Gerald Ford Powerpoint

GeraldRudolph

Ford

By Christine Chang, Dennis Yee, Teressa Ju, and Laura Plouse

INTRODUCTION: Background Info• Born July 14, 1913 to Dorothy

Ayer Gardner and Leslie Lynch King in Omaha Nebraska

• Named Leslie Lynch King Jr. • Mother left husband when he

threatened her with a knife and later married Ford's "real" dad: Gerold Rudolph Ford.

• Ford Sr. was honest, charitable, and had deep seeted work ethics, values that Ford himself would keep throughout his life

INTRODUCTION: Background Info

• Avid eagle scout • Football star; received offers

from the Detroit Lions and the green Bay Packers, but turned down offers to go to law school in YALEo From football,

learned discipline, teamwork and adherence to the game plan, values that he brought to the POLITICAL FIELD.

• 1940, Ford befriended Republican Wendell Wilkie and helped him campaign for senator of Michigan

• Was rudely brushed off by local political boss Frank P. Mckay

Day of the election, Mckay finally offered help to a losing Willkie, but for control of Michigan's economy. FORD HAD A GRUDGE


• April 1942 Ford joined the U.S. Naval Reserve • Returned from war, set up a law partnership in Grand Rapids

with frat brother Phillip A. Buchen. o Active in a group of reform-minded Republicans in Grand

Rapids, called the Home Front, who were interested in challenging the hold of Frank McKay

• For House of Representatives against Mckay- backed Bartel Jonkman.o Unlike his opponent, Ford listened to

his voterso He won 23632- 14341o Throughout his entire career he only

suffered 1 defeat Served in the House of

Representatives from o o o

January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973,• Reelected twelve times, each time with more than 60% of

the vote. • October 15 1948, he married Elizabeth Ann Bloomer

Warren, a divorcee, and had 4 children


INTRODUCTION: Background Info• Ambition was to become

Speaker of the House• Became a member of

the House Appropriations Committee in 1951, and became minority leader in Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in 1961.

• Never became Speaker of the House, but in 1965, became minority leader of the House, which he held for 8 yearso Republicans didn't have a majority in the house for all

those years

INTRODUCTION: "Election"...the road to Vice Presidency...-Spiro Agnew VP of Nixon-Baltimore construction contractors paid him cut of fees from contracts.-He took tens of thousands of dollars of bribes even in the White House-Announced Vice President October 12, 1976Speech: "I am a Ford, not a Lincoln"-reasons chosen: *would be approved by Congress *same ideas as Nixon *risky *character *good friends with Nixon

...the road to Presidency...

-"He's a good and decent man, the country needs that now."

-June 23 tape "Smoking Gun" proved that Nixon lied about not using CIA to block Watergate investigation

-Nixon made his 3 options after Supreme Court ruling *resign now *wait for House to vote to impeach & then resign *fight through Senate trial-Hiag,Chief of Staff, made 5 points of what Nixon should doand #6 was mysteriously added: "Nixon could resign and hope that his successor would pardon him."-Nixon suggests Nelson Rockefeller as Ford's VP-August 7, 1974 9:01 radio and television from Oval Officeresignation speech

INTRODUCTION: "Election"

INTRODUCTION: Party Affiliation• Republican• Described himself as "a moderate in domestic

affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy."

• A major goals: o To help business operate more freely by

reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies.

o 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

OVERVIEW: TimelineGerald Ford: 38th President of the United States, 1974-1976 1972• June 17-Watergate Scandal begins

1973• October 10-Vice President Agnew

resigns• October 12-Ford appointed vice

president without election (first vice president nominated under terms of 25th amendment)

1974• May through July-Ford travels tirelessly around the country defending Nixon. • August 8-Nixon resigns over national T.V.• August 9-Gerald R. Ford becomes 38th president of a nation suffering 12.2%

inflation and 5.3% unemployment rate.• September 8-Ford pardons Nixon for Watergate crimes• October 25-Ford pledges to enforce all black civil rights• November 12-Press Secretary Ron Nessen announces the U.S. is entering a

recession

OVERVIEW: Timeline1975• January 13-Ford delivers a

"fireside chat" to the nation and promises to fight inflation and energy dependence

• January 15-Ford proposes tax cuts for American families and businesses. He also proposes to reduce the amount of government spending.

• February 24-U.S. lifts 10-year embargo on arms shipments to Pakistan

• April 10-Ford asks Congress for to assist South Vietnam and Cambodia financially, but most Congressmen, especially Democrats, disapprove of it.

• May 12-Newly Communist Cambodia seizes the U.S. merchant ship, Mayaguez. Ford orders Marines to rescue the ship's crew

OVERVIEW: Timeline

1975 cont'd • August 1-Helsinki Accords• September 5-Lynette

Fromme tries to assassinate Ford in Sacramento, California. Ford is the first president who has had a woman attempt to kill him.

• September 22-Sara Jane Moore attempts to assasinate President Ford in San Francisco, California. She is the second woman to attempt the assassination of Ford.

Lynette Fromme

OVERVIEW: Timeline1976• November 3-Republican Ford

loses to Democrat Jimmy Carter in his re-election campaign

1979• June 6-Ford's memoir, A Time to

Heal, is published• April 27-Ford dedicates his

Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan

• September 18-Ford dedicates his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan

1999• August 11-President Clinton awards Ford the Presidential Medal of

Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award2006• December 26-Ford dies in his California home at age 93

OVERVIEW: Specific RolesChief Executive (ensures that laws are faithfully executed.)• enforced the American spirit of democracy and opposition

to Communism by fully supporting and continuing the Vietnam War.

• Appointed Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens when Justice William Douglas stepped down in Nov. 1975 due to stroke.

• Ford acted on Attorney General Edward Levi advise to appoint Stevens to Supreme Court, and the Senate confirmed Stevens' appointment without controversy.

Stevens is also still alive and serving in the Supreme Court today

OVERVIEW: Specific RolesChief of State (official "leader" of a nation)-Sept. 8, 1974: completely pardons Nixon's wrongdoings. This disturbs many people and raises suspicions that...

• REASONS:• Nixon's health

and relieving his agony

• end Watergate and move on

• "It is my duty, not merely to proclaim domestic tranquility but to use every means that I have to insure it."

Ford was in bed with

Nixon

OVERVIEW: Specific Roles

• Public wanted to see trial• Approval rate 71% to 49%

o "Throwing away his presidency to do a favor"

• Thought that trade pardon for resignation and presidencyo The 6th point

• Ford never regretted it

o "Shift from fallen president to rising nation"

Chief of State (cont)


-Ford decides to evacuate troops from South Vietnam as Saigon is captured by North Vietnam (Communist) and war ends.

Commander in Chief (commander of a nation's military forces)

Commander in Chief ~ Bungled Vietnam

• Operation Frequent Wind• April 29 and the morning of April

30, 1975, soldiers evacuated the American embassy in Saigon.

• US promised about 90,000 who had worked for or had ties to the US evacuation

• many were not fetched and they stormed the embassy.

• Only about1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 Vietnamese and third country nationals were evacuated


Commander in Chief ~ Mayagüez

What happened:• US merchant ship• May 12 1975• Gulf of Siam• Cambodian government

took crew as prisoners Ford's plan:• Rescue plan became a way

to punish Cambodians

• Wanted to bomb warships and military significance• US saw it was an opportunity to regain respect they lost with the fall of

Vietnam• Said it was an act of piracy • "Let's look ferocious" with planes, ships, and military force


Commander in Chief ~ Mayagüez (cont)

Afterwards:• Cambodians released crew• All people in the ship survive

"Victory" for country and showed its strength However, critics say:• Cost more lives than on boat itself

o 41 killed total and 39 on ship• Ford's decision making without

congress• Crew not even on island (Koh Tang)

where fought


-Joining of the U.S. and Soviet space >Apollo-Soyuz Test project launched Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft >This was symbolic because it represented

the two nation's efforts to reconcile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Helsinki Accords: Signed in Helsinki, Finland, on August 1, 1975 >Designed to increase cooperation among the Communist and non-Communist countries of Europe (Eastern and Western Europe) >Acknowledged that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were under Soviet control.

OVERVIEW: Specific RolesChief Diplomat (manage foreign relations/policies)

Chief Diplomat ~ OPEC• Arab oil power was predominant at

the time • OPEC (Organization of Oil Exporting

Countries) implemented an Oil Embargo from 1973-1974, which was difficult for America's economy

• One of his major goals was to prevent a war between the Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East

• Implemented "Shuttle Diplomacy" in the Middle East, which seemed to work well

• Provided more aid to both Egypt and Israel, so was able to get them to accept a truce agreement, but it didn't last



(not)

Inflation in double digits and to fix the problems:• Whip Inflation Now (WIN)

o No effect on the economy

o Shows that Ford can't deal with it

o Wear WIN Buttons to spread awareness

o Pledge to spend less and clean their plates

o Sharing is caring (pain, sorrow, & joy)

Chief Legislator (sign/veto bills drafted by Congress and suggest new laws for Congress to consider)


• Wanted a 5% tax surcharge but the idea died away• Wanted to reduce spending budget to under $300 billion• Vetoes on whatever he thought was too high and would sign

until changed• "Decontrol" energy prices to stimulate production

Chief of Legislator (cont)

Bad Reputation with Farmers:

• Embargo with Russia on graino Try to help keep food prices downo But no help with inflationo Russia just traded with other

countries that traded with US• Vetoes bills for boosting prices for dairy,

grain and cotton

OVERVIEW: Specific RolesChief of Legislator (cont)

• 9.2% peak of unemployment

• Wanted spending cuts again

• Tax flip-flopo Now wanted to cut

taxes before wanted to raise taxes

o Has energy tax and rebate too

OVERVIEW: Specific RolesChief of Legislator ~ Recession, public enemy #1

Campaign Finance Law:• Limits donation spending• Response to

Nixon/Watergate• Rid politics of corrupting

influences of big money and big special interests

• Uses Federal Election Commission to have strict disclosure of sources and uses of campaign money

• Creates strict limits on individual and organizational contributions to campaigns and on spending ceilings for races

• First public financing presidential election campaign from fund through voluntary federal income tax check off

Chief Legislator (cont)


REASONS LOST ELECTION 1976 VS CARTER• Pardon of Nixon barely a month in office• Veto attempts to increase expenditures for social programs

and resist development of new layers of government bureaucracy

• Stressed virtues of free enterprise and dangers of over regulating economy

• Proposed tax increase to combat inflation but changed his idea when unemployment increased

• Embargo on grain

o The two attempts occured less than three weeks apart

o First attempt by Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme at the beginning of September 1975

o Fromme wanted to kill him because she didn't think his policies protected the California Redwoods enough, so she tried to shoot him with a pistol when he shook her hand, but the bullets weren't in the firing chamber, so he wasn't harmed

Assassination Attempts

Assassination Attempts• Second attempt by Sara Jane Moore in the middle of

September 1975• Moore became desperate and violent due to personal

issues and she was a political radical, a follower of Marxism, so she tried to kill Ford with a pistol, but the shot was deflected by a marine and Ford was unharmed

• Both women were arrested and sentenced to life in prison, but Moore was later released on parole

Supportive Political Cartoon

Critical Political Cartoon 1

Critical Political Cartoon 2

CONCLUSION: ranking

1.Moral integrity2.Legacy3.Leadership4.Crisis management5.Domestic and foreign policies6.Relationship with Americans

(beginning from #1 as best)

THE END

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Gerald Ford Powerpoint