The Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27, , and on December 6, , the House confirmed him by a vote of to Before Nevada acted as the 38th state to ratify the 25th Amendment in February , a different line of presidential succession existed. Ford quickly acknowledged the situation after taking an oath administered by Chief Justice Warren Burger. But I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans.
Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Ford earned a degree from Yale Law School before serving in the U.
Ford, a Republican from Michigan, was the minority leader of the House of Representatives when Nixon nominated and Congress confirmed him under the 25 th Amendment to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president, after Agnew resigned in This view persisted through the election of , which Ford lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter. In times of uncertainty, good decisions demand good data. Please support our research with a financial contribution. It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values.
Even in a polarized era, the survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics. Pew Research Center now uses as the last birth year for Millennials in our work. President Michael Dimock explains why. A number of high-ranking Nixon administration officials knew about the break-in, and the president himself took part in efforts to cover up the illegal activities that became known as the Watergate scandal.
As the scandal came to light, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned from office in October over unrelated charges of accepting bribes and evading taxes. Nixon used his power under the 25th Amendment to the U. Constitution to appoint Ford as his new vice president.
The well-liked and respected Ford was easily confirmed by Congress and took office on December 6, For the next eight months, as the Watergate investigation heated up, Ford defended Nixon and represented the administration. On August 9, , however, Nixon chose to resign from office rather than face an impeachment trial over his role in the scandal.
Ford assumed the presidency and immediately took up the task of reassuring a shaken and demoralized American public. Our great republic is a government of laws and not men. Shortly after taking office, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as president. The presidential pardon meant that Nixon would never have to face criminal charges over his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Millions of Americans wanted to see the disgraced former president brought to justice.
Some critics charged that Ford issued the pardon as part of a pre-arranged deal to reach the Oval Office. During the remaining two years of his presidency, Ford faced a domestic energy crisis and a weak economy marked by high inflation and unemployment. He also struggled to work effectively with a heavily Democratic Congress. In fact, Ford vetoed 66 pieces of legislation that conflicted with his basic philosophy of fiscal conservatism. Unable to convince Congress to approve further military aid to South Vietnam, he could only watch as the country fell to North Vietnamese Communist forces in Later that year, however, Ford helped reduce tensions with the Soviet Union by signing the Helsinki Accords, which were meant to strengthen the relationship between Western nations and the communist countries of Europe.
Ford understood that his decision to pardon Nixon could have political consequences, and it probably cost him the presidency in That year, he lost a close election to Democrat Jimmy Carter Ford took the loss in stride, however, telling friends that he had planned to retire from Congress that year anyway. He viewed his brief tenure in the Oval Office as an unexpected bonus at the end of a long career in politics. Ford often said that he was pleased to have had the opportunity to help the nation emerge from the shadow of Watergate.
The former president remained active in his retirement. He gave speeches, served on the boards of major corporations and indulged his passions for golf and downhill skiing. He and his wife, who battled alcoholism at a time when the disease was not publicly discussed, also opened the Betty Ford Clinic in California to support research, treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol addiction.
Ford died on December 26, , at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of
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