Gerald+Ford

=Gerald Ford= toc Gerald Ford was president from 1974 to 1977. He was the thirty- eighth president of the United States of America. He took the oath of office on August 9, 1974. Ford had many challenges while he was president.

Early Days
Gerald Ford was a member of congress for twenty five years before coming the president of the United States. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1913. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the star of the University of Michigan football team. He then went to Yale where he was the assistant coach while he was earning his law degree.

The Oath of Office
When Gerald Ford took the oath of office, America was in bad shape. When he took the oath of office he said, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and was succeeding the first President ever to resign. Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace. The President tried to reduce 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.

Early Policies
As President, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon. His nominee for Vice President, former Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, was the second person to fill that office by appointment. Gradually, Ford selected a cabinet of his own. Ford established his policies during his first year in office, despite opposition from a mostly Democratic Congress. His first goal was to get rid of inflation. Then, when recession became the Nation's worst 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.

Election of 1976
President Ford was liked by many Americans and he won the Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1976.He ended up losing the election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. On Inauguration Day, President Carter began his speech: "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."

Later Years
Ford remained relatively active in the years after his presidency and continued to make appearances at events of historical and ceremonial significance to the nation, such as presidential inaugurals and memorial services. In 1977, he reluctantly agreed to be interviewed by James M. Naughton, a //New York Times// journalist. In 1979, Ford published his autobiography, //A Time to Heal//. A Foreign Policy review describes it as, "Serene, unruffled, unpretentious, like the author. Gerald Ford died in 2006 of cerebrovascular disease at his home.

Resources
Garraty, John A. The Story of America. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1994.

"Biography of Gerald R. Ford." whitehouse.gov. March 30, 2009.

"Gerald Ford." nndb.com. March 30, 2009.