32.3 The Ford and
Carter Years
Essential Questions
What were the challenges to the Ford and Carter
Administrations?
Key Terms
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Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
National Energy Act
Human Rights
Camp David Accords
Key Dates
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August 9, 1974 Ford is sworn in as President
May 1975- Mayaguez Incident
November 1976- Jimmy Carter Elected
September 17, 1978 – Camp David Accords
July 15, 1979 – “Crisis of Confidence” Speech
“Our long national nightmare is
over”-Gerald Ford
• What problems did Ford face when he was sworn in as
President?
• Watergate
• Distrust of the government
• The economy- still nation’s biggest issue
• Ford appeared honest, but also boring
• “I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln”
• Commonly described as “Square”
Gerald R. Ford
Nixon Pardon
• September 8, 1974 Ford Pardons Nixon for role in Watergate
• “A body blow to the president's own credibility…”-The New York Times
• Ford believed it would help the nation move past Watergate
• Damaged Ford’s public support
• Hoped to win back support by instituting new policies to address
the nation’s struggling economy
Ford’s Economic Policies
• Inflation and unemployment – stagflation continued to be a problem
• Inflation was 11% by end of 1974
• Much of it was caused by rising oil and gas prices
• “Whip Inflation Now”
• Asked people to cut back on gas and oil
• Cut government spending
• Increased interest rates
• Initially made things worse- economy moved into full-recession
Battles With Congress
• Democratic Congress was opposed to much of Ford’s economic policy
• Wanted to increase spending on jobs programs, health, education
• Ford vetoed much of their legislation- arguing that increased spending
would only make inflation worse
• Ford vetoed over 50 Bills in two years
• By 1976 inflation was below 10% and unemployment had fallen about
.5% from 8.5 to 8%
Were Ford’s policies bad for the nation?
Ford’s Foreign Policy
• Continued much of Nixon’s policies
• Henry Kissinger remained Secretary of State
• Helsinki Accords
• Agreements designed to increase cooperation b/t Eastern and Western
Europe
• Mayaguez incident
• Cambodia seized US ship Mayaguez
• Ford launches airstrikes on Cambodia and sends US Marines to rescue
hostages
• 41 soldiers are killed saving 39 hostages
S.S. Mayaguez
USS Holt Boards the Mayaguez
The Election of 1976
• Ford eventually wins Republican Nomination
• Faced strong opposition from Conservative former California Governor
Ronald Reagan
• Democrats nominate former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter
• Democrats in strong position after Watergate and conflict in the
Republican Party
• “We could run an aardvark this year and win”
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Carter ran as a Washington outsider- to an advantage
• Carter was folksy, and his personality and morality helped him more
than his experience
Jimmy
Carter
Carter Campaign
Carter’s Inauguration
The Carter Administration
• Energy Crisis
• Caused mostly by over-reliance on imported oil
• 1978- National Energy Act
• Tax on gas guzzling cars
• Tax credits for alternative energy sources
• Removal of price controls on heating oil and gasoline for US resources
• Cars became more efficient
• Renewable sources of energy began to be developed
Continuing Economic Crisis
• 1979- violence in the Middle East raises prices and causes oil shortages
in the US
• Inflation rose to 11.3%
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Price controls
Spending cuts
De-regulation of transportation
Raise in interest rates
• Seen as inconsistent
• “Crisis of Confidence Speech”
• Inflation at 13.5%
Rust Belt
• Economy shifted to service economy from industrial
• Foreign Competition
• Higher energy costs
• Loss of low skill labor
• Many cities especially in North and Midwest lost their industries ex.
steel, automotive, textile
• Rust Belt Cities
• Ex. Baltimore, Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland
Domestic Policy
Ford
Carter
Pros
Pros
Cons
Cons
Human Rights Foreign Policy
• Rejected realpolitik and Détente
• Focused on Human Rights
• Carter refused Aid to countries that had human rights violations
• examples?
• Many of these nations were US allies
• Supported dictators in some countries and cut off others
• Angered US allies and was initially popular but public support for the
policy quickly fell
• More tension with Soviet Union
• Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to a escalation of tensions in 1979
Camp David Accords
• Carter’s biggest foreign policy achievement
• Summer 1978 brought Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli
Prime Minister Menachem Begin
• Two Agreements
• 5 year transition period for Israel and Jordan to work out issue of self-rule
for Palestinians
• Ending hostilities between Israel and Egypt
• Detailed treaty signed in March 1979
• Israel returned conquered land to Egypt
• Egypt recognized Israel as a nation- 1st Arab nation to do so.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
• Shah of Iran was US ally since 1950s
• Corrupt
• Brutal
• Secret police- Savak- tortured and executed thousands
• January 1978- Massive strikes and protests paralyze country
• January 1979- Ayatollah Ruhollah Kohmeini returns from exile in
Paris- establishes government based strictly on the Qur’an
• October 1979- Shah flees Iran
• Goes to the United States for cancer treatment
• November 4. 1979- Iranian students storm US embassy in Tehrancapturing 52 Americans for 444 days
• Carter severed diplomatic relations and severed trade with Iran
• Not released to January 20th 1981
Shah of Iran
Ayatollah Kohmeini
Iranian Revolution
Foreign Policy
Ford
Carter
Pros
Pros
Cons
Cons
Quiz
• T/F The Public was supportive of Ford’s pardon of Nixon.
• What two economic problems did Ford and Carter battle
during their presidencies?
• Who challenged Ford for the Republican presidential
nomination in 1976? (Not who he ran against in the general
election)
• What was the focus of Jimmy Carter’s Foreign Policy?
• What two nations negotiated a peace deal at Camp David?