Being president can be tough. You need, amongst other things, dedication, knowledge, and the will to keep fighting no matter what the situation. It is very stressful, but I feel like I handled the job well. Becoming president was one of the greatest achievements of my life…but it wasn’t the only thing I was known for. In fact, I consider much of my life before my presidency to be successful. I lived by one philosophy, “everyone ... had more good qualities than bad. If I understand and tried to accentuate those good qualities in others, I could get along much better." This way of thinking worked incredibly for me, and made me a better person. While I was at the University of Michigan, I played the position of center for the varsity football team. That football talent took me all the way to Yale Law School, where I graduated in the top quarter of my class. I decided to return to Grand Rapids, MI to create a law partnership, but only a few months later, the US entered WWII and I enlisted in the Navy and served for four years. Politics was the next step for me, and eventually, the presidency.
I won quite a few awards during my lifetime as well:
U.S. Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, 1949; Silver Anniversary All-Amerian Sports Illustrated Award, 1959; Distinguished Congressional Service Award from American Political Science Association, 1961; George Washington Award from American Good Government Society, 1966; National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Award, 1972; honorary LL.D. from University of Michigan, 1974.
Date of Birth:
July 14, 1913 in Omaha Nebraska
Date of Death:
December 26, 2006 at the age of 93 in Rancho Mirage, California
Sex:
Male
Political Views:
Republican
Religious Views:
Episcopalian
Years Served as President:
August 9, 1974-January 20, 1977 ( I was the first president to become president by way of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment)
My Inauguration:
Married to:
Elizabeth AnneBloomer Warren on October 15, 1948
Children:
Michael Gerald born in 1950
John Gardner (known as Jack) born in 1952
Steven Meigs born in 1956
Susan Elizabeth Vance born in 1957
Looking for:
A solution to repair the social damages from Vietnam war and put the Watergate scandal behind the Republican Party and restore faith in the Republican Party
Occupations:
I recived a degree in Law from Yale, and for a few months before the WWII, I opened my own practice.
Before my presidency I was a member of congress, being one of the few who was informed about the secret bombing in Cambodia.
After the war I became a business consultant and held spots on the board of directors of several companies.
Interests/Hobbies:
Being a Boy Scout (an Eagle Scout to be more exact)
Playing football and golf
Becoming a Lieutenant in the Navy
Education:
University of Michigan, B.A. 1935
Yale Law School, LL.D., 1941
Favorite Books:
Habits of the Heart, Your Erroneous Zones , I'm O.K, You're O.K.
Favorite Movies:
The Magnifi-cent Seven and The Great Escape
Favorite Music:
"Listen to the Music," "Long Train Running," "China Grove," and "Takin' It to the Streets"--Doobie Brothers
Friends:
Richard Nixon
Henry Kissinger
Alexander Haig
Nelson Rockefeller
Dick Cheney
George H. W. Bush
Sports:
FOOTBALL!!
golf
During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:
Political
The pardoning of ex-President Richard Nixon, a very serious political move on my part
After the Watergate scandal, the credibility of the Republican Party was very low in the eyes of many Americans. Because of this, relations between the Democrats and Republicans were on thin ice. For example, when I wanted to continue military aid to Turkey, the Democratic Congressmen overruled it. Then, many of the things the Democrats wanted, I vetoed because I saw fault in the plans. In my first three months in office, I vetoed more bills that Nixon had in his entire presidency.
Social
People were still upset about the Watergate scandal, and about me pardoning Nixon. This caused my popular vote to go from 71% to 50% overnight, but I felt I had done the right thing.
The time after the Vietnam War was disheartening for many Americans who either had fought in the war themselves, or had lost someone in the war.
The conservation of energy was a huge concern for me and so finally the Energy Policy and Conservation Act was signed.
Economic
During my first couple months of presidency, the economy was in pretty bad shape. Inflation in America was in the double digits, unemployment was rising, and gross nation product was low, thousands were loosing jobs and the Dow-Jones dropped ninety-nine points.
To deal with this problem, on October 8, 1974, I proposed a $300 billion budget for the government and a $5 billion tax on corporations and people with high incomes. This plan’s slogan was “Whip Inflation Now” also known as WIN. Only one week after I proposed the plan, 101,420 citizens mailed in enlistment papers committing themselves to the cause.
In March the next year, I accepted a proposition by the Democrats for a reduction of taxes (it was a $22.8 billion reduction).
During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:
Political
Granted Amnesty for Vietnam deserters
For much of my presidency, I spent time trying to build positive relations with the Soviet Union and Chinese governments to ease the tnsions of the cold war
After meeting with the Indonesian president Suharto, I aproved to aid the invasion of East Timor.
Social
In April 1975, I offically called all US troops out Vietnam and out of the war effort.
Mayagüez incident which lead Gerald Ford to retaliate with a marine assualt, ultimately helped his relations with the public but its actual success is debateable
Economic
Severe Inflation
Keeping good ties with oil rich countries such as Libya, Kuwait, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia so they would not raise its gas prices, which would lead to higher gas prices in America, which would be even worse for the US economy.
Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats." Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:
Commander-In-Chief
As communists took over South Vietnam and Cambodia in the final act of the Vietnam War, I argued for military aid to the South Vietnamese government, but the Congress had refused. Instead, I made to ensure that 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were allowed into the United States. That May, when Cambodian communists seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, I sent U.S. military forces to free the ship. The tiny victory helped to reassure and regain the support of the Americans and their allies. The action strengthened their resolve.
Chief Executive
The Congress, emboldened by my lack of popularity and the massive Democratic gains in the 1974 elections, passed legislation without caring about the my opinion. I often had to resort to the presidential veto, the only official power I had over Congress. Many of my vetoes were as a result of fundamental disagreements between the executive and legislative branches over fiscal and foreign policy. I supported a lower level of spending and more control over international affairs than the Congress was prepared to yield for the execution of these laws.
Chief Diplomat
In order to improve foreign relations after the strains of Watergate, I met with several leaders in 1974 and 1975, including the heads of West Germany, Great Britain, Egypt, and France. I reached an arms control agreement with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1975. I also signed the Helsinki Accords, which was aimed to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, Soviet dissidents used the human rights provisions of the accords to successfully challenge communist rule.
Ceremonial Head of State
Soon after taking the oath of office, I spoke to the assembled audience in a speech broadcast live. I understood the unusual aspects of the situation and I wanted to reassure the nation. In September 1974, I issued a proclamation that gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States while President. In a televised effort, I explained how I felt that this action was in the best interests of the country. I also voluntarily appeared before Congress in October 1974 to give sworn testimony about the pardon. When I reluctantly agreed to run for office in 1976, my election campaign included a fireworks display on the Fourth of July was presided over by me and televised nationally. On July 7, 1976, my wife and I served as proud hosts at a White House state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, which shown on the Public Broadcasting Service network. The 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts gave me the opportunity to deliver a speech to my fellow Americans.
Manager of the Economy
When I became president, the U.S. economy was struggling with inflation, unemployment, and an energy crisis. I tried to control federal spending by vetoing several budget bills. But the voters, still angry over my decision regarding Watergate, gave the Democrats more seats in Congress in the 1974 election, and Congress began overriding my vetoes. I am proud to say that unemployment and inflation both fell during my term in office.
Party Leader
When I was in Congress, I served on the House Appropriations Committee, and helped to shape the federal budget. It is said that my friendliness led younger Republicans to turn to me as a leader in their battles against older, entrenched leaders. In 1963, I became the third-ranking House Republican. In 1964, I was named to the Warren Commission. In 1965, I was elected House Republican leader. I believed friendly appeals won more loyalty in the long run and refused to punish wayward Republicans for voting against the party position. I spent election years traveling the country to campaign for Republican congressional candidates, hoping to win a majority and become speaker of the House. Instead, I was unexpectedly gratified with the role of the President of the United States.
National Leader
I won no presidential elections, enacted no major programs, and won no wars. But I earned a respected place in U.S. history by providing steady, dependable leadership after President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned amid criminal scandals. My decision to pardon Nixon one of the most defining acts in my presidency. It was probably the factor that lost me the 1976 election, but I defend it as an action necessary for national reconciliation. It is said that my honest and moderate leadership after the traumas of Nixon's Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War helped restore confidence in the U.S. government.
Favorite Quote About Me by a Famous Historian:
Ron Nessen observed that no other president was routinely described as " 'acting presidential' instead of simply being president."
Famous Quotes By Me:
"I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."
Yes, Gerald Ford was my presidential name, and was in fact my official name for most of my life, but my birth name was actually Leslie King, Jr. Why the name change you may ask? It really mostly has to do with the problems in my parent’s marriage. When I was two, my mother, Dorothy, and my father, Leslie King, Sr. divorced. Latter, she remarried a man named Gerald Ford, Sr. and thus I was renamed after him…and he raised me as if I was his real son. In fact, I did not know about the remarriage and the name change until I was twelve or thirteen, so all that time I believed he was my biological father and that my birth name was really Gerald Ford. Then I didn’t meet my real father until I was seventeen, not that it made a difference. I met him (only because he just happened to be passing by Detroit), we chatted casually about football and such, and that was it. Oh, but there was the twenty-five dollars he gave me to “buy yourself something you want that you can't afford otherwise." I was crushed, and no amount of money could fix that feeling. Later on, in my memoirs, I wrote, "nothing could erase the image I gained of my real father that day: a carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son." But hey, then I became president of the United States of America. Oh well, can’t win them all.
Positive Political Cartoon
Negative Political Cartoon
Works Cited:
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. 20 May 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>
"Ford, Gerald (1913-)." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale, 1998. NA. General OneFile. Gale. 20 May 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.
"Gerald R. Ford." Newsmakers, Issue 2. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. 20 May 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>
"Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, 1974--1977." The Cold War, 1945-1991. 3 vols. Edited by Benjamin Frankel. Gale Research, 1992. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>
Parmet, Herbert S. "Ford, Gerald R." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 537-552. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. 22 May 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>.
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