GERALD FORD
1974-1977
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ONLY PRESIDENT TO BECOME BOTH PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT
UNDER THE 25TH AMENDMENT
NEVER ELECTED TO EITHER OFFICE
NELSON ROCKEFELLER BECAME HIS VICE – PRESIDENT UNDER THE
25TH AMENDMENT
The Nixon pardon:
 Granted Nixon a “full “ pardon – covering crimes Nixon committed or
may have committed as president
 Ford wanted to spare the country a trial
 Some Americans were outraged
 None of nixon’s former employees were pardoned and nearly all
served prison terms
Vietnam:
 1975 communist North Vietnam defeated south Vietnam
 Us personnel stationed in south Vietnam had to evacuate Saigon
 Many south Vietnamese tried to escape
 More than 100,000 left the country
 Saigon’s name was changed to Ho chi minh city
1970s recession
 1973 opec embargoed oil exports to the west – protesting support
for Israel
 1974 steep increases in oil prices set off widespread inflation in the
U.S.
 Ford launched a battle against inflation – whip inflation now (win).
 Ford asked Americans to help control inflation by eliminating waste 
Americans stopped spending
 By 1975 – the country was in a deep recession
 Ford increased federal spending to stimulate the economy
Campaign reform
 Response to the 1972 presidential campaign
 Nixon’s re-election campaign had a lot of money – some of it was used
illegally
 Congress decided to limit campaign contributions to avoid the
corrupting influence of unlimited contributions
 Reform law limited the amount of money candidates for federal office
can raise and spend in election campaigns – it provided federal funds
to most candidates running for president.