Though he served just over twenty-nine months as President, Aug. 9, 1974 – January 21st, 1977, Gerald Ford presided over one of the more tumultuous periods in recent American history.<
As President, Ford moved away from Nixon’s Keynesianism and acted to curb the trend toward Government intervention and spending as a means of solving the problems of American society and the economy. In the long run, he believed, this shift would bring a better life for all Americans.
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By granting Richard M Nixon a full pardon, Ford tried to calm the swirling controversies generated by Watergate.
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He nominated Nelson Rockefeller (the former Governor of New York) for Vice President and thus Rockefeller became only the second person to fill that office by appointment (Ford was the first). Gradually, over that first year, Ford selected a cabinet of his own.
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And Ford established his own policies during his first year in office, despite opposition from a heavily Democratic Congress.
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By granting Richard M Nixon a full pardon, Ford tried to calm the swirling controversies generated by Watergate.
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He nominated Nelson Rockefeller (the former Governor of New York) for Vice President and thus Rockefeller became only the second person to fill that office by appointment (Ford was the first). Gradually, over that first year, Ford selected a cabinet of his own.
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And Ford established his own policies during his first year in office, despite opposition from a heavily Democratic Congress.
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His first goal, in office, was to curb inflation.
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When recession became the Nation's most serious domestic problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. But, still fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of non-military appropriations bills that would have further increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During his first 14 months as President he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually sustained.
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Ford continued as he had in his Congressional days to view himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs." A major goal was to help business operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies. "We...declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers," he said.
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In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the debacles in Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons.
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Ford served on the famous Warren Commission that investigated JFK’s assassination, and played a vital role in maintaining the “single bullet theory.” In 1997 the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) released a document that revealed that Ford had altered the first draft of the report to read: "A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine." Ford had elevated the location of the wound from its true location in the back to the neck to support the single bullet theory."
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With rising inflation damaging the American economy, Ford went before the American public in October of 1974 and asked them to "whip inflation now." As part of this program, he urged people to wear "WIN" buttons.
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In hindsight, even he acknowledged that it was a mere public relations gimmick, that offered little in the way of any effective means of solving the underlying problems. At the time, inflation was around 7%.
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The economic focus began to change as the country sank into a mild recession, and in March 1975, Ford and Congress signed into law income tax rebates as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975 to boost the economy. When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, Mayor Abraham Beame was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted one of the most famous New York Daily News' headlines: "Ford to City: Drop Dead.”
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As bad as things were under Ford, they'd soon get much, much worse under Carter who took office in January of 1977 and went back to the Keynesian policies of LBJ & Nixon.
<
When recession became the Nation's most serious domestic problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. But, still fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of non-military appropriations bills that would have further increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During his first 14 months as President he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually sustained.
<
Ford continued as he had in his Congressional days to view himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs." A major goal was to help business operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies. "We...declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers," he said.
<
In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the debacles in Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons.
<
Ford served on the famous Warren Commission that investigated JFK’s assassination, and played a vital role in maintaining the “single bullet theory.” In 1997 the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) released a document that revealed that Ford had altered the first draft of the report to read: "A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine." Ford had elevated the location of the wound from its true location in the back to the neck to support the single bullet theory."
<
With rising inflation damaging the American economy, Ford went before the American public in October of 1974 and asked them to "whip inflation now." As part of this program, he urged people to wear "WIN" buttons.
<
In hindsight, even he acknowledged that it was a mere public relations gimmick, that offered little in the way of any effective means of solving the underlying problems. At the time, inflation was around 7%.
<
The economic focus began to change as the country sank into a mild recession, and in March 1975, Ford and Congress signed into law income tax rebates as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975 to boost the economy. When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, Mayor Abraham Beame was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted one of the most famous New York Daily News' headlines: "Ford to City: Drop Dead.”
<
As bad as things were under Ford, they'd soon get much, much worse under Carter who took office in January of 1977 and went back to the Keynesian policies of LBJ & Nixon.
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