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Gerald R. Ford
Biography
Famous
Conservatives in History
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.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gf38.html
Compiled by Thomas George
editor@BoycottLiberalism.com
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