38th President of the United States
Ford had been Vice-President for only eight months when he took office as President. Despite the extremely unusual circumstances in which he gained the office, the American people warmly welcomed Ford to the presidency. He had a calm, friendly manner and an unquestioned reputation for honesty. But his popularity dropped sharply after he pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any and all federal crimes he may have committed while in office. Ford was also challenged by major economic problems and high unemployment. U.S. foreign policy suffered a major defeat in 1975, when the Vietnam War ended with a Communist victory.
The only person to serve as both Vice-President and President without being elected to either office, Ford lost his bid for a full term as President to James Earl Carter, Jr., in 1976.
| His Vice-President and Cabinet | |
| Vice-President | Nelson A. Rockefeller |
| Secretary of State | Henry A. Kissinger |
| Secretary of the Treasury | William E. Simon |
| Secretary of Defense | James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld (1975) |
| Attorney General | William B. Saxbe Edward H. Levi (1975) |
| Secretary of the Interior | Rogers C.B. Morton Stanley K. Hathaway (1975) Thomas S. Kleppe (1975) |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Earl L. Butz John A. Knebel (1976) |
| Secretary of Commerce | Frederick B. Dent Rogers C.B. Morton (1975) Elliot L. Richardson (1975) |
| Secretary of Labor | Peter J. Brennan John T. Dunlop (1975) W.J. USery, Jr. (1976) |
| Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | Caspar Weinberger F. David Matthews (1975) |
| Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | James T. Lynn Carla A. Hills (1975) |
| Secretary of Transportation | Claude S. Brinegar William T. Coleman, Jr. (1975) |
| United States Events During His Administration | |
| Population in 1977 ~220,000,000 | |
| 1974 | Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for all federal crimes Nixon may have committed during his administration. |
| 1974 | Ford offered amnesty to draft dodgers and deserters of the Vietnam War period. |
| 1974 | The Council on Wage and Price Stability was established by Congress. |
| 1975 | The unmanned Viking 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on Mars. |
| 1975 | Ford escaped two attempted assassinations in California. |
| 1975 | The Mayagüez, a U.S. merchant ship, was seized by Cambodian troops. U.S. troops quickly recaptured it. |
| 1976 | Americans celebrated the bicentennial of their nation's founding. |
| World Events During His Administration | |
| 1974 | Turkish troops invaded Cyprus and took control of a large part of the island. |
| 1975 | Civil wars broke out in Angola and Lebanon. |
| 1975 | The Vietnam War ended when North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam. |
| 1975 | Manned U.S. Apollo and Soviet Soyuz space vehicles linked up in space in the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. |
| 1975 | Francisco Franco, ruler of Spain since 1936, died. |
| 1976 | Mao Tse-tung, leader of the Chinese Communist Revolution and ruler of China since 1949, died. |
Questions or comments about this page?
SKC Films Library
American History.--United States: General History
and Description.--Later
Twentieth Century, 1961-2000.--Gerald
Ford's Administration, 1974-1977.--Gerald Rudolph Ford.
Search This Site | Usage Guidelines | About the Library | Contact Information | Navigation Help