View source for Presidency of Gerald Ford

{{Short description|U.S. presidential administration from 1974 to 1977}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{for timeline|Timeline of the Gerald Ford presidency}}
{{Infobox administration
| image          = Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
| name           = Presidency of Gerald Ford
| term_start     = August 9, 1974
| term_end       = January 20, 1977
| president_link = President of the United States
| vicepresident  = {{plainlist|
* ''None'' {{nowrap|(Aug–Dec 1974)}}
* [[Nelson Rockefeller]] {{nowrap|(1974–1977)}}
}}
| cabinet        = ''[[#Administration|See list]]''
| party          = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| election       = None
| seat           = [[White House]]
| predecessor    = [[Presidency of Richard Nixon|Richard Nixon]]
| successor      = [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter]]
| library_url    = https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/
}}

[[Gerald Ford]]'s tenure as the [[List of presidents of the United States|38th president of the United States]] began on August 9, 1974, upon the [[resignation of Richard Nixon|resignation]] of President [[Richard Nixon]], and ended on January 20, 1977. Ford, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] from [[Michigan]], had been [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|appointed]] [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] on December 6, 1973, following the resignation of [[Spiro Agnew]] from that office. Ford was the only person to serve as president without being elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency. His presidency ended following his narrow defeat in the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential election]] to [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]], after a period of {{age in days|Aug 9, 1974|January 20, 1977}} days in office. His 895-day presidency remains the shortest of all U.S. presidents who did not die in office.

Ford 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'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. He also created a conditional clemency program for Vietnam War draft dodgers. 

Much of Ford's focus in domestic policy was on the economy, which experienced a [[1973–75 recession|recession]] during his tenure. 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. 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.<ref name="Lenczowski">{{cite book|author=George Lenczowski|title=American Presidents, and the Middle East|year=1990|isbn=0-8223-0972-6|pages=142–143|publisher=Duke University Press|author-link=George Lenczowski}}</ref> Overcoming significant congressional opposition, Ford continued Nixon's [[détente]] policies with the [[Soviet Union]].

In the 1976 presidential election, Ford was challenged by [[Ronald Reagan]], a leader of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. After a contentious series of [[1976 Republican Party presidential primaries|primaries]], Ford narrowly won the nomination at the [[1976 Republican National Convention]]. In the general election, Ford lost to Carter by a narrow margin in the popular and electoral vote. In [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|polls of historians and political scientists]], Ford is generally ranked as a below average president, much like both his predecessor and successor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Presidents ranked from worst to best: 25. Gerald Ford (1974-1977)|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/presidents-ranked-from-worst-to-best-presidential-historians-survey-2017/20/|website=cbsnews.com|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref>

==Accession==
{{Further|Inauguration of Gerald Ford}}
{{See also|Presidency of Richard Nixon}}
[[File:Ford sworn-in.jpg|thumb|Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Warren Burger]] in the White House [[East Room]], while Betty Ford looks on.]]

The Republican ticket of President [[Richard Nixon]] and Vice President [[Spiro Agnew]] won a landslide victory in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]]. 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.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=8–9}} Due to a scandal unrelated to Watergate, Vice President [[Spiro Agnew|Agnew]] resigned on October 10, 1973. Under the terms of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]], Nixon nominated Ford as Agnew's replacement. Nixon selected Ford, then the [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|House Minority Leader]] and representative from [[Michigan's 5th congressional district]], largely because he was advised that Ford would be the most easily confirmed of the prominent Republican leaders.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=11–12}} Ford was [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|confirmed by overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress]], and he took office as vice president in December 1973.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=12–13}}

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. In July 1974, after the Supreme Court [[United States v. Nixon|ordered]] Nixon to turn over recordings of certain meetings he had held as president, the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] voted to begin [[Impeachment process against Richard Nixon|impeachment proceedings against Nixon]]. After the tapes became public and clearly showed that Nixon had taken part in the cover-up, Nixon summoned Ford to the Oval Office on August 8, where Nixon informed Ford that he would resign. Nixon formally resigned on August 9, making Ford the first President of the United States who had not been elected as either president or vice president.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 55–63</ref>

Immediately after taking the oath of office in the [[East Room (White House)|East Room]] of the White House, Ford spoke to the assembled audience in a speech broadcast live to the nation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gerald R. Ford's Remarks Upon Taking the Oath of Office as President |url= http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/740001.asp |publisher=The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|date=August 9, 1974 |access-date=November 18, 2010}}</ref> Ford noted the peculiarity of his position: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers."<ref name="ISP">{{cite web |year=1974 |url=http://watergate.info/ford/ford-swearing-in.shtml |title=Remarks By President Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President |publisher=Watergate.info |access-date=December 28, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703155524/http://www.watergate.info/ford/ford-swearing-in.shtml |archive-date=July 3, 2008 }}</ref> He went on to state:

{{Blockquote|I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-miller/coming-of-age-with-gerald_b_37242.html |first=Danny|last=Miller|title=Coming of Age with Gerald Ford |work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=December 27, 2006|access-date=September 8, 2009}}</ref>}}

==Administration==

===Cabinet===
[[File:Photograph of President Gerald R. Ford Presiding Over an Afternoon Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room - NARA - 186811.tif|thumb|[[Gerald Ford|President Ford]] and his cabinet in June 1975]]
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=right
|Name=Ford
|President =[[Gerald Ford]]
|President start =1974
|President end =1977
|Vice President =none
|Vice President date =1974
|Vice President 2 =[[Nelson Rockefeller]]
|Vice President start 2 =1974
|Vice President end 2 =1977
|State =[[Henry Kissinger]]
|State start =1974
|State end =1977
|Treasury =[[William E. Simon]]
|Treasury start =1974
|Treasury end =1977
|Defense =[[James R. Schlesinger]]
|Defense start =1974
|Defense end =1975
|Defense 2 =[[Donald Rumsfeld]]
|Defense start 2 =1975
|Defense end 2 =1977
|Justice =[[William B. Saxbe]]
|Justice start =1974
|Justice end =1975
|Justice 2 =[[Edward H. Levi]]
|Justice start 2 =1975
|Justice end 2 =1977
|Interior =[[Rogers Morton]]
|Interior start =1974
|Interior end =1975
|Interior 2 =[[Stanley K. Hathaway]]
|Interior date 2 =1975
|Interior 3 =[[Thomas S. Kleppe]]
|Interior start 3 =1975
|Interior end 3 =1977
|Agriculture =[[Earl Butz]]
|Agriculture start =1974
|Agriculture end =1976
|Agriculture 2 =[[John A. Knebel]]
|Agriculture start 2 =1976
|Agriculture end 2 =1977
|Commerce =[[Frederick B. Dent]]
|Commerce start =1974
|Commerce end =1975
|Commerce 2 =[[Rogers Morton]]
|Commerce start 2 =1975
|Commerce end 2 =1976
|Commerce 3 =[[Elliot Richardson]]
|Commerce start 3 =1976
|Commerce end 3 =1977
|Labor =[[Peter J. Brennan]]
|Labor start =1974
|Labor end =1975
|Labor 2 =[[John Thomas Dunlop|John T. Dunlop]]
|Labor start 2 =1975
|Labor end 2 =1976
|Labor 3 =[[William Usery Jr.]]
|Labor start 3 =1976
|Labor end 3 =1977
|Health, Education, and Welfare =[[Caspar Weinberger]]
|Health, Education, and Welfare start =1974
|Health, Education, and Welfare end =1975
|Health, Education, and Welfare 2 =[[F. David Mathews]]
|Health, Education, and Welfare start 2 =1975
|Health, Education, and Welfare end 2 =1977
|Housing and Urban Development =[[James Thomas Lynn|James T. Lynn]]
|Housing and Urban Development start =1974
|Housing and Urban Development end =1975
|Housing and Urban Development 2 =[[Carla Anderson Hills]]
|Housing and Urban Development start 2 =1975
|Housing and Urban Development end 2 =1977
|Transportation =[[Claude Brinegar]]
|Transportation start =1974
|Transportation end =1975
|Transportation 2 =[[William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.|William T. Coleman Jr.]]
|Transportation start 2 =1975
|Transportation end 2 =1977
|Management and Budget =[[Roy Ash]]
|Management and Budget start =1974
|Management and Budget end =1975
|Management and Budget 2 =[[James Thomas Lynn|James T. Lynn]]
|Management and Budget start 2 =1975
|Management and Budget end 2 =1977
|Trade =[[William Denman Eberle|William D. Eberle]]
|Trade date =1974
|Trade 2 =[[Frederick B. Dent]]
|Trade start 2 =1975
|Trade end 2 =1977
|Ambassador to the United Nations =[[John A. Scali]]
|Ambassador to the United Nations start =1974
|Ambassador to the United Nations end =1975
|Ambassador to the United Nations 2 =[[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]]
|Ambassador to the United Nations start 2 =1975
|Ambassador to the United Nations end 2 =1976
|Ambassador to the United Nations 3 =[[William Scranton]]
|Ambassador to the United Nations start 3 =1976
|Ambassador to the United Nations end 3 =1977
|Chief of Staff =[[Alexander Haig]]
|Chief of Staff date =1974
|Chief of Staff 2 =[[Donald Rumsfeld]]
|Chief of Staff start 2 =1974
|Chief of Staff end 2 =1975
|Chief of Staff 3 =[[Dick Cheney]]
|Chief of Staff start 3 =1975
|Chief of Staff end 3 =1977
|Counselor to the President =[[Anne L. Armstrong|Anne Armstrong]]
|Counselor to the President date =1974
|Counselor to the President 2 =[[Dean Burch]]
|Counselor to the President date 2 =1974
|Counselor to the President 3 =[[Kenneth Rush]]
|Counselor to the President date 3 =1974
|Counselor to the President 4 =[[Robert T. Hartmann]]
|Counselor to the President start 4 =1974
|Counselor to the President end 4 =1977
|Counselor to the President 5 =[[John O. Marsh Jr.]]
|Counselor to the President start 5 =1974
|Counselor to the President end 5 =1977
|Counselor to the President 6 =[[Rogers Morton]]
|Counselor to the President date 6 =1976
|White House Counsel =[[Philip W. Buchen]]
|White House Counsel start =1974
|White House Counsel end =1977
}}

Upon assuming office, Ford inherited Nixon's [[Cabinet of the United States|cabinet]], although Ford quickly replaced Chief of Staff [[Alexander Haig]] with [[Donald Rumsfeld]], who had served as a [[Counselor to the President]] under Nixon. Rumsfeld and Deputy Chief of Staff [[Dick Cheney]] rapidly became among the most influential people in the Ford administration.<ref>Brinkley, p. 78–79</ref> Ford also appointed [[Edward H. Levi]] as Attorney General, charging Levi with cleaning up a Justice Department that had been politicized to unprecedented levels during the Nixon administration.<ref>Brinkley, p. 85–86</ref> Ford brought in [[Philip W. Buchen]], [[Robert T. Hartmann]], [[L. William Seidman]], and [[John Otho Marsh Jr.|John O. Marsh]] as senior advisers with cabinet rank.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=26}} Ford placed a far greater value in his cabinet officials than Nixon had, though cabinet members did not regain the degree of influence they had held prior to [[World War II]]. Levi, Secretary of State and [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Adviser]] [[Henry Kissinger]], Secretary of the Treasury [[William E. Simon]], and Secretary of Defense [[James R. Schlesinger]] all emerged as influential cabinet officials early in Ford's tenure.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=28–29}}

Most of the Nixon holdovers in cabinet stayed in place until Ford's dramatic reorganization in the fall of 1975, an action referred to by political commentators as the "[[Halloween Massacre (Ford administration)|Halloween Massacre]]".<ref name="gking1">{{cite magazine|last1=King|first1=Gilbert|title=A Halloween Massacre at the White House|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-halloween-massacre-at-the-white-house-92668509/?no-ist|access-date=August 25, 2016|magazine=Smithsonian|date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Ford appointed [[George H. W. Bush]] as [[Director of Central Intelligence|Director]] of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/bush/|title=George Herbert Walker Bush Profile|publisher=CNN|access-date=December 31, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061028112345/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/bush/| archive-date = October 28, 2006}}</ref> while Rumsfeld became Secretary of Defense and Cheney replaced Rumsfeld as Chief of Staff, becoming the youngest individual to hold that position.<ref name="gking1"/> The moves were intended to fortify Ford's right flank against a primary challenge from Ronald Reagan.<ref name="gking1"/> Though Kissinger remained as Secretary of State, [[Brent Scowcroft]] replaced Kissinger as National Security Advisor.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 129–130</ref>

===Vice presidency===

Ford's accession to the presidency left the office of vice president vacant. On August 20, 1974, Ford [[1974 United States vice presidential confirmation|nominated]] [[Nelson Rockefeller]], the leader of the party's liberal wing, for the vice presidency.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 65–66</ref> Rockefeller and former Representative [[George H. W. Bush]] from Texas were the two finalists for vice presidential nomination, and Ford chose Rockefeller in part due to a ''[[Newsweek]]'' report that revealed that Bush had accepted money from a Nixon [[slush fund]] during his 1970 Senate campaign.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=30}} Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made large gifts to senior aides, including Kissinger. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation, and his nomination passed both the House and Senate.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301072408/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |title=The Vice Presidency: Rocky's Turn to the Right |magazine=Time |date=May 12, 1975 |access-date=September 8, 2009}}</ref> He was sworn in as the nation's 41st vice president on December 19, 1974.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=31}} Prior to Rockefeller's confirmation, [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Carl Albert]] was next in [[United States presidential line of succession|line to the presidency]]. Ford promised to give Rockefeller a major role in shaping the domestic policy of the administration, but Rockefeller was quickly sidelined by Rumsfeld and other administration officials.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=83–84}}

===Executive Privilege===
In the wake of Nixon's heavy use of [[executive privilege]] to block investigations of his actions, Ford was scrupulous in minimizing its usage. However, that complicated his efforts to keep congressional investigations under control. Political scientist [[Mark J. Rozell]] concludes that Ford's:
: failure to enunciate a formal executive privilege policy made it more difficult to explain his position to Congress. He concludes that Ford's actions were prudent; they likely salvaged executive privilege from the graveyard of eroded presidential entitlements because of his recognition that the Congress was likely to challenge any presidential use of that unpopular perquisite.<ref>Mark J. Rozell,  "Executive Privilege in the Ford Administration: Prudence in the Exercise of Presidential Power." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 28#2 (1998): 286-298 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551860 Online].</ref>

==Judicial appointments==
{{Further|Gerald Ford Supreme Court candidates|List of federal judges appointed by Gerald Ford|Gerald Ford judicial appointment controversies}}

Ford made one appointment to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] while in office, appointing [[John Paul Stevens]] to succeed [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice]] [[William O. Douglas]]. Upon learning of Douglas's impending retirement, Ford asked Attorney General Levi to submit a short list of potential Supreme Court nominees, and Levi suggested Stevens, Solicitor General [[Robert Bork]], and federal judge [[Arlin Adams]]. Ford chose Stevens, an uncontroversial federal appellate judge, largely because he was likely to face the least opposition in the Senate.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=98–99}} Early in his tenure on the Court, Stevens had a relatively moderate voting record, but in the 1990s he emerged as a leader of the Court's liberal bloc.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=David G. |title=John Paul Stevens' unexpectedly liberal legacy |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-09-la-na-stevens-legacy10-2010apr10-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=April 9, 2010}}</ref> In 2005 Ford wrote, "I am prepared to allow history's judgment of my term in office to rest (if necessary, exclusively) on my nomination 30 years ago of Justice John Paul Stevens to the U.S. Supreme Court".<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Stephan| first=Terry| title=A Justice for All| magazine=Northwestern Magazine| publisher=Northwestern University| location=Evanston, Illinois| date=Spring 2009| url=http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/spring2009/cover/stevens.html| access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref> Ford also appointed 11 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 50 judges to the [[United States district court]]s.

==Domestic affairs==
===Nixon pardon===
{{Main|Pardon of Richard Nixon}}
[[File:Gerald Ford hearing2.jpg|thumb|alt=A man in a suit is seated at a table as he speaks into a bank of microphones. An audience is visible behind him.|President Ford appears at a [[House Judiciary Committee|House Judiciary Subcommittee]] hearing regarding his pardon of Richard Nixon]]

Along with the experience of the [[Vietnam War]] and other issues, Watergate contributed to a decline in the faith that Americans placed in political institutions. Low public confidence added to Ford's already formidable challenge of establishing his own administration without a [[United States presidential transition|presidential transition]] period or the popular mandate of a presidential election.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=20–21}} Though Ford became widely popular during his first month in office, he faced a difficult situation regarding the fate of former President Nixon, whose status threatened to undermine the Ford administration.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=34–35}} In the final days of Nixon's presidency, Haig had floated the possibility of Ford [[Federal pardons in the United States|pardoning]] Nixon, but no deal had been struck between Nixon and Ford before Nixon's resignation.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=43–45}} Nonetheless, when Ford took office, most of the Nixon holdovers in the executive branch, including Haig and Kissinger, pressed for a pardon.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=45}} Through his first month in office, Ford publicly kept his options open regarding a pardon, but he came to believe that ongoing legal proceedings against Nixon would prevent his administration from addressing any other issue.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=46–47}} Ford attempted to extract a public statement of contrition from Nixon before issuing the pardon, but Nixon refused.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=49–52}}

On September 8, 1974, Ford issued [[:wikisource:Proclamation 4311|Proclamation 4311]], which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.<ref name="pardonspeech">{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=September 8, 1974 |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/740061.htm|title=President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon |work=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum| publisher= University of Texas |access-date=December 30, 2006}}</ref><ref name="pardonimage">{{cite web|last=Ford|first=Gerald|date=September 8, 1974|url=http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=100775|title=Presidential Proclamation 4311 by President Gerald R. Ford granting a pardon to Richard M. Nixon|work=Pardon images|publisher=University of Maryland|access-date=December 30, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011231200/http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=100775|archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1974/Ford-Pardons-Nixon/12305808208934-3/ |title=Ford Pardons Nixon - Events of 1974 - Year in Review |publisher=UPI.com |access-date=November 4, 2011}}</ref> In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."<ref name="pardonspeech2">{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date= September 8, 1974 |url=http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ford.htm|title=Gerald R. Ford Pardoning Richard Nixon |work=Great Speeches Collection|publisher=The History Place |access-date=December 30, 2006}}</ref>

The Nixon pardon was highly controversial, and [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] polling showed that Ford's approval rating fell from 71 percent before the pardon to 50 percent immediately after the pardon.<ref>Brinkley, p. 73</ref> Critics derided the move and said a "[[corrupt bargain]]" had been struck between the men.<ref name="kunhardt">{{cite book |last=Kunhardt |first=Phillip Jr. |url=http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/biography/resources/ArticlesCopy1/KunhardtFordBio.article.shtml |title=Gerald R. Ford "Healing the Nation" |pages=79–85 |publisher=Riverhead Books |location=New York |access-date=December 28, 2006 |year=1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203074820/http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/biography/resources/ArticlesCopy1/KunhardtFordBio.article.shtml |archive-date=February 3, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In an editorial at the time, ''The New York Times'' stated that the Nixon pardon was a "profoundly unwise, divisive and unjust act" that in a stroke had destroyed the new president's "credibility as a man of judgment, candor and competence".<ref name="nyt-editorial">{{cite news|date=December 28, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/opinion/28thur1.html |title=Gerald R. Ford |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 29, 2006}}</ref> Ford's close friend and press secretary, [[Jerald terHorst]], resigned his post in protest.<ref name="shanescott">{{cite news|first=Scott |last=Shane |title=For Ford, Pardon Decision Was Always Clear-Cut|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29pardon.html|work=The New York Times|page=A1 |access-date=September 8, 2009 | date=December 29, 2006}}</ref> The pardon would hang over Ford for the remainder of his presidency, and damaged his relationship with members of Congress from both parties.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=53–55}} Against the advice of most of his advisers, Ford agreed to appear before a House Subcommittee that requested further information on the pardon.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=56–57}} On October 17, 1974, Ford testified before Congress, becoming the first sitting president since [[Woodrow Wilson]] to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/PresidentsTestify.pdf |title=Sitting presidents and vice presidents who have testified before congressional committees |publisher=Senate.gov |date=2004 |access-date=November 22, 2015}}</ref>

After Ford left the White House, the former president privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of ''[[Burdick v. United States]]'', a 1915 Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.<ref>''Shadow'', by [[Bob Woodward]], chapter on Gerald Ford; Woodward interviewed Ford on this matter, about twenty years after Ford left the presidency</ref>

===Clemency for draft dodgers===
[[File:Gerald Ford White House Photo (Portrait).jpg|thumb|185px|Ford in the Oval Office, 1974]]

During the Vietnam War, about one percent of American men of eligible age for the draft failed to register, and approximately one percent of those who were drafted refused to serve. Those who refused conscription were labeled as "[[draft dodger]]s"; many such individuals had left the country for [[Canada]], but others remained in the United States.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=37–38}} Ford had opposed any form of amnesty for the draft dodgers while in Congress, but his presidential advisers convinced him that a clemency program would help resolve a contentious issue and boost Ford's public standing.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=38–39}} On September 16, 1974, shortly after he announced the Nixon pardon, Ford introduced a presidential clemency program for Vietnam War draft dodgers. The conditions of the clemency required a reaffirmation of allegiance to the United States and two years of work in a public service position.<ref name="amnesty">{{cite news |last=Hunter |first=Marjorie |url= https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0916.html#article|title=Ford Offers Amnesty Program Requiring 2 Years Public Work; Defends His Pardon Of Nixon |work=The New York Times |date=September 16, 1974 |access-date=August 10, 2013}}</ref> The program for the Return of Vietnam Era Draft Evaders and Military Deserters established a Clemency Board to review the records and make recommendations for receiving a presidential pardon and a change in [[military discharge]] status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4714#axzz1jJbv1H6i|title=Gerald R. Ford: Proclamation 4313 - Announcing a Program for the Return of Vietnam Era Draft Evaders and Military Deserters|work=ucsb.edu}}</ref> Ford's clemency program was accepted by most conservatives, but attacked by those on the left who wanted a full amnesty program.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=41}} Full pardon for draft dodgers would later come in the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter Administration]].<ref name="carteruncon">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/vietnam/vietnam_1-21-77.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818043224/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/vietnam/vietnam_1-21-77.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 18, 2000|title=Carter's Pardon|date=January 21, 1977|publisher=Public Broadcasting System|work=McNeil/Lehrer Report|access-date=December 30, 2006}}</ref>

===1974 midterm elections===
{{Main|1974 United States elections}}

The 1974 congressional midterm elections took place less than three months after Ford assumed office. The Democratic Party turned voter dissatisfaction into large gains in the [[1974 United States House of Representatives elections|House of Representatives elections]], taking 49 seats from the Republican Party, increasing their majority to 291 of the 435 seats. Even Ford's former House seat was won by a Democrat. In the [[1974 United States Senate elections|Senate elections]], the Democrats increased their majority to 61 seats in the 100-seat body.<ref>Renka, Russell D. [https://web.archive.org/web/20031228111446/http://ustudies.semo.edu/ui320-75/Course/presidents/nixon/Nixon'sfall.htm Nixon's Fall and the Ford and Carter Interregnum]. [[Southeast Missouri State University]], (April 10, 2003). Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> The subsequent [[94th United States Congress|94th Congress]] would override the highest percentage of vetoes since [[Andrew Johnson]] served as president in the 1860s. Ford's successful vetoes, however, resulted in the lowest yearly spending increases since the Eisenhower administration.<ref>Ivan Eland, Recarving Rushmore, 2014, p.339</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/bush-vetoes-less-than-most-presidents.html Bush vetoes less than most presidents], CNN, May 1, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.</ref> Buoyed by the new class of "[[Watergate Babies]]," liberal Democrats implemented reforms designed to ease the passage of legislation. The House began to select [[United States congressional committee|committee]] chairs by secret ballot rather than through seniority, resulting in the removal of some conservative Southern committee chairs. The Senate, meanwhile, lowered the number of votes necessary to end a [[Filibuster in the United States Senate|filibuster]] from 67 to 60.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=84–85}}

Ford was at odds with the liberal Democratic majority in Congress during his presidency, as he reflected in his autobiography:

{{Blockquote|In 1949, when I arrived in Washington, President Truman was a moderate-to-liberal Democrat who had struggled with a conservative Republican Eightieth Congress. He wanted to spend, and we Republicans wanted to save. Here I was in 1974, a conservative-to-moderate Republican about to struggle with a liberal Democratic Congress. The President wanted to save, and the Congress wanted to spend. Well, Truman had won a good share of his battles on Capitol Hill. With any luck, I would too.<ref>A time to heal : the autobiography of Gerald R. Ford, New York : Harper & Row, 1979, P.156</ref>}}

=== Economy ===
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin-left:1em; text-align:center"
|+ Federal finances and GDP during Ford's presidency<ref>All figures, except for debt percentage, are presented in billions of dollars. The receipt, outlay, deficit, GDP, and debt figures are calculated for the [[fiscal year#United States|fiscal year]], which ends on September 30. For example, fiscal year 2020 ended on September 30, 2020. Prior to 1976, the fiscal year ended on June 30.</ref>
|-
! Fiscal<br/>Year
! Receipts
! Outlays
! Surplus/<br/>Deficit
! [[Gross domestic product|GDP]]
! Debt as a %<br/>of GDP<ref>Represents the national debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP</ref>

|-
! 1975
| 279.1
| 332.3
| –53.2
| 1,606.9
| 24.6

|-
! 1976
| 298.1
| 371.8
| –73.7
| 1,786.1
| 26.7

|-
! TQ<ref>In 1976, the beginning of the fiscal year was moved from July 1 to October 1, creating a "transition quarter" that lasted from July 1, 1976, to September 30, 1976.</ref>
| 81.2
| 96.0
| –14.7
| 471.7
| 26.3

|-
! 1977
| 355.6
| 409.2
| –53.7
| 2,024.3
| 27.1

|-
! Ref.
| colspan=3 | <ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Tables|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/historical-tables/|website=White House|publisher=Office of Management and Budget|access-date=March 4, 2021|at=Table 1.1}}</ref>
| <ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Tables|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/historical-tables/|website=White House|publisher=Office of Management and Budget|access-date=March 4, 2021|at=Table 1.2}}</ref>
| <ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Tables|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/historical-tables/|website=White House|publisher=Office of Management and Budget|access-date=March 4, 2021|at=Table 7.1}}</ref>
|}

By the time Ford took office, the U.S. [[Economy of the United States|economy]] had entered into a period of [[stagflation]], which economists attributed to various causes, including the [[1973 oil crisis]] and increasing competition from countries such as Japan.<ref name="moran1">{{cite journal|last1=Moran|first1=Andrew|title=Gerald R. Ford and the 1975 Tax Cut|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=Summer 1996|volume=26|issue=3|pages=738–754|jstor=27551629}}</ref> Stagflation confounded the traditional economic theories of the 1970s, as economists generally believed that an economy would not simultaneously experience inflation and low rates of economic growth. Traditional economic remedies for a dismal economic growth rate, such as tax cuts and increased spending, risked exacerbating inflation. The conventional response to inflation, tax increases and a cut in government spending, risked damaging the economy.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=69}} The economic troubles, which signaled the end of the [[Post–World War II economic expansion|post-war boom]], created an opening for a challenge to the dominant [[Keynesian economics]], and [[laissez-faire]] advocates such as [[Alan Greenspan]] acquired influence within the Ford administration. Ford seized the initiative, abandoned 40 years of orthodoxy, and introduced a new conservative economic agenda as he sought to adapt traditional Republican economics to deal with the novel economic challenges.<ref name="moran1"/><ref>Andrew D. Moran, "More than a caretaker: the economic policy of Gerald R. Ford." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 41.1 (2011): 39–63 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23884755 Online].</ref>

At the time that he took office, Ford believed that inflation, rather than a potential recession, represented the greatest threat to the economy.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=70–71}} He believed that inflation could be reduced, not by reducing the amount of new currency entering circulation, but by encouraging people to reduce their spending.<ref name="Brinkley, pp. 77–78"/> In October 1974, Ford went before the American public and asked them to "'''W'''hip '''I'''nflation '''N'''ow". As part of this program, he urged people to wear "[[Whip Inflation Now|WIN]]" buttons.<ref>[http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3283 Gerald Ford Speeches: ''Whip Inflation Now''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829173510/http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3283 |date=August 29, 2008 }} (October 8, 1974), Miller Center of Public Affairs. Retrieved May 18, 2011</ref> To try to mesh service and sacrifice, "WIN" called for Americans to reduce their spending and consumption, especially with regards to [[gasoline]]. Ford hoped that the public would respond to this call for self-restraint much as it had to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s calls for sacrifice during [[World War II]], but the public received WIN with skepticism. At roughly the same time he rolled out WIN, Ford also proposed a ten-point economic plan. The central plank of the plan was a tax increase on corporations and high earners, which Ford hoped would both quell inflation and cut into government's budget deficit.<ref name="Brinkley, pp. 77–78">Brinkley, pp. 77–78</ref>

Ford's economic focus changed as the country sank into the [[1973–75 recession|worst recession]] since the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/disastersacciden0000camp|chapter-url-access=registration|title=Disasters, accidents and crises in American history: a reference guide to the nation's most catastrophic events|last=Campbell|first=Ballard C.|publisher=Facts On File|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8160-6603-2|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/disastersacciden0000camp/page/353 353]|chapter=1973 oil embargo}}</ref> In November 1974, Ford withdrew his proposed tax increase.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=73–74}} Two months later, Ford proposed a 1-year tax reduction of $16&nbsp;billion to stimulate economic growth, along with spending cuts to avoid inflation.<ref name="ReferenceB">Crain, Andrew Downer. ''The Ford Presidency''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2009</ref> Having switched from advocating for a tax increase to advocating a tax reduction in just two months, Ford was greatly criticized for his "flip-flop".{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=75}} Congress responded by passing a plan that implemented deeper tax cuts and an increase in government spending. Ford seriously considered vetoing the bill, but ultimately chose to sign the [[Tax Reduction Act of 1975]] into law.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=75–76}} In October 1975, Ford introduced a bill designed to combat inflation through a mix of tax and spending cuts. That December, Ford signed the Revenue Adjustment Act of 1975, which implemented tax and spending cuts, albeit not at the levels proposed by Ford. The economy recovered in 1976, as both inflation and unemployment declined.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=79–81}} Nonetheless, by late 1976 Ford faced considerable discontent over his handling of the economy, and the government had a $74 billion deficit.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=97–98}}

===Rockefeller Commission===
[[File:President Ford meets with Rumsfeld and Cheney - NARA - 7140637.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=A man sits at his desk, smoking a pipe, while two other men speak to him from the other side of the desk.|L to R: Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and President Ford in the Oval Office, 1975]]

Prior to Ford's presidency, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) had illegally assembled files on domestic anti-war activists.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 79–80</ref> In the aftermath of Watergate, CIA Director [[William Colby]] put together a report of all of the CIA's domestic activities, and much of the report became public, beginning with the publication of a December 1974 article by investigative journalist [[Seymour Hersh]]. The revelations sparked outrage among the public and members of Congress.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=102–105}} In response to growing pressure to investigate and reform the CIA, Ford created the [[United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States|Rockefeller Commission]].<ref name="kitts1">{{cite journal|last1=Kitts|first1=Kenneth|title=Commission Politics and National Security: Gerald Ford's Response to the CIA Controversy of 1975|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=Fall 1996|volume=26|issue=4|pages=1081–1098|jstor=27551672}}</ref> The Rockefeller Commission marked the first time that a presidential commission was established to investigate the national security apparatus.<ref name="kitts1"/> The Rockefeller Commission's report, submitted in June 1975, generally defended the CIA, although it did note that "the CIA has engaged in some activities that should be criticized and not permitted to happen again." The press strongly criticized the commission for failing to include a section on the CIA's assassination plots.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=108–109}} The Senate created its own committee, led by Senator [[Frank Church]], to investigate CIA abuses. Ford feared that the [[Church Committee]] would be used for partisan purposes and resisted turning over classified materials, but Colby cooperated with the committee.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=109–111}} In response to the Church Committee's report, both houses of Congress established [[Select or special committee|select committees]] to provide oversight to the intelligence community.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=111–112}}

=== Environment ===

Due to the frustration of environmentalists left over from the Nixon days, including [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] head [[Russell E. Train]], environmentalism was a peripheral issue during the Ford years. Secretary of the Interior [[Thomas S. Kleppe]] was a leader of the "[[Sagebrush Rebellion]]", a movement of western ranchers and other groups that sought the repeal of environmental protections on federal land. They lost repeatedly in the federal courts, most notably in the 1976 Supreme Court decision of ''[[Kleppe v. New Mexico]]''.<ref>Robert L. Fischman and Jeremiah I. Williamson. "The Story of Kleppe v. New Mexico: The Sagebrush Rebellion as Un-Cooperative Federalism." ''University of Colorado Law Review'' 83 (2011): 123+ [https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1454&context=facpub online]</ref> Ford's successes included the addition of two national monuments, six historical sites, three historic parks and two national preserves. None were controversial. In the international field, treaties and agreements with Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, the Soviet Union and several European countries included provisions to protect endangered species.<ref>Byron W. Daynes and Glen Sussman, ''White House Politics and the Environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush'' (2010) pp 139-54.</ref>

=== Social issues ===
{{See also|Amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965|l1=Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975}}

Ford and his wife were outspoken supporters of the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] (ERA), a proposed constitutional amendment that had been submitted to the states for ratification in 1972.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=33}} The ERA was designed to ensure equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender. Despite Ford's support, the ERA would fail to win ratification by the necessary number of state legislatures.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

As president, Ford's position on [[abortion]] was that he supported "a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov//library/speeches/760947.htm |title=Presidential Campaign Debate Between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter, October&nbsp;22, 1976 |publisher=Fordlibrarymuseum.gov |access-date=September 8, 2009}}</ref> This had also been his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'', which he opposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=6320 |title=Letter to the Archbishop of Cincinnati |access-date=June 12, 2007 |last=Ford |first=Gerald|date=September 10, 1976 |work=The American Presidency Project}}</ref> Ford came under criticism for [[Betty Ford's August 1975 60 Minutes interview|a ''60 Minutes'' interview his wife Betty gave in 1975]], in which she stated that ''Roe v. Wade'' was a "great, great decision".{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=33}} During his later life, Ford would identify as [[pro-choice]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0102/03/lklw.00.html |title=The Best of Interviews With Gerald Ford |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=February 3, 2001 |work=Larry King Live Weekend |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

=== Campaign finance ===

After the 1972 elections, [[Good governance|good government]] groups like [[Common Cause]] pressured Congress to amend [[Campaign finance in the United States|campaign finance law]] to restrict the role of money in political campaigns. In 1974, Congress approved amendments to the [[Federal Election Campaign Act]], establishing the [[Federal Election Commission]] to oversee campaign finance laws. The amendments also established a system of public financing for presidential elections, limited the size of campaign contributions, limited the amount of money that candidates could spend on their own campaigns, and required the disclosure of nearly all campaign contributions. Ford reluctantly signed the bill into law in October 1974. In the 1976 case of ''[[Buckley v. Valeo]]'', the Supreme Court overturned the cap on self-funding by political candidates, holding that such a restriction violated [[freedom of speech]] rights.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=82–83}} The campaign finance reforms of the 1970s were largely unsuccessful in lessening the influence of money in politics, as more contributions shifted to [[political action committee]]s and state and local party committees.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=87–88}}

=== Court ordered busing to desegregate public schools ===
{{Main|Desegregation busing}}
In 1971, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education]]'' that "Busing was a permissible tool for desegregation purposes." However, in the closing days of the Nixon administration, the Supreme Court largely eliminated District Court ability to order busing across city and suburban systems in the case of ''[[Milliken v. Bradley]].''<ref>Nathaniel R. Jones, "Milliken v. Bradley: Brown's Troubled Journey North." ''Fordham Law Review'' 61 (1992): 49+ [https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3001&context=flr Online].</ref>   It meant that disgruntled white families could move to the suburbs and not be reached by court orders regarding segregation of the central city schools. Ford, representing a Michigan district, had always taken the position in favor of the goal of school desegregation but opposition to court-ordered forced busing as a means of achieving it. In the first major bill he signed as president,  Ford's compromise solution was to win over the general population with mild anti-busing legislation. He condemned anti-busing violence, promoted the theoretical goal of school desegregation, and promised to uphold the Constitution. The problem did not go away – it only escalated and remained on the front burner for years. [[Boston desegregation busing crisis|Tension exploded in Boston]], where working-class Irish neighborhoods inside the city limits violently resisted court-ordered busing of black children into their schools.<ref>Lawrence J. McAndrews,  "Missing the bus: Gerald Ford and school desegregation." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 27.4 (1997): 791-804 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551801 Online].</ref>

=== Other domestic issues ===

When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, [[List of mayors of New York City|Mayor]] [[Abraham Beame]] was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted the New York ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> famous headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead", referring to a speech in which "Ford declared flatly ... that he would veto any bill calling for 'a federal bail-out of New York City{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/nyregion/28veto.html|title=Infamous 'Drop Dead' Was Never Said by Ford|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=December 28, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/features/bronxisburning/battle-for-the-city/Ford-to-New-York-Drop-Dead.html|title=Ford to New York: Drop Dead|last=Van Riper|first=Frank|date=October 30, 1975|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|access-date=February 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006064254/http://www.nydailynews.com/features/bronxisburning/battle-for-the-city/Ford-to-New-York-Drop-Dead.html|archive-date=October 6, 2008}}</ref> The following month, November 1975, Ford changed his stance and asked Congress to approve federal loans to New York City, upon the condition that the city agree to more austere budgets imposed by Washington, D.C. In December 1975, Ford signed a bill providing New York City with access to $2.3 billion in loans.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 127-128</ref>

Despite his reservations about how the program ultimately would be funded in an era of tight [[public budgeting]], Ford signed the [[Education for All Handicapped Children Act]] of 1975, which established [[special education]] throughout the United States. Ford expressed "strong support for full educational opportunities for our handicapped children" upon signing the bill.<ref>[http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/750707.htm "President Gerald R. Ford's Statement on Signing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606124010/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/750707.htm |date=June 6, 2010 }}, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, December 2, 1975. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

Ford was confronted with a potential [[swine flu]] [[pandemic]]. In the early 1970s, an [[influenza]] strain [[H1N1]] shifted from a form of flu that affected primarily pigs and crossed over to humans. On February 5, 1976, an [[United States Army|army]] recruit at [[Fort Dix]] mysteriously died and four fellow soldiers were hospitalized; [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|health officials]] announced that "swine flu" was the cause. Soon after, public health officials in the Ford administration urged that every person in the United States be [[vaccination|vaccinated]].<ref>[http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00009&segmentID=1 Pandemic Pointers]. [[Living on Earth]], March 3, 2006. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> Although the vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, some 25% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled in December 1976. The vaccine was alleged to have been a factor in twenty-five deaths.<ref>Mickle, Paul. [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1976.html 1976: Fear of a great plague]. ''The Trentonian''. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

==Foreign affairs==
{{Main|Foreign policy of the Gerald Ford administration}}
[[File:Ford signing accord with Brehznev, November 24, 1974.jpg|thumb|alt=Two men in suits are seated, each signing a document in front of them. Six men, one in a military uniform, stand behind them.|Ford meets with Soviet leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] during the [[Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control|Vladivostok Summit]], November 1974, to sign a joint [[communiqué]] on the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks|SALT]] treaty]]
[[File:President Ford makes remarks in the People's Republic of China - NARA - 7062599.jpg|thumb|Ford makes remarks at a Reciprocal Dinner in Beijing on December 4, 1975.]]

===Cold War===

Ford continued Nixon's [[détente]] policy with both the [[Soviet Union]] and China, easing the tensions of the [[Cold War]]. In doing so, he overcame opposition from members of Congress, an institution which became increasingly assertive in foreign affairs in the early 1970s.<ref>Herring, 813–817</ref> This opposition was led by Senator [[Henry M. Jackson]], who scuttled a U.S.–Soviet trade agreement by winning passage of the [[Jackson–Vanik amendment]].{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=122–123}} The thawing relationship with China brought about by [[1972 Nixon visit to China|Nixon's 1972 visit to China]] was reinforced with another presidential visit in December 1975.<ref name="chinatrip">{{cite web |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/avproj/china.htm |title=Trip To China |work=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |publisher=University of Texas |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014527/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/avproj/china.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Despite the collapse of the trade agreement with the Soviet Union, Ford and Soviet Leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] continued the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks]], which had begun under Nixon. In 1972, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had reached the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks|SALT I treaty]], which placed upper limits on each power's nuclear arsenal.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=123–124}} Ford met Brezhnev at the November 1974 [[Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control|Vladivostok Summit]], at which point the two leaders agreed to a framework for another SALT treaty.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 82–83</ref> Opponents of détente, led by Jackson, delayed Senate consideration of the treaty until after Ford left office.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=126}}

====Helsinki Accords====
{{Main|Helsinki Accords}}

When Ford took office in August 1974, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) negotiations had been underway in [[Helsinki, Finland]], for nearly two years. Throughout much of the negotiations, U.S. leaders were disengaged and uninterested with the process; Kissinger told Ford in 1974 that "we never wanted it but we went along with the Europeans ... [i]t is meaningless—it is just a grandstand play to the left. We are going along with it."<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=President Ford–Henry Kissinger memcon (August 15, 1972) |first=Gerald |last=Ford |authorlink=Gerald Ford |first2=Henry |last2=Kissinger |authorlink2=Henry Kissinger |first3=Brent |last3=Scowcroft |authorlink3=Brent Scowcroft |date=August 15, 1974 |publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |page=5 |wspage=5 |scan=Page:Ford, Kissinger - August 15, 1974(Gerald Ford Library)(1552750).pdf/6}}</ref> In the months leading up to the conclusion of negotiations and signing of the Helsinki Final Act in August 1975, Americans of Eastern European descent voiced their concerns that the agreement would mean the acceptance of Soviet domination over Eastern Europe and the permanent incorporation of the [[Baltic states]] into the USSR.<ref>[http://www.parallelarchive.org/document/3615/viewfull President's Inquiry on CSCE / Baltic States (Case File)]</ref> Shortly before President Ford departed for Helsinki, he held a meeting with a delegation of Americans of Eastern European background, and stated definitively that U.S. policy on the Baltic States would not change, but would be strengthened since the agreement denies the annexation of territory in violation of international law and allows for the peaceful change of borders.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ford, Gerald R.|title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford, 1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SILVAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1031|year=1977|pages=1030–31|publisher=Best Books on |isbn=9781623768485}}</ref>

The American public remained unconvinced that American policy on the incorporation of the Baltic States would not be changed by the Helsinki Final Act. Despite protests from all around, Ford decided to move forward and sign the Helsinki Agreement.<ref>[http://www.parallelarchive.org/document/3961/viewfull President Ford's Visit to Helsinki, July 29 - August 2, 1975, CSCE Briefing Book]</ref> As domestic criticism mounted, Ford hedged on his support for the Helsinki Accords, which had the impact of overall weakening his foreign-policy stature.<ref>Sarah B. Snyder, "Through the Looking Glass: The Helsinki Final Act and the 1976 Election for President." ''Diplomacy & Statecraft'' 21.1 (2010): 87-106.</ref> Though Ford was criticized for his apparent recognition of the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, the new emphasis on human rights would eventually contribute to the weakening of the [[Eastern bloc]] in the 1980s and speed up its collapse in 1989.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 110–111</ref>

===Vietnam===

[[File:President Gerald Ford and Daughter Susan Watch as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Shakes Hands with Mao Tse-Tung.jpg|thumb|Ford and his daughter Susan watch as Henry Kissinger shakes hands with [[Mao Zedong]], December 2, 1975]]
One of Ford's greatest challenges was dealing with the ongoing Vietnam War. American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the [[Paris Peace Accords]], signed on January 27, 1973. The accords declared a cease fire across both [[North Vietnam|North]] and [[South Vietnam]], and required the release of American [[POW|prisoners of war]]. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference of 1954]], called for national elections in the North and South.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Church, Peter|title=A Short History of South-East Asia|location=Singapore|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2006|pages=193–194|isbn=978-0-470-82181-7}}</ref> South Vietnamese President [[Nguyen Van Thieu]] was not involved in the final negotiations, and publicly criticized the proposed agreement, but was pressured by Nixon and Kissinger into signing the agreement. In multiple letters to the South Vietnamese president, Nixon had promised that the United States would defend Thieu's government, should the North Vietnamese violate the accords.<ref name="Brinkley1">Brinkley, 89–98</ref>

Fighting in Vietnam continued after the withdrawal of most U.S. forces in early 1973.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=98–99}} As North Vietnamese forces advanced in early 1975, Ford requested Congress approve a $722&nbsp;million aid package for South Vietnam, funds that had been promised by the Nixon administration. Congress voted against the proposal by a wide margin.<ref name="Challenges1970">{{cite book |last=Mieczkowski |first=Yanek |title=Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]|location=Lexington, Kentucky|year=2005|isbn=0-8131-2349-6 |pages=283–284, 290–294}}</ref> Senator [[Jacob K. Javits]] offered "...large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid".<ref name="Challenges1970"/> Thieu resigned on April 21, 1975, publicly blaming the lack of support from the United States for the fall of his country.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2935000/2935347.stm|title=Vietnam's President Thieu resigns|date=April 21, 1975|access-date=September 24, 2009|work=BBC News }}</ref> Two days later, on April 23, Ford gave a speech at [[Tulane University]], announcing that the Vietnam War was over "...as far as America is concerned".<ref name="Brinkley1"/>

[[File:Vietnamese refugees on US carrier, Operation Frequent Wind.jpg|thumb|alt=Twelve refugees of varying ages, carrying bundles of possessions, arrive on the deck of a United States naval vessel. Three US airmen, as well as a helicopter, are visible in the background.|South Vietnamese refugees arrive on a U.S. Navy vessel during Operation Frequent Wind]]

With the North Vietnamese forces advancing on the South Vietnamese capital of [[Saigon]], Ford ordered the evacuation of U.S. personnel, while also allowing U.S. forces to aid others who wished to escape from the Communist advance. Forty thousand U.S. citizens and South Vietnamese were evacuated by plane until enemy attacks made further such evacuations impossible.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 93–94</ref> In [[Operation Frequent Wind]], the final phase of the evacuation preceding the [[fall of Saigon]] on April 30, military and [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] helicopters took evacuees to off-shore [[U.S. Navy]] vessels. During the operation, so many South Vietnamese helicopters landed on the vessels taking the evacuees that some were pushed overboard to make room for more people.<ref>{{cite book| title=The Vietnam War: An Almanac| last=Bowman| first=John S.| publisher=Pharos Books| year=1985| isbn=0-911818-85-5| page=[https://archive.org/details/vietnamwaralmana00bowm/page/434 434]| url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamwaralmana00bowm/page/434}}</ref>

The Vietnam War, which had raged since the 1950s, finally came to an end with the Fall of Saigon, and Vietnam was reunified into one country. Many of the Vietnamese evacuees were allowed to enter the United States under the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act]]. The 1975 act appropriated $455&nbsp;million toward the costs of assisting the settlement of Indochinese refugees.<ref>Plummer Alston Jones (2004). "''[https://archive.org/details/stillstrugglingf00jone_0/page/84 Still struggling for equality: American public library services with minorities]''". Libraries Unlimited. p.84. {{ISBN|1-59158-243-1}}</ref> In all, 130,000 Vietnamese refugees came to the United States in 1975. Thousands more escaped in the years that followed.<ref>{{Cite book|first = William Courtland|last = Robinson|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_rjiOXMRd4sC&pg=PA127|title = Terms of refuge: the Indochinese exodus & the international response|publisher=Zed Books|year = 1998|page = 127|isbn = 1-85649-610-4}}</ref> Following the end of the war, Ford expanded the embargo of North Vietnam to cover all of Vietnam, blocked Vietnam's accession to the [[United Nations]], and refused to establish full diplomatic relations.<ref>Herring, pp. 822–823</ref>

===Mayaguez and Panmunjom===

North Vietnam's victory over the South led to a considerable shift in the political winds in Asia, and Ford administration officials worried about a consequent loss of U.S. influence in the region. The administration proved it was willing to respond forcefully to challenges to its interests in the region when [[Khmer Rouge]] forces seized an American ship in [[international waters]].<ref>Gawthorpe, A. J. (2009), "The Ford Administration and Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific after the Fall of Saigon", ''The Historical Journal'', '''52'''(3):697–716.</ref>

In May 1975, shortly after the fall of Saigon and the Khmer Rouge conquest of [[Cambodia]], Cambodians seized the American merchant ship ''Mayaguez'' in international waters, sparking the [[Mayaguez incident]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 19, 1975|url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750519a.htm|title=Debrief of the Mayaguez Captain and Crew|publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-date=June 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620160242/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750519a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ford dispatched [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] to rescue the crew from an island where the crew was believed to be held, but the Marines met unexpectedly stiff resistance just as, unknown to the U.S., the crew were being released. In the operation, three military transport helicopters were shot down and 41 U.S. servicemen were killed and 50 wounded while approximately 60 Khmer Rouge soldiers were killed.<ref name="marinemerchants">{{cite web |year=2000 |url=http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html |title=Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Khmer Rouge forces in May 1975 |publisher=United States Merchant Marine |access-date=December 31, 2006}}</ref> Despite American losses, the rescue operation proved to be a boon to Ford's poll numbers; Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] declared that the operation "shows we've still got balls in this country."{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=101–102}} Some historians have argued that the Ford administration felt the need to respond forcefully to the incident because it was construed as a Soviet plot.<ref>Cécile Menétray-Monchau (August 2005), "The Mayaguez Incident as an Epilogue to the Vietnam War and its Reflection on the Post-Vietnam Political Equilibrium in Southeast Asia", ''Cold War History'', p. 346.</ref> But work by Andrew Gawthorpe, published in 2009, based on an analysis of the administration's internal discussions, shows that Ford's national security team understood that the seizure of the vessel was a local, and perhaps even accidental, provocation by an immature Khmer government. Nevertheless, they felt the need to respond forcefully to discourage further provocations by other Communist countries in Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawthorpe|first=Andrew J.|date=September 1, 2009|title=The Ford Administration and Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific after the Fall of Saigon|journal=The Historical Journal|volume=52|issue=3|pages=707–709|doi=10.1017/S0018246X09990082|s2cid=155076037 |issn=1469-5103}}</ref>

===Middle East===

In the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, two ongoing international disputes developed into crises during Ford's presidency. The [[Cyprus dispute#Peacemaking efforts, 1964–1974|Cyprus dispute]] turned into a crisis with the 1974 [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]], which took place following the [[Greece|Greek]]-backed [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état]]. The dispute put the United States in a difficult position as both Greece and Turkey were members of [[NATO]]. In mid-August, the [[Greek military junta of 1967–74|Greek government]] withdrew Greece from the NATO military structure; in mid-September 1974, the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to halt military aid to Turkey. Ford vetoed the bill due to concerns regarding its effect on Turkish-American relations and the deterioration of security on NATO's eastern front. A second bill was then passed by Congress, which Ford also vetoed, although a compromise was accepted to continue aid until the end of the year.<ref name="Lenczowski"/> As Ford expected, Turkish relations were [[United States-Turkey relations#Invasion of Cyprus|considerably disrupted until 1978]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

[[File:Gerald Ford with Anwar Sadat in Salzburg 1975.jpg|thumb|Ford with [[Anwar Sadat]] in Salzburg, 1975]]

In 1973, [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]] had launched a joint surprise attack against [[Israel]], seeking to re-take land lost in the [[Six-Day War]] of 1967. However, early Arab success gave way to an Israel military victory in what became known as the [[Yom Kippur War]]. Although an initial [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|cease fire]] had been implemented to end active conflict in the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger's continuing [[shuttle diplomacy]] was showing little progress. Ford disliked what he saw as Israeli "stalling" on a peace agreement, and wrote, "[Israeli] tactics frustrated the Egyptians and made me mad as hell."<ref>Gerald Ford, A Time to Heal, 1979, p.240</ref> During Kissinger's shuttle to Israel in early March 1975, a last minute reversal to consider further withdrawal, prompted a cable from Ford to Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]], which included:
{{Blockquote|I wish to express my profound disappointment over Israel's attitude in the course of the negotiations ... Failure of the negotiation will have a far reaching impact on the region and on our relations. I have given instructions for a reassessment of United States policy in the region, including our relations with Israel, with the aim of ensuring that overall American interests ... are protected. You will be notified of our decision.<ref>Rabin, Yitzak (1996), ''The Rabin Memoirs'', University of California Press, p. 256, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20766-0}}</ref>}}

On March 24, Ford informed congressional leaders of both parties of the reassessment of the administration policies in the Middle East. "Reassessment", in practical terms, meant canceling or suspending further aid to Israel. For six months between March and September 1975, the United States refused to conclude any new arms agreements with Israel. Rabin notes it was "an innocent-sounding term that heralded one of the worst periods in American-Israeli relations".<ref>Yitzak Rabin, The Rabin Memoirs, {{ISBN|0-520-20766-1}}, p261</ref> The announced reassessments upset many American supporters of Israel. On May 21, Ford "experienced a real shock" when seventy-six U.S. senators wrote him a letter urging him to be "responsive" to Israel's request for $2.59&nbsp;billion in military and economic aid. Ford felt truly annoyed and thought the chance for peace was jeopardized. It was, since the September 1974 ban on arms to Turkey, the second major congressional intrusion upon the President's foreign policy prerogatives.<ref>[[George Lenczowski]], American Presidents, and the Middle East, 1990, p.150</ref> The following summer months were described by Ford as an American-Israeli "war of nerves" or "test of wills".<ref>Gerald Ford, A Time to Heal, 1979, p.298</ref> After much bargaining, the [[Sinai Interim Agreement]] (Sinai II) between Egypt and Israel was formally signed, and aid resumed.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

===Angola===
{{Further|Angolan Civil War}}

A civil war broke out in [[Angola]] after the fledgling African nation gained independence from [[Portugal]] in 1975. The Soviet Union and Cuba both became heavily involved in the conflict, backing the left-wing [[MPLA]], one of the major factions in the civil war. In response, the CIA [[CIA activities in Angola|directed aid]] to two other factions in the war, [[UNITA]] and the [[National Liberation Front of Angola|FNLA]]. After members of Congress learned of the CIA operation, Congress voted to cut off aid to the Angolan groups. The Angolan Civil War would continue in subsequent years, but the Soviet role in the war hindered détente. Congress's role in ending the CIA presence marked the growing power of the legislative branch in foreign affairs.<ref>Herring, pp. 824–825</ref>

====South Africa====
During the Ford administration, the United States began to distance itself from the [[apartheid]] regime of [[South Africa]]'s [[Nuclear programme of South Africa|nuclear weapons program]]. By this point, however, the program was highly advanced, and this policy shift was, by this point, too late in time to significantly stall the apartheid regime's ultimate goal of developing a nuclear deterrent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Wyk |first1=Martha S. |date=18 May 2007 |title=Ally or Critic? The United States' Response to South African Nuclear Development, 1949–1980 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682740701284124 |journal=[[Cold War History (journal)|Cold War History]] |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=195–225 |doi=10.1080/14682740701284124 |s2cid=218578118 |access-date=6 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Indonesia and East Timor===
{{Further|History of East Timor}}

U.S. policy since the 1940s has been to support [[Indonesia]], which hosted American investments in petroleum and raw materials and controlled a highly strategic location near vital shipping lanes. In 1975, the left-wing [[Fretilin]] party seized power after a civil war in [[East Timor]] (now Timor-Leste), a former colony of [[Portugal]] that shared the island of [[Timor]] with the Indonesian region of [[West Timor]]. Indonesian leaders feared that East Timor would serve as a hostile left-wing base that would promote secessionist movements inside Indonesia.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rebecca Strating|title=Social Democracy in East Timor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufGoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|pages=30–31|isbn=9781317504238}}</ref> Anti-Fretilin activists from the other main parties fled to West Timor and called upon Indonesia to annex East Timor and end the communist threat. On December 7, 1975, Ford and Kissinger met Indonesian President [[Suharto]] in [[Jakarta]]. Suharto discussed the plans to invade East Timor; both Ford and Kissinger indicated the United States would not take a position on East Timor. [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesia invaded the next day]], and [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|annexed the country]].<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Burr |editor-first=William |editor2-last=Evans |editor2-first=Michael L. |title=Ford, Kissinger and the Indonesian Invasion, 1975–76 |date=December 6, 2001 |work=[[National Security Archive]] |url=http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/ |access-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref> [[East Timor genocide|A bloody civil war broke out]], and over one hundred thousand died in the fighting or from executions or starvation. Upwards of half of the population of East Timor became refugees fleeing Fretilin-controlled areas between 1975 and 1981.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kiernan|first1=Ben|title=Genocide and resistance in Southeast Asia : documentation, denial & justice in Cambodia & East Timor|date=2007|publisher=Transaction Publ.|location=New Brunswick, NJ [u.a.]|isbn=978-1412806695|page=281|edition=2nd pr.}}</ref> Later, after international intervention in the [[1999 East Timorese crisis]], East Timor became an independent nation in 2002.<ref>Benedict R. Andersen, "East Timor and Indonesia: Some Implications," in Peter Carey and G. Carter Bentley, eds., ''East Timor at the Crossroads: The Forging of a Nation'' (University of Hawaii Press, 1995), 138-40.</ref><ref>Adam Schwarz, ''A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia's Search for Stability'' (Westview Press, 2000) pp 198-204.</ref>

===List of international trips===
[[File:US President Gerald Ford Presidential Trips.PNG|thumb|center|upright=1.5|Ford made seven international trips to eighteen different countries during his presidency.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/ford-gerald-r|title= Travels of President Gerald R. Ford|publisher= U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian}}</ref>]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
!style="width: 3%;"|
!style="width: 17%;"|Dates
!style="width: 13%;"|Country
!style="width: 12%;"|Locations
!style="width: 55%;"|Details
|-
|1
|{{sort|01|October 21, 1974}}
|{{flag|Mexico}}
| [[Nogales, Sonora|Nogales]], [[Magdalena de Kino]]
| Met with President [[Luis Echeverría]] and laid a wreath at the tomb of [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|Padre]] [[Eusebio Kino]].
|-
|rowspan=3|2
|{{sort|02|November 19–22, 1974}}
|{{flag|Japan|1947}}	
|[[Tokyo]],<br>[[Kyoto]]	
|State visit. Met with Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]].
|-
|{{sort|03|November 22–23, 1974}}
|{{flag|South Korea|1949}}	
|[[Seoul]]
|Met with President [[Park Chung Hee]].
|-
|{{sort|04|November 23–24, 1974}}
|{{flag|Soviet Union|1955}}
|[[Vladivostok]]
|Met with General Secretary [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and [[Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control|discussed limitations of strategic arms]].
|-
|3
|{{sort|05|December 14–16, 1974}}
|{{sort|Mar|{{flagicon|France}} [[Martinique|France]]}}
|[[Fort-de-France|Fort-de-France, Martinique]]
|Met with President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]].
|-
|rowspan=5|4
|{{sort|06|May 28–31, 1975}}
|{{flag|Belgium}}	
|[[Brussels]]
|Attended the [[1975 Brussels summit|NATO Summit Meeting]]. Addressed the North Atlantic Council and met separately with NATO heads of state and government.
|-
|{{sort|07|May 31 – June 1, 1975}}
|{{flag|Spain|1945}}	
|[[Madrid]]
|Met with Generalissimo [[Francisco Franco]]. Received keys to city from Mayor of Madrid Miguel Angel García-Lomas Mata.
|-
|{{sort|08|June 1–3, 1975}}
|{{flag|Austria}}	
|[[Salzburg]]
|Met with Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
|-
|{{sort|09|June 3, 1975}}
|{{flag|Italy}}	
|[[Rome]]
|Met with President [[Giovanni Leone]] and Prime Minister [[Aldo Moro]].
|-
|{{sort|10|June 3, 1975}}
|{{flag|Vatican City}}
|[[Apostolic Palace]]
|Audience with Pope [[Paul VI]].
|-
|rowspan=5|5
|{{sort|11|July 26–28, 1975}}
|{{flag|West Germany}}
|Bonn,<br>[[Linz am Rhein]]
|Met with President [[Walter Scheel]] and Chancellor [[Helmut Schmidt]].
|-	
|{{sort|12|July 28–29, 1975}}
|{{flag|Poland}}
|Warsaw,<br>[[Kraków]]	
|Official visit. Met with First Secretary [[Edward Gierek]].
|-
|{{sort|13|July 29 – August 2, 1975}}
|{{flag|Finland}}	
|[[Helsinki]]	
|Attended opening session of the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe]]. Met with the heads of state and government of Finland, Great Britain, Turkey, West Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Also met with Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev. Signed the final act of the conference.
|-
|{{sort|14|August 2–3, 1975}}
|{{flag|Romania|1965}}
|Bucharest,<br>[[Sinaia]]	
|Official visit. Met with President Nicolae Ceaușescu.<ref>Graeme S. Mount, "US-Romanian Relations during the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford." ''Canadian Journal of History'' 46.1 (2011): 97-134.</ref>
|-
|{{sort|15|August 3–4, 1975}}
|{{flag|Yugoslavia}}
|Belgrade
|Official visit. Met with President Josip Broz Tito and Prime Minister [[Džemal Bijedić]].
|-
|6
|{{sort|16|November 15–17, 1975}}
|{{flag|France}}
|[[Rambouillet]]
|Attended the [[1st G6 summit]].
|-
|rowspan=3|7
|{{sort|17|December 1–5, 1975}}
|{{flag|China}}
|Peking
|Official visit. Met with Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Vice Premier [[Deng Xiaoping]].
|-
|{{sort|18|December 5–6, 1975}}
|{{flag|Indonesia}}
|Jakarta
|Official visit. Met with President Suharto.
|-
|{{sort|19|December 6–7, 1975}}
|{{flag|Philippines|1936}}
|Manila
|Official visit. Met with President [[Ferdinand Marcos]].
|}

==Assassination attempts==
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in Sacramento|Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in San Francisco}}
{{See also|Sara Jane Moore|Oliver Sipple}}
[[File:AV89-26-14 600d.jpg|thumb|alt=A chaotic scene of motorcade vehicles surrounded by crowd of people including police and press|Ford exits the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco seconds before Moore attempted to shoot him.]]
Ford faced two assassination attempts during his presidency. In [[Sacramento, California]], on September 5, 1975, [[Lynette Fromme|Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme]], a follower of [[Charles Manson]], pointed a [[M1911 Colt pistol|Colt .45-caliber handgun]] at Ford.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1975/Ford-Assasinations-Attempts/12305821478075-12/ |title=1975 Year in Review: Ford Assassinations Attempts |publisher=Upi.com |access-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref> As Fromme pulled the trigger, [[Larry Buendorf]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051216110006/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1026_041026_tv_secret_service2_2.html "Election Is Crunch Time for U.S. Secret Service"]. National Geographic News. Retrieved March 2, 2008.</ref> a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun, and Fromme was taken into custody. She was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison; she was paroled on August 14, 2009.<ref name="squeakeyparole">{{cite news|date=August 14, 2009|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-08-14/news/17930594_1_sharon-tate-and-eight-lynette-squeaky-fromme-charles-manson-follower|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130040625/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-08-14/news/17930594_1_sharon-tate-and-eight-lynette-squeaky-fromme-charles-manson-follower|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2013|title=Charles Manson follower Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme released from prison after more than 30 years|location=New York |work=Daily News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref>

In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later. As he left the [[St. Francis Hotel]] in downtown San Francisco, [[Sara Jane Moore]], standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, pointed her [[.38 Special|.38-caliber revolver]] at him.<ref name="Secret Service">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/agency/ustreas/usss/t1pubrpt.html |title=Public Report of the White House Security Review |author=United States Secret Service |access-date=January 3, 2007|publisher=United States Department of the Treasury}}</ref> Moore fired a single round but missed because the sights were off. Just before she fired a second round, retired Marine [[Oliver Sipple]] grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.<ref name="ABC7-Lee">{{cite web|url=http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4900159|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035059/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4900159|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 14, 2007|title=Interview: Woman Who Tried To Assassinate Ford|access-date=January 3, 2007|last=Lee|first=Vic|date=January 2, 2007|publisher=KGO-TV|location=San Francisco}}</ref>

==1976 presidential election==
{{Main|Gerald Ford 1976 presidential campaign|1976 United States presidential election|Presidential transition of Jimmy Carter}}
{{Further|1976 United States elections|1976 Republican Party presidential primaries|1976 Republican National Convention}}
[[File:Galup Poll-Approval Rating-Gerald Ford.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Graph of Ford's approval ratings in [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] polls]]
[[File:ElectoralCollege1976.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] defeated President Ford in the 1976 presidential election]]
[[File:President Gerald R. Ford and President-Elect Jimmy Carter Meeting in the Oval Office to Discuss the Presidential Transition - NARA - 45644329 (1).jpg|thumb|Outgoing President Gerald Ford and President-elect [[Jimmy Carter]] in the [[Oval Office]] on November 22, 1976]]

Ford made the first major decision of his campaign in mid-1975, when he selected [[Bo Callaway]] to run his campaign.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|p=158}} The pardon of Nixon and the disastrous 1974 mid-term elections weakened Ford's standing within the party, creating an opening for a competitive Republican primary.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 81–82</ref> The intra-party challenge to Ford came from the conservative wing of the party; many conservative leaders had viewed Ford as insufficiently conservative throughout his political career.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=58–59}} Conservative Republicans were further disappointed with the selection of Rockefeller as vice president, and faulted Ford for the fall of Saigon, the amnesty for draft dodgers, and the continuation of détente policies.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 113–115</ref> Ronald Reagan, a leader among the conservatives, launched his campaign in autumn of 1975. Hoping to appease his party's right wing and sap Reagan's momentum, Ford requested that Rockefeller not seek election and the vice president agreed to this request.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 125–126</ref> Ford defeated Reagan in the first several [[United States presidential primary|primaries]], but Reagan gained momentum after winning [[North Carolina]]'s March 1976 primary.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 136–137</ref> Entering the [[1976 Republican National Convention]], neither Ford nor Reagan had won a majority of delegates through the primaries, but Ford was able to win the support of enough unpledged delegates to win the presidential nomination. Senator [[Bob Dole]] of Kansas won the vice presidential nomination.<ref>Brinkley, p. 138</ref>

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate, Ford campaigned at a time of cynicism and disillusionment with government.<ref name=miles>{{cite journal|last1=Miles|first1=David|title=Political Experience and Anti-Big Government: The Making and Breaking of Themes in Gerald Ford's 1976 Presidential Campaign|journal=Michigan Historical Review|date=Spring 1997|volume=23|issue=1|pages=105–122|doi=10.2307/20173633|jstor=20173633}}</ref> Ford adopted a "[[Rose Garden strategy]]", with Ford mostly staying in Washington in an attempt to appear presidential.<ref name=miles/> The campaign benefited from several anniversary events held during the period leading up to the [[United States Bicentennial]]. The Washington [[fireworks]] display on the [[Fourth of July]] was presided over by the president and televised nationally.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304025818/http://www.c-span.org/classroom/govt/1976.asp Election of 1976: A Political Outsider Prevails]. C-SPAN. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> The 200th anniversary of the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] in Massachusetts gave Ford the opportunity to deliver a speech to 110,000 in Concord acknowledging the need for a strong national defense tempered with a plea for "reconciliation, not recrimination" and "reconstruction, not rancor" between the United States and those who would pose "threats to peace".<ref>Shabecoff, Philip. "160,000 Mark Two 1775 Battles; Concord Protesters Jeer Ford – Reconciliation Plea", ''The New York Times'', April 20, 1975, p. 1.</ref> Speaking in New Hampshire on the previous day, Ford condemned the growing trend toward big government bureaucracy and argued for a return to "basic American virtues".<ref>Shabecoff, Philip. "Ford, on Bicentennial Trip, Bids U.S. Heed Old Values", ''The New York Times'', April 19, 1975, p. 1.</ref>

Eleven major contenders competed in the [[1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1976 Democratic primaries]]. At the start of the primaries, former Governor [[Jimmy Carter]] of Georgia was little-known nationally, but he rocketed to prominence with a victory in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. A [[born again]] Christian, Carter emphasized his personal morality and his status as a Washington outsider. Carter won the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the [[1976 Democratic National Convention]], and selected liberal Senator [[Walter Mondale]] of Minnesota as his running mate. Carter began the race with a huge lead in the polls, but committed a major gaffe by giving an interview to ''[[Playboy]]'' in which he stated that "I've committed adultery in my heart several times." Ford made his own gaffe during a televised debate, stating that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=104–107}} In an interview years later, Ford said he had intended to imply that the Soviets would never crush the ''spirits'' of eastern Europeans seeking independence. However, the phrasing was so awkward that questioner [[Max Frankel]] was visibly incredulous at the response.<ref name="pbs2000">{{cite web|last=Lehrer|first=Jim|year=2000|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1976-broadcast.html|title=1976:No Audio and No Soviet Domination|work=Debating Our Destiny|publisher=PBS|access-date=March 31, 2007|archive-date=March 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311092043/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1976-broadcast.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of this blunder, Ford's surge stalled and Carter was able to maintain a slight lead in the polls.{{Sfn|Greene|1995|pp=185–186}}

In the end, Carter won the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 [[United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] compared with 48.0% of the popular vote and 240 electoral votes for Ford.<ref name="millerce">{{cite web|last1=Greene|first1=John Robert|title=GERALD FORD: CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS|url=https://millercenter.org/president/ford/campaigns-and-elections|website=Miller Center|date=October 4, 2016 |publisher=University of Virginia|access-date=May 12, 2018}}</ref> Ford dominated in the West and performed well in New England, but Carter carried much of the South and won Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.{{Sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=106–107}}<ref name="millerce"/> Though Ford lost, in the three months between the Republican National Convention and the election he had managed to close what polls had shown as a 33-point Carter lead to a 2-point margin.<ref>Brinkley, pp. 144-145</ref>
==Elections during the Ford presidency==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:1em"
|+ Congressional party leaders
|-
! colspan=2 |
! colspan=2 | Senate leaders
! colspan=2 | House leaders
|-
! Congress
! Year
! [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Majority]]
! [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Minority]]
! [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]]
! [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|Minority]]
|-
! {{party shading/Democratic}}| [[93rd United States Congress|95rd]]
! {{party shading/Democratic}}| <small>1973.01.03.–1975.01.03.</small>
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Mike Mansfield|Mansfield]]''' 
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[Hugh Scott|Scott]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Carl Albert|Albert]]'''
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[John Jacob Rhodes|Rhodes]]
|-
!  {{party shading/Democratic}}| [[94th United States Congress|96th]] 
! {{party shading/Democratic}}| <small>1975.01.03.–1977.01.03.</small>
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Mike Mansfield|Mansfield]]''' 
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[Hugh Scott|Scott]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Carl Albert|Carl]]'''
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[John Jacob Rhodes|Rhodes]]
|-
!{{party shading/Democratic}}| [[95th United States Congress|96th]] 
! {{party shading/Democratic}}| <small>1977.01.03.–1979.01.03.</small>
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Robert Byrd|Byrd]]''' 
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[Howard Baker|Baker]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| '''[[Tip O'Neil|O'Neil]]'''
| {{party shading/Republican}}| [[John Jacob Rhodes|Rhodes]]
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:1em"
|+ [[Party divisions of United States Congresses|Republican seats in Congress]]
|-
! Congress
! Senate
! House
|-
! [[93rd United States Congress|93rd]]
| 42
| 192
|-
! [[94th United States Congress|94th]]
| 37
| 144
|-
! [[95th United States Congress|95th]]
| 38
| 143
|}

==Historical reputation==

Polls of historians and political scientists have generally [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|ranked]] Ford as a below-average president. A 2018 poll of the [[American Political Science Association]]'s Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Ford as the 25th best president.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rottinghaus|first1=Brandon|last2=Vaughn|first2=Justin S.|title=How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best — and Worst — Presidents?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/opinion/how-does-trump-stack-up-against-the-best-and-worst-presidents.html/|access-date=May 14, 2018|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 19, 2018}}</ref> A 2017 [[C-SPAN]] poll of historians also ranked Ford as the 25th best president.<ref>{{cite web|title=Total Scores/Overall Rankings|work=Presidential Historians Survey 2017|url=https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=overall|publisher=C-SPAN|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> Historian John Robert Greene writes that "Ford had difficulty navigating a demanding political environment." He also notes, however, that "Americans, by and large, believed that Gerald Ford was an innately decent and good man and that he would (and did) bring honor to the White House. Although this sentiment proved too little to bring Ford to victory in 1976, it is an assessment that most Americans and scholars still find valid in the years after his presidency."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Greene|first1=John Robert|title=GERALD FORD: IMPACT AND LEGACY|url=https://millercenter.org/president/ford/impact-and-legacy|website=Miller Center|date=October 4, 2016 |publisher=University of Virginia|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{Refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book |author=Brinkley, Douglas |year=2007 |title=Gerald R. Ford |isbn=978-0-8050-6909-9 |publisher=Times Books |location=New York, NY |url=https://archive.org/details/geraldrford0000brin_o0c0 }} short biography
*{{cite book |last1=Greene|first1=John Robert |year=1995 |title=The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford |url=https://archive.org/details/presidencyofgera0000gree|url-access=registration|isbn=0-7006-0639-4 |publisher=University Press of Kansas }}
*{{cite book|last1=Herring|first1=George C.|title=From Colony to Superpower; U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507822-0|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcolonytosupe00herr}}
*{{cite book|last1=Patterson|first1=James|title=Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195122169|url=https://archive.org/details/restlessgiantuni00patt_0}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Further|Foreign policy of the Gerald Ford administration#Bibliography|Gerald Ford#Bibliography}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Cannon, James. ''Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013) 482 pp. major biography [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/631642/summary online review]
* Conley, Richard S. "Presidential Influence and Minority Party Liaison on Veto Overrides: New Evidence from the Ford Presidency". ''American Politics Research'' 2002 30#1: 34–65. {{ISSN|1532-673X}} 
* Congressional Quarterly. ''President Ford : the man and his record'' (1974) [https://archive.org/details/presidentfordman0000cong online]
* Firestone, Bernard J. and Alexej Ugrinsky, eds. ''Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America'' (Greenwood, 1992). ISBN 0-313-28009-6.
* Francis, Sandra. ''Gerald R. Ford : our thirty-eighth president'' (2009) [https://archive.org/details/geraldrfordourth0000fran online]; for middle schools
*{{cite book |author=Greene, John Robert |year=1992 |title=The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Administrations |isbn=0-253-32637-0 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |url=https://archive.org/details/limitsofpowerthe00gree }}
* Greene, John Robert. ''Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House'' (2004). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvm202cd online]
* Hahn, Dan F. "Corrupt rhetoric: President Ford and the Mayaguez affair." ''Communication Quarterly'' 28.2 (1980): 38–43.
* Hersey, John. ''Aspects of the Presidency: Truman and Ford in Office'' (1980).
* Holzer, Harold. ''The Presidents Vs. the Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media--from the Founding Fathers to Fake News'' (Dutton, 2020) pp.&nbsp;287–293. [https://books.google.com/books?id=siY6EAAAQBAJ&dq=HOLZER+PRESS+Harold&pg=PR15 online] 
* Hoxie, R. Gordon. "Staffing the Ford and Carter Presidencies." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 10.3 (1980): 378–401. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27547594 online]
*Hult, Karen M. and Walcott, Charles E. ''Empowering the White House: Governance under Nixon, Ford, and Carter''. University Press of Kansas, 2004.
*Jespersen, T. Christopher. "Kissinger, Ford, and Congress: the Very Bitter End in Vietnam". ''Pacific Historical Review'' 2002 '''71'''(3): 439–473. {{ISSN|0030-8684}} Fulltext: in University of California; Swetswise; Jstor and Ebsco
*Jespersen, T. Christopher. "The Bitter End and the Lost Chance in Vietnam: Congress, the Ford Administration, and the Battle over Vietnam, 1975–76". ''Diplomatic History'' 2000 '''24'''(2): 265–293. {{ISSN|0145-2096}} [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913801 online]
* Kaufman, Scott, ed. ''A Companion to Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter'' (2015), a major overview with 30 historiographical essays by scholars; [https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Blackwell-Companions-American-History/dp/1444349945/ excerpt]
*{{cite book |author=Kaufman, Scott |year=2017 |title=Ambition, Pragmatism, and Party: A Political Biography of Gerald R. Ford |isbn=978-0-7006-2500-0 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence, KS}} latest full-scale biography
* Maynard, Christopher A. "Manufacturing Voter Confidence: a Video Analysis of the American 1976 Presidential and Vice-presidential Debates". ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'' 1997 17#4 : 523–562. {{ISSN|0143-9685}} 
* Mieczkowski, Yanek. ''Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2005).
* Moran, Andrew D. "More than a caretaker: The economic policy of Gerald R. Ford." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 41#1 (2011): 39–63. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23884755 Online]
* Olmsted, Kathryn. "Reclaiming Executive Power: The Ford Administration's Response to the Intelligence Investigations." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 26.3 (1996): 725–737. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551628 online]
* Parmet, Herbert S. "Gerald R. Ford" in Henry F Graff ed., ''The Presidents: A Reference History'' (3rd ed. 2002) 
* Reeves,  Richard. '' A Ford, Not a Lincoln'' (1975), says Ford was out of his depth.
* Rozell, Mark J. ''The press and the Ford presidency'' (University of Michigan Press, 1992).
* Schoenebaum, Eleanora. ''Political Profiles: The Nixon/Ford years'' (1979) [https://archive.org/details/nixonfordyears00fact online], short biographies of over 500 political and national leaders.
* Sloan, John W. "Economic policymaking in the Johnson and Ford administrations." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 20.1 (1990): 111-125 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20700118 online].
* Swanson, Roger Frank. "The Ford interlude and the US-Canadian relationship." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 8.1 (1978): 3–17.
* Tobin, Leesa E. "Betty Ford as first lady: A woman for women." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 20.4 (1990): 761–767. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20700159 online]
* Ward, P. S. "Ford and Carter: Contrasting Approaches to Environment." ''Journal (Water Pollution Control Federation)'' (1976): 2238–2243. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25040020 online]
* Weidenbaum, Murray. "Regulatory process reform: from Ford to Clinton." ''Regulation'' 20 (1997): 20+ [https://www.thecre.com/pdf/20120102_Weidenbaum_Regulatory_Process_Reform_From_Ford_to_Clinton.pdf online].
* Witcover, Jules. ''Marathon: The Pursuit of the Presidency, 1972–1976'' (1977), [https://archive.org/details/marathonpursuit000witc online]
{{Refend}}

===Primary sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford: containing the public messages, speeches, and statements of the president'' (1973–1977) [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28president%20ford%20electronic%29 online]
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Presidential Perspectives from the National Archives|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|year=1994|isbn=978-1-880875-04-9|location=Washington, District of Columbia}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Humor and the Presidency|publisher=Arbor House|year=1987|isbn=978-0-87795-918-2|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/humorpresidency00ford}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1979|isbn=978-0-06-011297-4|location=New York, New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Selected Speeches|publisher=R. W. Beatty|year=1973|isbn=978-0-87948-029-5|location=Arlington, Va.|url=https://archive.org/details/selectedspeeches00ford}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Betty|title=The Times of My Life|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1978|isbn=978-0-06-011298-1|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Casserly|first=John J.|title=The Ford White House: Diary of a Speechwriter|publisher=Colorado Associated University Press|year=1977|isbn=978-0-87081-106-7|location=Boulder|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fordwhitehouse0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Coyne|first=John R.|title=Fall in and Cheer|publisher=Doubleday|year=1979|isbn=978-0-385-11119-5|location=Garden City/N.Y.}}
* {{cite book|last=DeFrank|first=Thomas|title=Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|year=2007|isbn=978-0-399-15450-8|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/writeitwhenimgon00defr}}
* {{cite book|last=Gergen|first=David|title=Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2000|isbn=978-0-684-82663-9|location=New York, New York}}, by speechwriter
* {{cite book|last=Hartmann|first=Robert T.|title=Palace Politics: An Insider's Account of the Ford Years|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1980|isbn=978-0-07-026951-4|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/palacepoliticsin00hart}}, by chief of staff
* {{cite book|last=Hersey|first=John|title=Aspects of the Presidency: Truman and Ford in Office (The President: A Minute-by-Minute Account of a Week in the Life of Gerald Ford)|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|year=1980|isbn=978-0-89919-012-9|location=New Haven|url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsofpreside00hers}}
* {{cite book|last=Kissinger|first=Henry A.|title=Years of Renewal|publisher=Touchstone|year=1999|isbn=978-0-684-85572-1|location=New York}} by Secretary of State
* {{cite book|editor-last=Thompson|editor-first=Kenneth|title=The Ford Presidency: Twenty-Two Intimate Perspectives of Gerald Ford|publisher=University Press of America|year=1980|isbn=978-0-8191-6960-0|location=Lanham}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://millercenter.org/president/ford Miller Center on the Presidency at U of Virginia], brief articles on Ford and his presidency

{{Gerald Ford}}
{{US Presidential Administrations}}
{{Republican Party (United States)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Presidency of Gerald Ford| ]]
[[Category:Presidencies of the United States|Ford, Gerald]]
[[Category:1970s in the United States]]
[[Category:1970s in American politics]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1977 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War history of the United States]]