Prominent Republican politician Gerald Ford served as President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. At the moment, he remains the only president in American history who did not receive this post as a result of a national vote.
Early biography
Politician Gerald Ford was born on July 14, 1913. Moreover, his name at birth was different - Leslie Lynch King. Then Leslie's parents separated, and in 1916 his mother, Dorothy King, remarried - with a man named Gerald Rudolph Ford. Ultimately, he gave his adopted son not only his last name, but also his first name. The family of Gerald and Dorothy lived in the town of Grand Rapids.
As a child, Ford was a member of the Boy Scouts. It is known that in 1927 he was awarded the highest rank in this movement - "scout-eagle".
It is also known that Gerald, when he was in school, was the leader of the American football team. He continued to play football as a student and made significant progress in this sport.
Until 1935, Ford was educated at the University of Michigan, and in 1941 he also graduated from the law school of Yale University.
Gerald Ford during the war
In 1942, after the United States officially entered World War II, Ford enrolled in a military instructor course. And after completing these courses, he trained soldiers in a variety of naval disciplines.
In 1943, Gerald Ford was sent to the aircraft carrier Monterey, and until the end of 1945 he took part in several operations in the Pacific theater of operations.
Career and personal life from 1946 to 1973
In early 1946, Ford was transferred to the US Navy reserve (at that time he was already a lieutenant commander). After that, Ford became a lawyer and also took up real politics.
At the same time, important changes took place in the personal life of the future president. In 1948 he married Elizabeth Ford (maiden name - Bloomer). The couple lived together until their death, they had four children - three sons (Michael, Jack and Stephen) and a daughter (her name is Susan).
In the same 1948, Ford put forward his candidacy from the Republicans in the elections to the House of Representatives. And in the end, he managed to defeat the incumbent congressman (he was a supporter of the Democratic Party) and take his place.
Later, Ford was re-elected many times. He sat in the House of Representatives without interruption until 1973 (and since 1965, Ford was the leader of the Republican faction in it).
Ford rose to fame as a politician who vehemently criticized Lyndon Johnson's social reforms, collectively known as the Great Society. In addition, he strongly opposed the escalation of the conflict in Vietnam.
And then a whole series of events happened, which brought Ford to the presidency. First, in 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from his post because of allegations of tax evasion. Nixon put Ford in this position (they had known each other since the late forties).
And after 9 months, the so-called Watergate scandal broke out. And in the end, Nixon himself was forced to resign (thus he wanted to avoid impeachment).
Activities in the presidency
As a result, on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford became president, in accordance with the 25th amendment of the Constitution. To do this, he did not have to win elections, which is unique in American history.
Having come to power, Ford immediately pardoned the previous president - he released him from responsibility for all the crimes that he could have committed when he ruled the country. Critics believed that this amnesty was the result of secret agreements between Nixon and Ford, in other words, the payment for the presidency.
Ford, as the head of the United States, continued to adhere to a course of detente in relations with the USSR (Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is considered the key ideologist of this course). In 1974 he even visited the Soviet Union. In Primorye, in Vladivostok, he met face to face with the then leader of the USSR, Brezhnev.
Also during the short reign of Ford, progress was made in the negotiations on arms limitation, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was held and the so-called Helsinki Agreements were signed.
In addition, it was under Ford, in 1975, that the Vietnam War ended. Moreover, the victory in it was celebrated by the communist forces of the North. And in Angola in the same 1975, power (with the support of the USSR and Cuba) was taken into their own hands by representatives of the leftist MPLA party.
It is also worth noting that as president, Ford faced major problems at home. In the United States, inflation was growing at a rapid pace, and as part of the fight against it, the presidential administration carried out a large-scale public campaign, which, however, did not produce noticeable results.
The downturn in the American economy forced the Ford government to resort to some cuts in government spending. Ford time after time voted against congressional decisions on the allocation of money for certain non-military purposes. Interestingly, in Congress, both in the upper and lower houses, after the so-called 1974 midterm elections, the Democrats had a majority.
It is also worth noting that President Ford has been assassinated twice. On September 5, 1975, Lynette Fromm, one of Charlie Manson's most loyal supporters, tried to eliminate him. And just 17 days later, a woman named Sarah Jane Moore shot at Ford with a revolver. The bullet, fortunately, flew past.
In the 1976 intraparty primaries, Ford managed to defeat a rather formidable rival - Ronald Reagan.
And directly in the election, Democrat Jimmy Carter became Ford's rival. And although Ford was mercilessly criticized for pardoning Nixon (as well as for a number of other blunders), experts believed that he had a very real chance of winning and staying in the Oval Office. However, Gerald Ford did not have a very successful televised debate with his opponent, and as a result, it was Carter who celebrated the victory with a slight advantage.
After leaving the White House, Ford did not take an active part in politics, but he was an important person in the American Enterprise Institute.
Health problems and death
In the early years of the 21st century, the 38th President of the United States began to have serious health problems. He suffered two heart attacks and went to the hospital many times. At some point, he even had a device sewn into him that supported the activity of the heart.
At the last business meetings, Gerald and his wife Elizabeth received guests sitting, they no longer had the strength to stand for a long time.
On December 26, 2006, Ford died in California, on his own ranch. The 38th President of the United States was buried in Grand Rapids, where he spent a significant part of his life, on the grounds of the memorial museum named after him. Thousands of people saw off the famous politician's last journey.
