![]() After experiencing a series of health problems, he died at home on December 26, 2006, at age 93. ![]() In retirement, Ford set aside the enmity he had felt towards Carter following the 1976 election, and the two former presidents developed a close friendship. His moderate views on various social issues increasingly put him at odds with conservative members of the party in the 1990s and early 2000s. ![]() In the 1976 Republican presidential primary campaign, Ford defeated former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.įollowing his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. involvement in the Vietnam War essentially ended. With the collapse of South Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. As president, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, which marked a move toward détente in the Cold War. During Ford's presidency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the president. In one of his most controversial acts, he granted a presidential pardon to Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. After the subsequent resignation of President Nixon in August 1974, Ford immediately assumed the presidency.ĭomestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. In December 1973, two months after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment. He served in this capacity for nearly 25 years, the final nine of them as the House minority leader. representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district. Ford began his political career in 1949 as the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving from 1942 to 1946 he left as a lieutenant commander. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Following his senior year, he turned down offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, instead opting to go to Yale Law School. president without winning an election for president or vice president.īorn in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ford attended the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the school's football team, winning two national championships. Ford succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned in 1974, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973, when he was appointed the 40th vice president by President Richard Nixon, after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. ( / ˈ dʒ ɛr əl d/ JERR-əld born Leslie Lynch King Jr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |