Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. , (July 14th 1913 - December 26th 2006), born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. was the fortieth Vice-président of the United States of America following the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and the thirty-eighth President of the United States of America after the resignation of Richard Nixon.

Personal life

Its youth

Gerald R. Ford is born the July 14th 1913 with Omaha (Nebraska). His/her parents, Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner name it Leslie Lynch King, Jr.

His/her parents separate 16 days after its birth then Divorce NT in December 1913. Dorothy Gardner obtains the guard of his/her child (Leslie Lynch King was obviously violent and beat his wife). Dorothy Ayer Gardner settles then with his/her son with Grand Rapids (Michigan), where his/her parents live. February 1st 1916, it remarie with Gerald Rudolph Ford and then makes call her Leslie son by the name of Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (Leslie Lynch King Jr. is remained the official name of the child, Gerald Rudolph Ford not having never adopted officially the son of Dorothy Gardner). It is only at age the 17 years that he learns the circumstances from his birth and that he meets his biological father for the first time.

Gerald Ford grows with Grand Rapids with her three half-brothers Thomas Gardner (1918-1995), Richard Addison (born in 1924), James Francis (1927-2001). It belongs to the team of American football of the Université of Michigan where it is distinguished what is worth to him proposals for a contract in professional teams. He prefers to be registered with the Université of Yale in 1941 to make his studies of Droit which he finances while becoming trainer of the teams of Football and of Boxe. Ford is also amateur of Scoutisme and, even after being become president, it mentions with pride to have reached the highest “rank” in this organization.

Second world war

The April 13rd 1942, it joined the American navy. It is used as air and sea instructor on the basis as Chapel Hill in North Carolina.

June 17th 1943 with the end of the year 1944, he is assistant navigator and officer responsible for anti-aircraft battery on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey . It takes part then in many operations in the Pacifique - southern with 3rd and the 4th fleet, in particular at the time of the operation of security of the Gilberts islands and during the operations of the battle of the sea of Philippines. If the aircraft carrier on which it is useful is not damaged by military operations, it is victim of a typhoon in December 1944 which causes the loss of three destroyers and keep silent more than 800 men of crew. Ford misses little being itself carried.

The Monterey is finally declared except service and Ford is sent to the athletic department of the air and sea school of Holy Marie in California.

The October 3rd 1945, it is promoted lieutenant-commander. The February 23rd 1946, it is placed out of the active service with the honors and the June 28th 1946, is returned to the civil life.

For her rendered services, Gerald Ford is decorated with several military decorations.

Its family

The October 15th 1948, with the episcopal church of Thanks to Large Rapids, Gerald Ford marries Elizabeth Bloomer Warren, old mannequin and former dancer, divorced in first weddings William G. Warren. The couple has four children: Michael Gerald Ford (born in 1950), John Gardner Ford (born in 1952), Steven Meigs Ford (born in 1956) and Susan Elizabeth Ford (born in 1957)

Political career

Room of the representatives: chief of the republicans to the room

The November 8th 1949, Ford is elected with the Chambre of the representatives. It there remains during 24 years (1949 - 1973) and becomes in 1965, the shortly after the defeat of the conservative Barry Goldwater at the time of the presidential election of 1964, the chief of the republican minority with the room of the representatives. It then tackles frontally the policy of the president Lyndon Johnson, in particular her management of the Guerre of Vietnam and her program of “large company”. However, it supports the laws on the Civic right .

For this period, it is selected to take part in the Commission Warren (commission on the assassination of John F. Kennedy), and always defended the conclusions of them. He is especially a man of compromise and is done many friends in the two camps.

Vice-president

After the reference of the vice-president (Spiro Agnew) the October 10th 1973, the president Richard Nixon names it vice-president. The Sénat of the United States confirms Ford in its new functions with 92 votes for and 3 against the November 27th 1973. The December 6th, the Chambre of the representatives makes in the same way with 387 votes for and 35 against. Ford is a burning support of president Nixon and he makes many speeches to defend his policy by considering that the business of Watergate is only one unfortunate episode. An author of witty remark even says that Ford “not only admires Nixon, but moreover is his/her friend! ”

Presidency

When Richard Nixon resigns following the Scandale of Watergate, Gerald Ford assumes the chairmanship, the August 8th 1974, by proclaiming “ Our long nightmare national is finished ”. It lends officially oath the August 9th 1974 in front of the president of the Supreme court.

Because of her nomination with the vice-presidency by president Richard Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford is the only president of the United States not to be never elected with high position of the American executive by a popular election.

Forgiveness with Nixon

One month afterwards, Ford grants to Nixon a total forgiveness for all the crimes which it could have committed during its presidency or all that it could have made. This decision of forgiveness is, for many historians, one of the reasons of its defeat to the presidential election of 1976.

Economy

The economy is one of the great concerns of the administration of Ford. In answer to which gallops inflation, Ford presents itself in front of the American people (on television) in October 1974 and asks him “ Whip Inflation Now ”, in French: “as quickly as possible to give a blow of cloth (or to wipe) on inflation”; the initial ones of the American expression giving the word “ WIN ” which means “to gain” in English. He even recommends, in part of his program, to carry buttons “WIN”. At all events, the majority sees this as an easy way which does not offer real solutions to solve the problem. At the time, inflation is in the neighborhoods of 7% and it is sufficient to discourage the investments in the United States and to slow down the direct investments abroad.

Focusing on the economy evolves/moves when the country enters a modest recession. And in March 1975, Ford and the Congress sign tax reliefs in order to start again the economy.

After Watergate

Following the Scandal of Watergate, the Democratic party amplifies its majority with the Chambre of the representatives and the Sénat with the elections of semi-mandate of 1974. The legislature is a ground of fights between the president and the Congress, Ford opposing its veto to the democratic proposals.

Foreign politics

Ford must also face an international crisis with the Incident of Mayagüez. In May 1975, a little after the seizure of power by the Khmer Rouge with the Kampuchea, the Kampuchean ones seizes an American trading vessel, the Mayagüez , in international water. Ford sends Marines to save the crew which one believes retained on the island of Koh Tang but the soldiers meet an unexpected resistance; during the operation, the sailors of the Mayagüez who had been slackened, are recovered by the American forces. During the combat of Koh Tang, 38 Americans were killed and 41 wounded, the losses khmères being estimated at an about sixty on only 300 combatants.

Attempted murders

Whereas it is in displacement with Sacramento, California the September 5th 1975, a member of the sect of Charles Manson point his weapon on Ford but an agent of the United States Secret Service (protection of the US president) made obstacle with the attack. Seventy days later, Sara Jane Moore also tries to kill Ford with San Francisco but its attempt is thwarted by a spectator (Oliver Sipple).

Presidential election of 1976

According to the opinion of the specialists, it is the forgiveness granted to Nixon and the persistence of the economic problems which prevented its election in 1976.

Its countryside was also handicapped by the dissensions within its own party where some support the candidature of Ronald Reagan, by an aggressive campaign of the democratic candidate, Jimmy Carter and by unfortunate declarations such as that where he affirms that Eastern Europe was not occupied by the Soviet Union. It thus obtains 48% of the votes against a little more than 50% with Jimmy Carter and 240 Great Electors against 297 with the democratic candidate. If Ford gains all the States of the west (whose California) and majority of those of the Mid-West and the area of the big lakes, Jimmy Carter owes her election in the old confederated south, the State of New York and the States of the industrial belt of the North-East (Ohio, Pennsylvania).

End of its political life

In the convention of the Republican party, Ford failed to be named as vice-president by Ronald Reagan, but the Reagan candidate finally preferred to take George H.W. Bush.

Its health declines with the beginning of the year 2000. Thus, at the republican convention of 2000, it is victim of two cerebral vascular accidents.

The old US president was hospitalized the January 14th 2006 in California to treat a Pneumonie. It summer admitted in Medical Eisenhower Center, close to its residence of Rancho Mirage, in the south of the California, it left the January 25th there. In August, it had received a cardiac pacemaker, then undergone a angioplastie, an surgical operation intended to widen arteries. He had also been hospitalized during one week mid-October.

In November 2006, he had become the senior of the presidents of the the United States, exceeding Ronald Reagan, deceased in June 2004.

He died at his place the December 26th 2006 with 18:45 hour of the Pacific (the December 27th, 2:45 GMT), surrounded by his wife and his three sons.

Funeral

The national funeral is organized the December 30th with Washington and the religious service takes place the January 2nd 2007 with the national Cathedral of the capital. Its skin is then transported until Grand Rapids (Michigan) to be there buried on the ground of the Gerald Ford Museum.

Were in particular present at its funeral:

Personality

In spite of its athletic past, Ford with the reputation to be awkward. The collections of howlers often show it to stumble in the staircases, its head striking the door of Air Force One (presidential plane). This myth was taken again by television programs which caricature it like a person unable to go without breaking something while falling. Most famous of these projections is of Lyndon Johnson in the years 1960 which did not like it and which described it like incompetent to make two things like going at the same time and chewing a Chewing-gum. Many partisans of Ford denounce this image, saying that it was not more awkward than whoever. Its political interviews do not give this impression indeed, in particular as regards analyzes Géopolitique S.

Honorary distinctions

Ford saw itself giving the presidential Médaille of freedom, equivalence of the French Légion of honor) by the president Bill Clinton in 1999 for its efforts after the Scandale of Watergate to cure the country. Moreover, one airport bears its name since 1999 (Gerald R. Ford International Airport in the Michigan).

Future aircraft carrier CVN-78 (brought into service projected for 2015), could bear the name of Gerald R. Ford if one follows the Amendement 4211 deposited by the president of the commission of the armed forces of the American Sénat.

Administration of Gerald R. Ford

  • Secretary of State - Henry A. Kissinger
  • Secretary with the Treasury - William E. Simon
  • Secretary with Defense - James R. Schlesinger, then Donald Rumsfeld (1975)
  • Attorney General - William B. Saxbe, then Edward H. Levi (1975)
  • Secretaries with the Interior matters - Rogers C.B. Morton, then Stanley K. Hathaway (1975), then Thomas S. Kleppe (1975)
  • Secretary with Agriculture - Earl L. Butz, then John A. Knebel (1976)
  • Secretary with the Trade - Frederick B. Tooth, then Rogers C.B. Morton (1975) then Elliot L. Richardson (1975)
  • Secretary with Work - Peter J. Brennan, then John T. Dunlop (1975), then W.J. Usery, Jr. (1976)
  • Secretary with Health, Education and the social Affairs - Caspar Weinberger, then F. David Mathews (1975)
  • Secretary with the urban Development - James T. Lynn, then Carla A. Hills (1975)
  • Secretary with Transport - Claude S. Brinegar, then William T. Coleman, Jr. (1975)
  • Principal private secretary in the White House - Donald Rumsfeld, then Dick Cheney

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