buchen, a University of Michigan fraternity brother (who later served on Ford's White House staff as Counsel to the President). In April 1942 Ford joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and became a physical fitness instructor at a flight school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the spring of 1943 he began service in the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey. Ford spent the remainder of the war ashore and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in February 1946. He returned to Grand Rapids to become a partner in the locally prestigious law firm of Butterfield, Keeney, and Amberg. His first political experience was in the summer of 1940 when he was working in the presidential campaign of Wendell Willkie. Six years later he decided to challenge Bartel Jonkman for the Republican nomination for the U.S.

House of Representatives in the 1948 election. Ford won the nomination and after that was elected to Congress on November 2, 1948, receiving 61% of the vote. On October 15 1948, the height of the campaign, Ford married Elizabeth ('Betty') Anne Bloomer Warren, a department store fashion consultant. Betty was born on April 8, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in Grand Rapids. They subsequently had four children: Michael Gerald (March 14, 1950), John Gardner (March 16, 1952), Steven Meigs (May 19, 1956) and Susan Elizabeth (July 6, 1957). Ford served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973. He was re-elected twelve times, winning each time with more than 60% of the vote. As his ambition was to become Speaker of the House already in the early 1950s, he denied offers to run for both the Senate and the Michigan governorship in these years.

In 1961 he became chairman of the House Republican Conference. In 1963 President Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was the last living member of the Warren Commission. In 1965 Ford was chosen as the House minority leader, a post he held until 1973. As minority leader Ford made more than 200 speeches a year all across the country, which made him nationally known. He was not only a close friend of Richard Nixon for many years, but also a loyal supporter in both the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections. As in 1960, Ford was again considered as a vice presidential candidate in 1968. Because the Republicans did not attain a majority in the House, Ford was unable to reach his ultimate political goal, Speaker of the House. Instead, he became president of the Senate. Late in 1973 Spiro Agnew pleaded no contest to a charge of income tax evasion and resigned as Vice President. President Nixon was empowered by the 25th Amendment to appoint a new vice president and chose Ford.

He was sworn in on December 6, 1973. On August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first president in U.S. history to resign from the office under the threat of impeachment in the Watergate scandal. The same day Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office as 38th President of the United States on August 9, 1974. Also in August 1974, Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller for vice president, which nomination was confirmed by Congress on December 19, 1974. One month after taking office President Ford faced one of the toughest decisions in his career. He decided to grant Nixon a full, free and absolute pardon for all offences against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in. The public opinion was mostly negative about the pardon and there was even suspicion Ford and Nixon had made a deal to grant a pardon if Nixon would resign. Although this happened on September 8, 1974, it might have cost the re-election of Ford two years later.

On November 24, 1974, in the conference hall of the Okeansky Sanitarium, Vladivostok, USSR, President Ford and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT-treaty, following talks on the limitation of strategic offensive arms In March 1975, during the final days of the Vietnam War, Ford ordered the airlift of about 237,000 Vietnamese refugees to the United States. Two months later, on May 14, 1975, Ford ordered U.S. forces to retake the S.S. Mayaguez after its seizure by Cambodia, an action Ford characterized as an "act of piracy." The operation saved the ship's 39-member crew, but sadly 41 Americans were killed and 50 more wounded during the preparation and execution of the rescue. President Ford was twice the target of assassination attempts. Both took place in on two separate trips to California in September 1975 and both were 'performed' by women.

On September 5, 1975 he survived an assassination attempt in Sacramento, California, by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of a cult once led by convicted mass murderer Charles Manson. On September 22, 1975, in San Francisco, California, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at the president, but a bystander diverted the shot. Despite his former athletics skills, Gerald Ford tumbled several times during his presidency. No cause was ever communicated. At the Republican National Convention in August 1976, Ford fought off a serious challenge from Californian Governor Ronald Reagan to be nominated as his party's presidential candidate. He chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas as his running mate. Although he succeeded in closing in on Democrat Jimmy Carter's large lead in the polls, President Ford finally lost one of the closest elections in history in November 1976. After leaving office, Gerald and Betty Ford returned to private life and moved to California where they built a new house in Rancho Mirage, which became his last residence. President Ford continued to actively participate in the political process and to speak out on important political issues. He lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities.

In 1981, the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were dedicated. President Ford was the recipient of numerous awards and honors by many civic organizations, like the recipient of many honorary Doctor of Law degrees from various public and private colleges and universities. In August 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Ford with the nation's highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. Two months later, in October 1999, Senate and House leaders presented Ford and his wife, Betty, with the Congressional Gold Medal. Together with former President Carter, he served as honorary Co-Chair of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2001. In May 2001 he was presented with the Profiles in Courage award for his controversial decision to pardon former President Nixon. In August 2000 Ford suffered a mild stroke while attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On May 16, 2003 following fluctuations in blood pressure and hot weather, Ford suffered dizzy spells on the golf course and taken to hospital. He was released the next day.

Although President Ford cut back on his travel and public appearances in recent years, he attended funeral services for President Ronald Reagan at Washington's National Cathedral, sitting with former Presidents Clinton, Bush and Carter, and their wives in June 2004. In August 2006, he was discharged from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, after doctors tried to reduce or eliminate blockages in his coronary arteries. They also implanted a pacemaker to improve his heart performance. In the fall of 2006 Ford spent several days at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage for medical tests. He was released on October 16. On November 12, 2006, Ford officially became the longest-lived president, surpassing Ronald Reagan. Ford would extend the record by 45 days. On December 26, 2006 at 6:45 p.m., President Ford died in his house in Rancho Mirage, California. He was aged 93 years and 165 days old, making him the longest-lived United States President. No cause of death was communicated. A state funeral and memorial services were held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

on January 2, 2007. President Ford was buried at his presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. President Gerald Ford is survived by his wife Betty, after more than 58 years of marriage, and by their four children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Richard, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Aernout Fetter (apfetter@zonnet.nl) Spouse (1) ( 15 October 1948 - 26 December 2006) (his death) (4 children) Trade Mark (1) Known for occasional stumbles and falls in public while in office Trivia (45) Chosen as U.S. President Richard Nixon 's vice president after the resignation of Spiro Agnew . Later, Ford succeeded Nixon as U.S. President when Nixon resigned from office. Ford is the first person to hold the office of U.S. President without the vote of the people. Ford was sworn in as Vice President on 6 December 1973, after the resignation of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew . Served in the U.S.

House of Representatives from 1949-1973. In 1963, U.S. President Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of U.S. President Kennedy. Ford was the longest lived member of that Commission. Ford pardoned U.S. President Nixon for Nixon's involvement in Watergate, which was largely unpopular with the U.S. public. Many believe the pardon cost Ford the 1976 U.S. Presidential election, but Ford maintained that it was the right thing to do for the good of the country. In 2001, Senator Ted Kennedy , a staunch critic of the pardon in 1974, admitted that it had been the right decision for the country. On two separate trips to California in September of 1975, Ford was the target of assassination attempts. Both of the assailants were women of 'Charles Manson (I)''s group of criminals, they were Lynette Fromme and Sara Jane Moore . Played football while in college, and, after graduation, was offered positions with both the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. He declined each in favor of coaching boxing and football at Yale University.

His children and their birth-dates: Michael Gerald, born on Tuesday, March 14th, 1950. John Gardner was born on Sunday, March 16th, 1952. Steven Meigs was born on Saturday, May 19th, 1956 and Susan Elizabeth, was born on Saturday, July 6th, 1957. Earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1927. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War Two. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr., but his parents separated two weeks after his birth. His mother remarried when Ford was two, and his name was changed to that of his stepfather, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. Ford did not know until he was seventeen years old that his stepfather was not his biological father. Graduated from the University of Michigan and Yale University Law School. He was an avid golfer. Ford was left-handed only when sitting down. Although he signed all official documents with his left hand, he was photographed writing on a chalkboard and throwing a softball with his right hand, both while standing. Portrayed on Saturday Night Live (1975) by Chevy Chase .

As of 14 July 2003 he was one of only four U.S. Presidents to live into his nineties. The other three were John Adams (1735-1826), Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), and Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). August 2, 2000, he was admitted to hospital after suffering two mild strokes at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. May 18, 2003, he was admitted to hospital after suffering dizzy spells during a golf game he played in ninety-six degree Fahrenheit heat in Rancho Mirage, California. Although Ford was not an All-American football player at the University of Michigan, his jersey number (48) was retired in a stadium ceremony 8 October 1994. Ford was the only United States President who had been adopted as a child. After the death of Ronald Reagan , he became the oldest living former President. Ronald Reagan 's lifetime, in days alone, was 34,088 days, while Gerald Ford 's lifetime, in days, alone was 34,133 days.

Gerald Ford lived only 45 days more than Ronald Reagan. Is the only person to date who has served as Vice President and President without having been elected to either office. He took each office after the respective resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon . He was a close friend of Jimmy Carter despite their quite different political ideologies and the fact Carter defeated him in the 1976 presidential election. In Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill 's memoir, "Man of the House", Ford confided to O'Neill that he was considering running for President in 1980. Was a member of the Warren Commission. His wife, Betty Ford , suffered from alcoholism. His wife, Betty Ford , founded The Betty Ford Clinic for alcohol & drug rehabilitation. Hospitalized with shortness of breath in July 2006. Gerald Ford's House--Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Gerald R.

Ford House, April 1955 National Historic Landmark file National Park Service Gerald Ford made his home in this typical, upper middle-class suburban house from 1955 until he became the 38th president of the United States after the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974. Ford was the first person to come into office under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, first as vice president and less than a year later as president. His basic decency and personal integrity helped hold a fractured nation together and restore public confidence after the scandals of the Nixon administration. Faced with a heavily Democratic Congress after the off-year elections of 1974, Ford was unable to get much legislation passed during his term in office. His decision to give Nixon a full-presidential pardon in September 1974 was extremely controversial and probably contributed to his defeat in the close 1976 presidential election. Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913, Gerald R. Ford moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan two years later when his parents divorced. Baptized Leslie King, Ford took the name of his stepfather, who formally adopted him.

He attended local public schools and later worked his way through the University of Michigan. He played on Michigan’s championship football team in 1932 and 1933 and was the team’s “Most Valuable Player” in 1934. Deciding against a career in professional football, Ford enrolled in Yale Law School. He graduated in the top third of his class in 1941, in spite of having to work as an assistant football and boxing coach. He served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during World War II. Returning to his law practice in Grand Rapids after the war, Ford became active in community affairs. In 1948, local Republicans and Michigan Senator Vandenberg, a well-known internationalist, suggested that Ford challenge the incumbent United States Representative, who was an isolationist. Ford won an upset victory in the Republican primary and easily carried the general election. In the same year, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Warren. Ford moved to Washington, DC in 1948 to take up his seat in Congress. After the birth of their first child in 1950, he and his wife moved to a garden apartment in the Virginia suburbs.

The Fords began to think about buying a house in 1952. They already owned a house in Grand Rapids to maintain their residency in his district, but the purchase of the home in the new Clover subdivision in Alexandria, Virginia signified a new long-term commitment to life in Washington. Betty Ford later recollected that it was obvious that her husband “was not going home to Michigan. . . . He planned to stay in Congress.” Ford did stay in Congress, easily winning reelection for a total of 25 years. For eight of those years he served as minority leader. He worked effectively to advance Republican policies, played an important role in party politics, was a key member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and was popular with members of both parties. President Ford at home in the kitchen National Historic Landmark file National Park Service The Fords worked with Grand Rapids architect Viktors Purins to design their new house. The two story brick and clapboard building consists of two parts: a main block and a slightly projecting extension with a two-car garage and master bedroom above. There is a small, one-story enclosed porch on the back of the house. The house contains seven rooms, two and one-half baths, and a finished basement.

In 1955, when they moved in, theirs was only the second house on the block. Betty Ford was not happy with the developer’s original landscaping and did much of the lawn and garden work herself. In 1961, the family installed a swimming pool, which Ford used regularly. When Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned after pleading “no contest” to tax fraud in the autumn of 1973, President Nixon nominated Ford as vice president, following the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1967. Enacted in the aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination, when there was no vice president and President Johnson had already survived one heart attack, this amendment established procedures for selecting a new vice president. Both houses of Congress overwhelmingly confirmed Ford’s appointment as vice president. Ford continued to live in his Alexandria home, although the Secret Service made a number of changes, including the installation of a command post in the garage. Gerald R. Ford became president on August 9, 1974, the day President Nixon’s resignation took effect.

The Fords stayed in Alexandria for 10 days to allow the Nixons time to move out of the White House. Betty Ford remembered her husband’s first morning as president, “At 7 A.M., the President of the United States, in baby-blue short pajamas, appears on his doorstep looking for the morning paper, then goes back inside to fix his orange juice and English muffin." One of President Ford’s first actions was granting Nixon a full presidential pardon. He was hoping to begin healing the deeply divided nation, but the short-term effect of this extremely controversial action was further polarization. The Democrats scored major gains in the mid-term elections that took place less than three months after Ford assumed office, increasing their majorities in both houses of Congress. Ford had been a popular and effective congressman, but, as president, he and Congress were able to find agreement on very few legislative issues. Ford vetoed 39 measures during his first 14 months; most were sustained. Mrs. Ford and the children in the backyard, c. 1960 National Historic Landmark file National Park Service President Ford’s first domestic challenge was stopping inflation, but the onset of a recession soon shifted his emphasis to stimulating the ailing economy.

Ford used his veto power to achieve compromises on emergency unemployment programs and housing subsidies. Concerned about the large budget deficit, he signed an economic stimulus bill authorizing income-tax reductions only after Congress agreed to a ceiling on Federal expenditures. Ford and his wife were both outspoken supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment. In foreign affairs, Ford sought international solutions where he could. He worked to maintain the power and prestige of the United States after communists took over Cambodia and South Vietnam. By providing aid to both Israel and Egypt and persuading both countries to accept an interim truce agreement, the Ford administration sought to prevent a new war in the Middle East. Ford met with Soviet Union leader Leonid I. Brezhnev to set new restrictions on nuclear weapons. Ford won the Republican nomination for president in 1976, but lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter in a close election. Carter began his inaugural address by saying, “For myself and for our nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." In 1977, the Fords moved to a new house they built in Rancho Mirage, California. Ford continued to participate actively in the political process and to speak out on important issues.

He published his memoirs in 1979 and participated in conferences at the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, both dedicated in 1981. He died on December 26, 2006 in Rancho Mirage. His grave is on the grounds of the museum that honors him in Grand Rapids. Plan your visit The Gerald R. Ford, Jr. House, a private home not open to the public, is located in Alexandria, VA. The house has been designated a National Historic Landmark . Click here for the National Historic Landmark registration file: text and photos . THe 38th US President - Gerald Ford Gerald Ford George W. Bush ï¿½ Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr was the thirty-eighth President (1974-1977). He was the only President who was never elected as either Vice President or President. He became President after the resignation of Richard Nixon over the Watergate scandal. He was born Leslie Lynch King Jr on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother married Gerald Ford, who adopted the boy and gave him his name.

Ford went to college at the University of Michigan, where he was an average student, but played center for the football team. Upon graduating in 1935, he took a job as a football and boxing coach in the athletic department at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He later was admitted to Yale Law School, finishing in the upper third of his class. He started a small practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and, when World War II began, he entered the Navy, serving aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Fleet. At the time of his discharge, he held the rank of lieutenant commander. After the war he resumed his law practice and, in 1948, married Elizabeth Bloomer Warren, who was known to all as "Betty." In the same year he entered politics as a Republican member of the House of Representatives. He won reelection every year until he resigned in 1973 to replace Spiro Agnew as Vice President. Gerald Ford was a moderate, conservative, hardworking and loyal Republican. He was very faithful to his constituents in Michigan and looked after their needs vigilantly. In 1965 he was named House Republican leader.

He would have been named Speaker of the House in 1973, but after Spiro Agnew resigned, Richard Nixon nominated him for Vice President. This was the first time the twenty-fifth Amendment, which includes provisions for a vacancy in the Vice Presidency, has ever been used. Gerald Ford was approved by Congress and sworn in on December 6, 1973. Eight months later on August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned, and Gerald Ford was sworn in as President of the United States. He had never before had national aspirations in politics, but had always been happy helping the people of his state. Ford brought a personal approach to the presidency in an attempt to heal the nation from the toll taken by Watergate, the Senate hearings, and the subsequent impeachment vote. He granted a full pardon to Richard Nixon. Problems for Ford began almost immediately, as there was terrible rancor over his pardon of Nixon for any crimes committed during his term in office. Ford was also faced with inflation and economic decline. Because of the pardon, the Democrats would give Ford no honeymoon, and an on-going conflict between the President and the legislature prevented much from being accomplished.

Ford vetoed over sixty bills, and of them, only twelve were overridden. As for foreign affairs, Nixon had left the world a safer place, and that arena had been so well managed that Ford had only to be a caretaker of Nixon's policies. South Vietnam collapsed in 1975, as everyone knew it would when the peace treaty was signed. Cambodia was also taken over by the Communists. In 1976 Ford's presidential aspirations were subjected to a bitter struggle for the nomination with fellow Republican, Ronald Reagan, the then Governor of California. It was not Reagan's year, and he declined the offer to run as Ford's Vice President, though the position was offered. Ford ran, instead, with Robert Dole of Kansas. Gerald Ford, who remains the only non-elected President of the United States, went on to lose the 1976 election to Georgia Governor and peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter. His defeat was attributed to an economic recession and high inflation. He is best known for his personal qualities, for being a good sport. Ironically, in light of the fact that he was such an athlete, Ford is also affectionately remembered for being clumsy.

He and his wife, Betty, brought an aura of family back to the White House. Betty Ford gained prominence in her own right as a spokesperson for the fight against breast cancer and for her battle with alcoholism, which led to the founding of "The Betty Ford Clinic." Gerald Ford died continues to serves on various boards of directors and is active in charitable affairs. Ford died of heart failure at the age of 93 on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California of heart failure.

Question: Who was the next president of the USA after Gerald Ford?
Answer: Jimmy Carter