The Ford Presidency

Football player for the University of Michigan

Fought in the Navy in WWII

Served for 25 years in Congress after WWII

House minority leader in 1965

Nominated for vice presidency during Watergate, under the 25th amendment

Nixon resigned and Ford took over

Public distrust in government

CIA could not keep secrets-- books and leaks

Stagflation was a major issue

Presidential image is hurt by Nixon-- Nice Guy Presidenttm to replace him

Said he would keep Nixon's foreign policy

Kept Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State

Soviet Union

Ford and Brezhnev were party to the Helsinki Accords

Ensure/enumerated the human rights people were supposed to have

Pursued nuclear treaties further

Led to SALT II

An agreement for both countries to limit their production of nuclear arms

Southeast Asia

Did not intervene in the Khmer Rouge genocide

One exception: Khmer Rouge troops took over a US ship, the Mayaguez, so Ford sent in Marines to get the ship back

South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam

Started a refugee crisis as people left on boats (boat people) to find safe places to settle

Ford organizes Operation Babylift to remove Vietnamese orphans

Middle East

Oil prices (controlled by Arab nations) rose sharply

Pardoned Richard Nixon

Nelson Rockefeller (gov of New York) as Vice President

WIN

Voluntary economic program

Stood for "Whip Inflation Now"

Encouraged people to stop spending in order to reduce demand

Failed miserably-- factories closed, demand dropped, and unemployment rose

CIA

Agents revealed many secrets

Ford accidentally revealed the role of the CIA in assassinating foreign leaders to the press

Created a committee to look into domestic spying and questionable methods

Strategies against unemployment

Produced a deficit of $60 billion

Worked for tax cut legislation

Interest rates cut to 8%

Worked for the summer of 1975 but inflation began to rise

Energy politics

In response to the rising price of imported oil Ford wanted to make US oil cheaper

Wanted to boost federal taxes and end oil prices controls

Democrats objected-- they claimed this would raise inflation and hurt the poor

1974 election saw a young, Democratic Congress

Congress wanted to impose government rationing of gasoline

Ford vetoed maintaining price controls and allocating gas for public transport

Led to a complete gridlock of US politics-- bad relationship with Congress