As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am using a list from Barnes and Noble. The book on Gerald Ford by Douglas Brinkley is also on a list called The American Presidents Series.
According to the website, " It is the aim of the series to present the grand panorama of our chief executives in volumes compact enough for the busy reader, lucid enough for the scholar. Each volume will be an incisive, meditation-length biographical essay that focuses on the subject's presidency, even as it offers a distillation of his life, character, and career."
Most of the books I will be reading moving forward will be from the Presidents Series. There is the same intro mentioning different traits of the Presidents in each book. I will be sharing excerpts from the intro in future blogs.
Gerald Ford was born on July 14, 1913 as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Omaha, Nebraska. His mother moved to Michigan and married Gerald Rudolf Ford in 1917. Gerald would not legally change his name to Gerald R. Ford Jr. until 1935.
- Ford grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- He played football at the University of Michigan.
- Received offers from Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions (turned them down)
- Graduated from Yale law school.
- Saw action in World War II in the Pacific abroad USS Monterey
- 1948 won election to the US House of Representatives
- Would serve as House Minority Leader (1965 - 1973) - wanted to be speaker of the House but the Republicans did not have control of the House while Ford was Minority Leader.
- Ford would serve with Nixon in the House, a friendship that would last over 50 years.
- 1968 Election
- Ford was in discussions to be Nixon's running mate. He preferred to stay a Rep with the goal of being Speaker of the House if Republicans took back the majority. Ford would never become Speaker.
- Nixon shocked everyone and selected Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew.
- December 6, 1973: VP Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford becomes VP.
- August 9, 1974: Ford becomes President when Nixon resigned and is the only President not to win a national election.
- Let me try to explain. Eight other men (John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman & LBJ) became President when the sitting President died in office. All eight were part of the Presidential ticket that won the election.
- It has longed been discussed if Ford promised Nixon a pardon if he resigned.
- Ford carried a portion of the Supreme Court decision of Burdick vs. United States from 1915.
- The justices determined that an individual does not have to accept a pardon if offered.
- The justices state that if a pardon is accepted, you are admitting guilt.
- Ford denied cutting a deal with Nixon. His justification was that Nixon was accepting guilt by accepting the pardon.
- The pardon upset conservatives and was a rallying cry for Democrats.
- Presidency
- Helsinki accord
- Ford's greatest achievement and was the beginning to the end of the Soviet empire.
- Vietnam War ended
- Four predecessors were unsuccessful in ending the war
- Mixed reviews as the war could have been ended 10 years prior with the same results and less deaths.
- Mayaguez
- American ship held hostage near Cambodia where 41 American rescuers were killed
- 1976 Republican Nomination
- Franklin Pierce (1856) is the only elected President not to secure his party's nomination.
- Unelected Presidents Tyler, Fillmore, Andrew Johnson & Chester Arthur were unable to secure the nomination.
- Ford was trying to avoid joining these five presidents
- Ronald Reagan put up a serious challenge and lost a close nomination to Ford
- 1976 Presidential election
- Ford dumped his VP Nelson Rockefeller and choose Kansas Senator Bob Dole as his running mate
- Ford/Dole lost to Carter/Mondale
- Ford partially blamed Reagan for the primary challenge as the reason his lost support and ultimately the election.
- Post Presidency
- While Ford had a short tenure in the Oval Office, he led the country through a difficult time after Watergate and ending the Vietnam War
- Perception changed over the years surrounding the pardon as it led the country on the path to healing.
- Ford considered himself a Moderate republican as the party started to drift towards the right.
- Ford had plenty of battles with conservative Republicans over the years.
- 1980
- Thought about running for President (ultimately decided not too)
- Had discussions with Reagan on becoming VP (Reagan choose George H.W. Bush)
- After Carter left office,Jimmy & Roslyn became close friends with Gerald & Betty.
- Betty Ford Clinic
- Gerald was very supportive of his wife's battle with alcoholism. The clinic opened near their home in California and has helped a tremendous amount of people battle a terrible disease.
- 2001 - Received the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for his work pardoning Nixon and healing the country.
- This award decision was difficult to make as Ted Kennedy was very out spoken towards Ford's decision to pardon Nixon.
While some may say Ford was not a successful President, he dedicated his live to public service and truly had the country in mind when he made difficult decisions.
16 down, 28 to go. 8,849 pages complete.
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