![]() ![]() In the months after his confirmation as vice president, Ford continued to support Nixon's innocence with regards to Watergate, even as evidence mounted that the Nixon administration had ordered the break-in and subsequently sought to cover it up. Ford was confirmed by overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress, and he took office as vice president in December 1973. Nixon selected Ford, then the House Minority Leader, largely because he was advised that Ford would be the most easily confirmed of the prominent Republican leaders. Under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, Nixon nominated Ford as Agnew's replacement. Due to a scandal unrelated to Watergate, Vice President Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973. Nixon's second term was dominated by the Watergate scandal, which stemmed from a Nixon campaign group's attempted burglary of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration. The Republican ticket of President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew won a landslide victory in the 1972 presidential election. ![]() ![]() Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the White House East Room, while Betty Ford looks on. In polls of historians and political scientists, Ford is generally ranked as a below average president, much like both his predecessor and successor. In the general election, Ford lost to Carter by a narrow margin in the popular and electoral vote. After a contentious series of primaries, Ford narrowly won the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention. In the 1976 presidential election, Ford was challenged by Ronald Reagan, a leader of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Overcoming significant congressional opposition, Ford continued Nixon's détente policies with the Soviet Union. The foreign policy of the Ford administration was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the president. After initially promoting a tax increase designed to combat inflation, Ford championed a tax cut designed to rejuvenate the economy, and he signed two tax reduction acts into law. Much of Ford's focus in domestic policy was on the economy, which experienced a recession during his tenure. He also created a conditional clemency program for Vietnam War draft dodgers. Ford's first major act upon taking office was to grant a presidential pardon to Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal, prompting a major backlash to Ford's presidency. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1976 presidential election by Democrat Jimmy Carter.įord took office in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and in the final stages of the Vietnam War, both of which engendered a new disillusion in American political institutions. Ford was the only person to serve as president without being elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had served as vice president since December 6, 1973, following Spiro Agnew's resignation from that office. The views of Club speakers are their own and their participation does not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by The Commonwealth Club.Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of 895 days. Each year, we bring nearly 500 events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy to our members and the public, both in-person and via extensive online and on-air listenership and viewership. The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. The leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. ![]()
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