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An exceedingly rare photo of the future President Gerald ford from his senior year at The University of Michigan Type I photo from 1935 measuring approximately 7x9 inches. Photo even has the original newspaper clipping on the back

Just two weeks into its 1934 season, the University of Michigan football team faced mounting adversity.

The Wolverines had been shut out by teams from the University of Chicago and Michigan State, and a home game against Georgia Tech loomed. But off the field, athletic director Fielding Yost had a decision to make.

The Yellow Jackets still observed the Jim Crow laws of the South, frowning upon the participation of black athletes within their program. They frowned upon lining up against them, too.

Georgia Tech publicly refused to meet the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium if Yost and head coach Harry Kipke sent out Willis Ward, the team’s star end. But Ward was no ordinary end. In his track career, he bested Ohio State’s Jesse Owens in the 100-yard dash and was a three-year starter for the football team. Ward also was black.

Similar incidents had occurred across the Midwest in games pitting teams from opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon line. But the controversy gathered steam in Ann Arbor as local protesters and news outlets aired opinions on the topic.

The story, slated to be part of a film documentary, is a demonstration of racial equality — one that would

go on to shape policy at U-M and across the United States — when Ward’s

close friend and teammate loudly protested what he called “raw prejudice.”

That teammate was Gerald R. Ford.

The stuff of legend

At Ford’s funeral services on Jan. 2, 2007, President George W. Bush eulogized the Grand Rapids native and nation’s 38th president with a speech that featured a segment on the two former U-M teammates.

“Gerald Ford was furious at Georgia Tech for making the demand, and for the University of Michigan for caving in,” Bush said. “He agreed to play only after Willis Ward personally asked him to. The stand Gerald Ford took that day was never forgotten by his friend. And Gerald Ford never forgot that day either — and three decades later, he proudly supported the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the United States Congress.”

And while many who heard the speech knew of Ford’s political views and how he assumed the presidency in a tumultuous post-Watergate era, few knew the story of Willis Ward.

G0222Documen.JPG

Chris Clark | The Grand Rapids Press

Committed to film: Brian Kruger and Buddy Moorehouse are directors of a documentary based on Gerald R. Ford and Willis Ward playing football at the University of Michigan.

Ford’s youngest son, Steven, only heard the anecdote for the first time in 1994 while with his family at Michigan Stadium to celebrate his father’s No. 48 jersey being retired.

“I’m watching Dad and he’s got tears in his eyes as the halftime is over,” Steven Ford said. “We’re all standing there, trying to soak it in and this man pulls me aside — he’d gone to college with my dad — and starts telling me the story.”

As the story goes, Georgia Tech expected Michigan to follow the “gentleman’s agreement” which coerced Northern schools into benching their black players when playing teams from the South.

Yost — a West Virginia native who had ties to Southern schools — obliged, despite pressure from local media and protesters, as well as the opportunity to call off the game well before the season started.

“(Georgia Tech coach) W.A. Alexander said to Fielding Yost, ‘Michigan has this tradition and we have ours. In order to avoid this embarrassment, we can cancel the game.’ But Fielding Yost was not interested in canceling the game,” said Tyran Steward, a doctoral student in history at Ohio State, who wrote his master’s thesis on the topic while studying at Eastern Michigan University.

“We understand Fielding Yost to be very influential in making contributions to the University of Michigan. He is, in many ways, to be thanked for putting U of M on the map in becoming a football powerhouse. He is, in all intents and purposes, the architect of the Big Ten. But he is also an individual who was committed to racial bigotry and racial prejudice. He’s a son of the South.”

Ford, the team’s starting center, was enraged at the idea of taking the field without his close friend. Ward called Ford the first friend he made at Michigan, as the two entered as freshmen together and roomed together on road trips.

“But when Ford found out about it, he was just outraged and went to Harry Kipke and told him if (Ward) didn’t play, (Ford) was going to quit the team,” said Buddy Moorehouse, a Michigan film director who is partnering with filmmaker Brian Kruger to create a documentary on the incident they hope to include in a 10-part series this year about the history of Michigan football.

In the end, it was Ward himself who encouraged Ford to play in the game, citing the team’s poor start and need for Ford’s play.

“Apparently it was one of the best games Ford ever had,” Moorehouse said. “During the game, there was this player on Georgia Tech that was using racial slurs and talking trash. Ford and this other Michigan lineman put a hit on this guy that knocked him out of the game. Afterward, they went and told Ward, ‘That was for you.’”

Michigan won the game, 9-2. It would be the team’s only win of the season.

Ward earned a law degree and went on to serve as the chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission, as well as a probate judge in Wayne County. His friend, Jerry, went on to be president of the United States. Neither of them forgot 1934.

“Willis Ward becomes one of those individuals in the same vein as Jackie Robinson, Booker T. Washington, Joe Louis — figures who attempt to work within the framework of American democracy and believe in working side-by-side with whites to attack these injurious racial issues,” Steward said.

Ford also remained true to the incident, landing himself far left of many of his fellow Republicans on issues such as civil rights and affirmative action.

“Jerry Ford, throughout his life, kept looking back at the discrimination that Willis Ward faced, and it really helped him form his opinions on things like civil rights and affirmative action,” Moorehouse said.

WARDHEADLINE4.JPG

Courtesy Photos | University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

In 1999, Ford wrote an editorial for the New York Times about “the pursuit of racial justice” in favor of the contentious affirmative action policy. The theme of the piece was Willis Ward.

“His sacrifice led me to question how educational administrators could capitulate to raw prejudice. A university, after all, is both a preserver of tradition and a hotbed of innovation. So long as books are kept open, we tell ourselves, minds can never be closed,” Ford wrote. “But doors, too, must be kept open. Tolerance, breadth of mind and appreciation for the world beyond our neighborhoods: These can be learned on the football field and in the science lab as well as in the lecture hall. But only if students are exposed to America in all her variety.”

Steven Ford may have reached his adult years before first hearing the story of the 1934 Wolverines, but Samuel “Buzz” Thomas has been hearing stories about his grandfather, Willis Ward, for years.

“It’s really about more than politics,” said Thomas, who recently served eight years as a state senator for Michigan’s 4th district and currently leads a Detroit-based public affairs consulting group. “It’s about being a part of the big Michigan family and one big human family. Gerald Ford is a giant for acknowledging and doing what he did in the 1930s.”

Since first hearing the story before his grandfather’s death in the early 1980s, Thomas has taken to telling the tale himself.

Thomas found himself discussing his lineage on the Senate floor in 2007, a year after Ford died. There was debate in the Senate about replacing a statue of Zachariah Chandler — a former U.S. senator and secretary of the interior and one of Michigan’s two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. — with a statue of the late Gerald Ford.

So Thomas recounted the story of Ford and his grandfather.

“I simply became the Democratic voice supporting the Republican president as someone we could be proud of,” Thomas said. “He’d done some very laudable things at a time when people didn’t do what he was doing. Friendship mattered more to him. It was something my grandfather never forgot throughout his whole adult life.”

After the room came to a hush, the resolution passed; there now is a Gerald Ford statue in Washington, D.C. And there is a story that many — Moorehouse, Steward, Thomas and Steven Ford included — will continue to tell.

“When my dad’s teammate told me the story, he said, ‘Son, do you know what respect is?’ And I just kind of stood there with tears running down my eyes as he was talking about respect and character,” Steven Ford said.

“He said, ‘Respect is what you do when nobody’s watching. And nobody was watching your dad as a young kid at the University of Michigan.”

Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford is not only one of Michigan’s

most famous and important graduates, but he is also one of the

University’s great student-athletes. On Oct. 8, 1994, Michigan

retired his jersey number 48 during halftime of the Wolverines’

game against Michigan State.

Ford’s jersey became just the fifth in Michigan’s illustrious history

to be retired. The five jersey numbers honor seven players

because three Wolverines -- the Wistert brothers -- each wore

number 11. Six of the players are linemen and all were two-way

players.

Years after the retirement of Bennie Oosterbaan’s “47,” it was

announced that “11” would disappear forever from the Michigan

rosters, giving special recognition to three of the Wolverines greatest

tackles, Francis, Albert and Alvin Wistert. Tom Harmon, “Old 98,”

had his number retired after winning the Heisman Trophy in 1940

and Ron Kramer’s “87” never will be worn by another Wolverine

because he was the epitome of the rugged defensive end and also

made impossible catches as an offensive end.

Though Ford’s football accomplishments may pale in comparison

with his political achievements, the same would be said

for any former President of the United States. While at Michigan,

Ford earned three varsity letters from 1932-34 and was named

Michigan Most Valuable Player his senior year as a starting center.

On Jan. 1, 1935, Ford played on the East Team in the Shrine

Crippled Children’s Hospital game in San Francisco. In 1935, he

played in the all-star game against the World Champion Chicago

Bears following his standout senior season.

Ford, a 1935 Michigan graduate, received his law degree from

Yale in 1941 while also serving as an assistant football coach there.

He went on to serve in the Navy for four years of active duty and

returned home in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

On Jan. 3, 1949 Ford was sworn into Congress.

The Grand Rapids native, also a member of the Michigan Sports

Hall of Fame, was known as a “congressman’s congressman,” and

was elected as the minority leader of the House of Representatives

in 1965. He would later be named Vice President, and then

President of the United States in 1974.

Gerald Ford became the 38th president of the United States following Richard Nixon's resignation, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

IN THESE GROUPS

FAMOUS PEOPLE IN THE VIETNAM WAR

FAMOUS GOVERNMENT

U.S. VICE PRESIDENTS

FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED FORD

Show All Groups

1 of 3 « »

QUOTES

“I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”

—Gerald Ford

Synopsis

Gerald Ford was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. A star college football player, he served in the Navy during WWII. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1948, Ford represented Michigan's 5th District for nearly 25 years before suddenly finding himself at the crossroads of history. He was elevated to vice president, and then became the 38th U.S. president due to Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal and subsequent resignation. Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election. He died in California in 2006.

Gerald Ford - Mini Biography (TV-14; 3:24) Vice President Gerald Ford was catapulted into the presidency after the Watergate scandal in the '70s. Learn more about his life beyond his stint in the White House in this mini biography.

Early Life

Gerald R. Ford Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, but kept neither his name nor his hometown for long. In just weeks, he was whisked away by his mother, Dorothy Ayer Gardner, to her parents' home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A plucky woman who would not tolerate abuse, she divorced his father, Leslie Lynch King Sr., within the year, and less than three years later, was married to Gerald Rudolff Ford, a local paint company salesman, from whence "Jerry" Jr. got his name—although it was not made legal until he was 22 years old.

Growing up in Grand Rapids, in the close-knit family with three younger brothers, Jerry Ford was not even aware of the existence of his biological father until he was 17. He became a local sports hero as captain of his high school football team and an avid Eagle Scout. His athletic prowess as a Wolverine at the University of Michigan eared him the designation of Most Valuable Player.

But instead of taking up a professional football career as offered by both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, Ford opted to take his economics degree to Yale University, where he attended law school and also worked as a football and boxing coach.

Early Political Career

Ford got his first taste of political life in 1940 as a volunteer for Wendell Wilkie's presidential campaign, attending the Republican Convention that year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A year later, he graduated from Yale Law School in the top third of his class, and then returned home to Grand Rapids to work in a law firm, putting his toe in the water of local politics.

However, WWII intervened, and Ford enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942. He returned to civilian life in 1946, having earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal, and quickly resumed his law practice and civic activities.

In August 1947, Ford met his future wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Warren, through mutual friends. A former model and dancer with Martha Graham's company in New York City, the recent divorcee had recently returned home to Grand Rapids and was employed as department store fashion coordinator, while also teaching dance to handicapped children.

Less than a year later, Ford decided to run for Congress to represent his Michigan district (District 5). He and Betty were married in October 1948, a few weeks before his sweeping victory, which would sweep both newlyweds away to Washington, D.C. for the next 30 years.

Declining a suggestion to run for the Senate in 1954, Ford's long career as a congressman encompassed work on foreign policy, the military, spending, the space program and the Warren Commission.

Although he served as House minority leader, Ford's ambition to be speaker of the House seemed out of reach and, thusly, the congressman was contemplating retirement following his 13th term in the House concluded in 1976. The changing political atmosphere of the '70s would dictate otherwise, however.

On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned under allegations of income tax evasion and bribery. Two days later, President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to take his place, under the provisions of the Constitution's 25th Amendment, and in two months, Ford was sworn in as the country's 40th vice president.

U.S. Presidency

Over the ensuing months, investigations into Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal sped up, culminating with Nixon's resignation on August 8, 1974. One day later, on August 9, 1974, Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States.

The following month, President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon—a move that hung like a shadow over Ford's longstanding reputation for integrity. That same month, Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently underwent a radical mastectomy.

Ford's early presidency marked a state of tumult for the nation, with downfalls including a seriously ailing economy (and an almost bankrupt New York City), an essential defeat in the Vietnam War, rocky foreign relations and an energy crisis. In addition to that, around this time, two assassination attempts, by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, were made on Ford's life.

Following in Nixon's footsteps with China, Ford was the first U.S. president to visit Japan, but he is often remembered as clumsy, ironic given his athletic prowess, due to several trips, falls and gaffes that were immortalized in parody by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.

Challenged by fellow Republican Ronald Reagan during his campaign for re-election in 1976, Ford eked out the nomination only to be defeated by Jimmy Carter in the presidential election.

Death and Legacy

Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006, at home in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 93—the oldest any president has lived to date. Named in his honor are a presidential library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a museum in Grand Rapids, but both are eclipsed in renown by the Betty Ford Rehabilitation Clinic in California.

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Prior to this he was the 40th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1973 until President Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973. Becoming president upon Richard Nixon's departure on August 9, 1974, he claimed the distinction as the first and to date the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to either office. Before ascending to the vice presidency, Ford served 25 years as Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, the final 9 of them as the House Minority Leader.

As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure.[1] One of his more controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford's presidency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President.[2] In the GOP presidential primary campaign of 1976, Ford defeated then-former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination. He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger, then-former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, on November 2.

Following his years as President, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. After experiencing health problems, he died in his home on December 26, 2006. Ford lived longer than any other U.S. president, 93 years and 165 days, while his 895-day presidency remains the shortest term of all presidents who did not die in office. As of 2016, he is also the most recent former president and vice president to die.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

1.1 Scouting and athletics

1.2 Education

2 U.S. Navy Reserve, World War II

2.1 Post-war

3 Marriage and children

4 House of Representatives

4.1 Warren Commission

4.2 House Minority Leader

5 Vice presidency, 1973–74

6 Presidency, 1974–77

6.1 Swearing-in

6.2 Pardon of Nixon

6.3 Presidential Proclamation 4313

6.4 Administration and cabinet

6.5 Midterm elections

6.6 Domestic policy

6.6.1 Budget

6.7 Foreign policy

6.7.1 Middle East

6.7.2 Vietnam

6.7.3 Mayaguez and Panmunjom

6.7.4 Indonesian invasion of East Timor

6.8 Assassination attempts

6.9 Judicial appointments

6.9.1 Supreme Court

6.9.2 Other judicial appointments

6.10 1976 presidential election

7 Post-presidential years, 1977–2006

7.1 Activity

7.2 Health problems

8 Death and legacy

8.1 Longevity

8.2 Public image

9 Honors

10 See also

11 References

12 Bibliography

12.1 Primary sources

13 External links

Early life[edit]

Gerald Rudolph Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr., on July 14, 1913, at 3202 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. His mother was Dorothy Ayer Gardner, and his father was Leslie Lynch King Sr., a wool trader and a son of prominent banker Charles Henry King and Martha Alicia King (née Porter). Dorothy separated from King just sixteen days after her son's birth. She took her son with her to the Oak Park, Illinois home of her sister Tannisse and brother-in-law, Clarence Haskins James. From there, she moved to the home of her parents, Levi Addison Gardner and Adele Augusta Ayer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dorothy and King divorced in December 1913; she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930.[3]

A young boy circa 1916.

Leslie Lynch King Jr. (later known as Gerald R. Ford) in 1916

Ford later said his biological father had a history of hitting his mother.[4] James M. Cannon, a member of the Ford administration, wrote in a biography of the late president that the Kings' separation and divorce were sparked when, a few days after Ford's birth, Leslie King took a butcher knife and threatened to kill his wife, his infant son, and Ford's nursemaid. Ford later told confidantes that his father had first hit his mother on their honeymoon for smiling at another man.[5]

After two and a half years with her parents, on February 1, 1916, Dorothy married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a salesman in a family-owned paint and varnish company. They then called her son Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr. The future president was never formally adopted, and did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935; he also used a more conventional spelling of his middle name.[6] He was raised in Grand Rapids with his three half brothers from his mother's second marriage: Thomas Gardner "Tom" Ford (1918–1995), Richard Addison "Dick" Ford (1924–2015), and James Francis "Jim" Ford (1927–2001).[7]

Ford also had three half-siblings from his father's second marriage: Marjorie King (1921–1993), Leslie Henry King (1923–1976), and Patricia Jane King (born 1925). They never saw one another as children and he did not know them at all. Ford was not aware of his biological father until he was 17, when his parents told him about the circumstances of his birth. That year his biological father, Leslie King, whom Ford described as a "carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son", approached Ford while he was waiting tables in a Grand Rapids restaurant. The two "maintained a sporadic contact" until Leslie King Sr.'s death in 1941.[4][8]

Ford maintained his distance emotionally, saying, "My stepfather was a magnificent person and my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing."[9]

Scouting and athletics[edit]

Two men in suits and another man in a Boy Scout uniform stand beside 10 seated teenaged boys in Boy Scout uniforms. Ford is indicated by a red circle.

Eagle Scout Gerald Ford (circled in red) in 1929; Michigan Governor Fred W. Green at far left, holding hat

A uniformed but helmetless American Football player is shown on a football field. He is in a ready position, with legs in a wide stance and both hands on a football in front of him.

Ford as a center on the University of Michigan football team, 1933

Ford was involved in the Boy Scouts of America, and earned that program's highest rank, Eagle Scout.[10] In later years, Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in May 1970 and Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He is the only Eagle Scout to have ascended to the U.S. presidency.[10] Scouting was so important to Ford that his family asked that Scouts participate in his funeral. About 400 Eagle Scouts were part of the funeral procession, where they formed an honor guard as the casket went by in front of the museum. A few selected Scouts served as ushers inside the National Cathedral.[11]

Ford attended Grand Rapids South High School and was a star athlete and captain of his football team.[12] In 1930, he was selected to the All-City team of the Grand Rapids City League. He also attracted the attention of college recruiters.[9]

Attending the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, Ford played center, linebacker and long snapper for the school's football team[13] and helped the Wolverines to undefeated seasons and national titles in 1932 and 1933. The team suffered a steep decline in his 1934 senior year, however, winning only one game. Ford was the team's star nonetheless, and after a game during which Michigan held heavily favored Minnesota (the eventual national champion) to a scoreless tie in the first half, assistant coach Bennie Oosterbaan later said, "When I walked into the dressing room at halftime, I had tears in my eyes I was so proud of them. Ford and [Cedric] Sweet played their hearts out. They were everywhere on defense." Ford later recalled, "During 25 years in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, I often thought of the experiences before, during, and after that game in 1934. Remembering them has helped me many times to face a tough situation, take action, and make every effort possible despite adverse odds." His teammates later voted Ford their most valuable player, with one assistant coach noting, "They felt Jerry was one guy who would stay and fight in a losing cause."[14]

During Ford's senior year a controversy developed when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets refused to play a scheduled game if a black player named Willis Ward took the field. Even after protests from students, players and alumni, university officials opted to keep Ward out of the game. Ford was Ward's best friend on the team and they roomed together while on road trips. Ford reportedly threatened to quit the team in response to the university's decision, but eventually agreed to play against Georgia Tech when Ward personally asked him to play.[15]

During the same season, in a game against the University of Chicago, Ford became the only future U.S. president to tackle a future Heisman Trophy winner when he brought down running back Jay Berwanger, who would win the first Heisman the following year.[16] In 1934, Ford was selected for the Eastern Team on the Shriner's East West Crippled Children game at San Francisco (a benefit for crippled children), played on January 1, 1935. As part of the 1935 Collegiate All-Star football team, Ford played against the Chicago Bears in the Chicago College All-Star Game at Soldier Field.[17] In honor of his athletic accomplishments and his later political career, the University of Michigan retired Ford's No. 48 jersey in 1994. With the blessing of the Ford family, it was placed back into circulation in 2012 as part of the Michigan Football Legends program and issued to sophomore linebacker Desmond Morgan before a home game against Illinois on October 13.[18]

Ford remained interested in football and his school throughout life, occasionally attending games. Ford also visited with players and coaches during practices, at one point asking to join the players in the huddle.[19] Ford often had the Naval band play the University of Michigan fight song, The Victors, before state events instead of Hail to the Chief.[20] He also selected the song to be played during his funeral procession at the U.S. Capitol.[21] On his death in December 2006, the University of Michigan Marching Band played the fight song for him one final time, for his last ride from the Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[22]

Ford was also an avid golfer. In 1977, he shot a hole in one during a Pro-am held in conjunction with the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee. He received the 1985 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor.[23]

Education[edit]

At Michigan, Ford became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Omicron chapter) and washed dishes at his fraternity house to earn money for college expenses. Following his graduation in 1935 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, he turned down contract offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League to take a coaching position at Yale and apply to its law school.[24] Ford continued to contribute to football and boxing, accepting an assistant coaching job for both at Yale in September 1935.[25]

Ford hoped to attend Yale's law school beginning in 1935 while serving as boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach. Yale officials at first denied his admission to the law school because of his full-time coaching responsibilities. He spent the summer of 1937 as a student at the University of Michigan Law School[26] and was eventually admitted in spring 1938 to Yale Law School.[27] Ford earned his LL.B. degree in 1941 (later amended to Juris Doctor), graduating in the top 25 percent of his class. His introduction to politics came in the summer of 1940 when he worked in Wendell Willkie's presidential campaign.

While attending Yale Law School, he joined a group of students led by R. Douglas Stuart Jr., and signed a petition to enforce the 1939 Neutrality Act. The petition was circulated nationally and was the inspiration for the America First Committee, a group determined to keep the U.S. out of World War II.[28]

Ford graduated from law school in 1941, and was admitted to the Michigan bar shortly thereafter. In May 1941, he opened a Grand Rapids law practice with a friend, Philip W. Buchen,[25] who would later serve as Ford's White House counsel. But overseas developments caused a change in plans, and Ford responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor by enlisting in the Navy.[29]

U.S. Navy Reserve, World War II[edit]

Twenty-eight Sailors in the uniform of the United States Navy pose on the deck of a World War II-era Aircraft Carrier.

The Gunnery officers of the USS Monterey. Ford is second from the right, in the front row.

Ford received a commission as ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on April 13, 1942. On April 20, he reported for active duty to the V-5 instructor school at Annapolis, Maryland. After one month of training, he went to Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he was one of 83 instructors and taught elementary navigation skills, ordnance, gunnery, first aid and military drill. In addition, he coached in all nine sports that were offered, but mostly in swimming, boxing and football. During the one year he was at the Preflight School, he was promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade on June 2, 1942, and to Lieutenant in March 1943.

Navy pilots in forward elevator well playing basketball. Jumper at left is Gerald R. Ford, mid-1944

Applying for sea duty, Ford was sent in May 1943 to the pre-commissioning detachment for the new aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26), at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. From the ship's commissioning on June 17, 1943, until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the Monterey. While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the Pacific Theater with the Third and Fifth Fleets in late 1943 and 1944. In 1943, the carrier helped secure Makin Island in the Gilberts, and participated in carrier strikes against Kavieng, New Ireland in 1943. During the spring of 1944, the Monterey supported landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok and participated in carrier strikes in the Marianas, Western Carolines, and northern New Guinea, as well as in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.[30] After overhaul, from September to November 1944, aircraft from the Monterey launched strikes against Wake Island, participated in strikes in the Philippines and Ryukyus, and supported the landings at Leyte and Mindoro.[30]

The head and shoulders of a man in a World War II-era uniform of the United States Navy.

Ford in Navy uniform, 1945

Although the ship was not damaged by Japanese forces, the Monterey was one of several ships damaged by the typhoon that hit Admiral William Halsey's Third Fleet on December 18–19, 1944. The Third Fleet lost three destroyers and over 800 men during the typhoon. The Monterey was damaged by a fire, which was started by several of the ship's aircraft tearing loose from their cables and colliding on the hangar deck. During the storm, Ford narrowly avoided becoming a casualty himself. As he was going to his battle station on the bridge of the ship in the early morning of December 18, the ship rolled twenty-five degrees, which caused Ford to lose his footing and slide toward the edge of the deck. The two-inch steel ridge around the edge of the carrier slowed him enough so he could roll, and he twisted into the catwalk below the deck. As he later stated, "I was lucky; I could have easily gone overboard."

Ford, serving as General Quarters Officer of the Deck, was ordered to go below to assess the raging fire. He did so safely, and reported his findings back to the ship's commanding officer, Captain Stuart Ingersoll. The ship's crew was able to contain the fire, and the ship got underway again.[31]

After the fire, the Monterey was declared unfit for service, and the crippled carrier reached Ulithi on December 21 before continuing across the Pacific to Bremerton, Washington where it underwent repairs. On December 24, 1944, at Ulithi, Ford was detached from the ship and sent to the Navy Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary's College of California, where he was assigned to the Athletic Department until April 1945. One of his duties was to coach football. From the end of April 1945 to January 1946, he was on the staff of the Naval Reserve Training Command, Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois as the Staff Physical and Military Training Officer. On October 3, 1945, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In January 1946, he was sent to the Separation Center, Great Lakes to be processed out. He was released from active duty under honorable conditions on February 23, 1946. On June 28, 1946, the Secretary of the Navy accepted Ford's resignation from the Naval Reserve.

Gerald Ford received the following military awards: the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine 3⁄16" bronze stars (for operations in the Gilbert Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation), the Philippine Liberation Medal with two 3⁄16" bronze stars (for Leyte and Mindoro), and the World War II Victory Medal.[29]

Post-war[edit]

Ford was a member of several civic organizations, including the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees), American Legion, AMVETS, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Sons of the Revolution,[32] and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

In 1992, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation awarded Ford its Lone Sailor Award for his naval service and his subsequent government service.

Gerald R. Ford was initiated into Freemasonry on September 30, 1949.[33] He later said in 1975, "When I took my obligation as a master mason—incidentally, with my three younger brothers—I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and 12 other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States."[34]

Marriage and children[edit]

A man in a suit leads a flower-carrying woman by the hand, walking out of a chapel.

The Fords on their wedding day, October 15, 1948

On October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Ford married Elizabeth Bloomer Warren (1918–2011), a department store fashion consultant. Warren had been a John Robert Powers fashion model and a dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the Martha Graham Dance Company. She had previously been married to and divorced from William G. Warren.

At the time of his engagement, Ford was campaigning for what would be his first of thirteen terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. The wedding was delayed until shortly before the elections because, as The New York Times reported in a 1974 profile of Betty Ford, "Jerry was running for Congress and wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer."[35]

The couple had four children:

Michael Gerald, born in 1949

John Gardner, known as Jack, born in 1951

Steven Meigs, born in 1956

Susan Elizabeth, born in 1958

House of Representatives[edit]

A billboard shows a portrait of a man in a suit, with the text "To work for You in congress" at the top, followed by "Gerald R. Ford Jr.", followed by "Republican Primary September 14", with "United States Representative" across the bottom of the sign.

A billboard for Ford's 1948 Congressional Campaign

After returning to Grand Rapids, Ford became active in local Republican politics, and supporters urged him to take on Bartel J. Jonkman, the incumbent Republican congressman. Military service had changed his view of the world. "I came back a converted internationalist", Ford wrote, "and of course our congressman at that time was an avowed, dedicated isolationist. And I thought he ought to be replaced. Nobody thought I could win. I ended up winning two to one."[9]

During his first campaign in 1948, Ford visited voters at their doorsteps and as they left the factories where they worked.[36] Ford also visited local farms where, in one instance, a wager resulted in Ford spending two weeks milking cows following his election victory.[37] Ford was known to his colleagues in the House as a "Congressman's Congressman".[38]

Ford was a member of the House of Representatives for 25 years, holding the Grand Rapids congressional district seat from 1949 to 1973. It was a tenure largely notable for its modesty. As an editorial in The New York Times described him, Ford "saw himself as a negotiator and a reconciler, and the record shows it: he did not write a single piece of major legislation in his entire career."[39] Appointed to the House Appropriations Committee two years after being elected, he was a prominent member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Ford described his philosophy as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy."[40]

In the early 1950s, Ford declined offers to run for either the Senate or the Michigan governorship. Rather, his ambition was to become Speaker of the House.[41]

Warren Commission[edit]

The Warren Commission presents its report to President Johnson

Further information: Warren Commission and Assassination of John F. Kennedy

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Ford to the Warren Commission, a special task force set up to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.[42] Ford was assigned to prepare a biography of Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin. According to a 1963 FBI memo released in 2008, Ford was in contact with the FBI throughout his time on the Warren Commission and relayed information to the deputy director, Cartha DeLoach, about the panel's activities.[43][44][45] In the preface to his book, A Presidential Legacy and The Warren Commission, Ford defended the work of the commission and reiterated his support of its conclusions.[46]

House Minority Leader[edit]

Men in suits are shown meeting in a conference room. Five men are shown, one of whom is speaking to man on his right. A sixth man is visible from behind, facing the speaker.

Ford meets with President Richard Nixon as House Minority Leader.

Four men in suits are outdoors, speaking to each other in front of a large white automobile.

Congressman Gerald Ford, MSFC director Wernher von Braun, Congressman George H. Mahon, and NASA Administrator James E. Webb visit the Marshall Space Flight Center for a briefing on the Saturn program, 1964.

In 1964, Democratic President Lyndon Johnson led a landslide victory for his party, securing another term as president and taking 36 seats from Republicans in the House of Representatives. Following the election, members of the Republican caucus looked to select a new Minority Leader. Three members approached Ford to see if he would be willing to serve; after consulting with his family, he agreed. After a closely contested election, Ford was chosen to replace Charles Halleck of Indiana as Minority Leader.[47]

The Republicans had 140 seats in the House compared with the 295 seats held by the Democrats. Consequently, the Johnson Administration proposed and passed a series of programs that was called by Johnson the "Great Society." During the first session of the Eighty-ninth Congress alone, the Johnson Administration submitted 87 bills to Congress, and Johnson signed 84, or 96%, arguably the most successful legislative agenda in Congressional history.[48]

Criticism over the Johnson Administration's handling of the Vietnam War began to grow in 1966, with Ford and Congressional Republicans expressing concern that the United States was not doing what was necessary to win the war. Public sentiment also began to move against Johnson, and the 1966 midterm elections saw a 47-seat swing in favor of the Republicans. This was not enough to give Republicans a majority in the House, but the victory gave Ford the opportunity to prevent the passage of further Great Society programs.[47]

Ford's private criticism of the Vietnam War became public following a speech from the floor of the House, in which he questioned whether the White House had a clear plan to bring the war to a successful conclusion.[47] The speech angered President Johnson, who accused Ford of playing "too much football without a helmet".[47][49]

As Minority Leader in the House, Ford appeared in a popular series of televised press conferences with Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, in which they proposed Republican alternatives to Johnson's policies. Many in the press jokingly called this "The Ev and Jerry Show."[50] Johnson said at the time, "Jerry Ford is so dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time."[51] The press, used to sanitizing LBJ's salty language, reported this as "Gerald Ford can't walk and chew gum at the same time."[52]

Ford's role shifted under President Nixon to being an advocate for the White House agenda. Congress passed several of Nixon's proposals, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Another high-profile victory for the Republican minority was the State and Local Fiscal Assistance act. Passed in 1972, the act established a Revenue Sharing program for state and local governments.[53] Ford's leadership was instrumental in shepherding revenue sharing through Congress, and resulted in a bipartisan coalition that supported the bill with 223 votes in favor (compared with 185 against).[47][54]

During the 8 years (1965–1973) he served as Minority Leader, Ford won many friends in the House because of his fair leadership and inoffensive personality.[47] An office building in the U.S. Capitol Complex, House Annex 2, was renamed for Gerald Ford as the Ford House Office Building.

Vice presidency, 1973–74[edit]

Two women are flanked by two men in suits, standing in a room of the White House.

Gerald and Betty Ford with the President and First Lady Pat Nixon after President Nixon nominated Ford to be Vice President, October 13, 1973

On October 10, 1973, Vice President Agnew resigned and then pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering, part of a negotiated resolution to a scheme in which he accepted $29,500 in bribes while governor of Maryland. According to The New York Times, Nixon "sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement. The advice was unanimous. 'We gave Nixon no choice but Ford,' House Speaker Carl Albert recalled later".[39]

Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 12, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been implemented. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. Only three Senators, all Democrats, voted against Ford's confirmation: Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Thomas Eagleton of Missouri and William Hathaway of Maine. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. One hour after the confirmation vote in the House, Ford took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States.

Following Ford's appointment, the Watergate investigation continued until Chief of Staff Alexander Haig contacted Ford on Thursday, August 1, 1974, and told him that "smoking gun" evidence had been found. The evidence left little doubt that President Nixon had been a part of the Watergate cover-up. At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly designated vice president's residence in Washington, D.C. However, "Al Haig [asked] to come over and see me," Ford later related, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.'"[9]

Presidency, 1974–77[edit]

Swearing-in[edit]

Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the White House East Room, while Betty Ford looks on.

When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Ford assumed the presidency, making him the only person to assume the presidency without having been previously voted into either the presidential or vice presidential office. Immediately after taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House, he spoke to the assembled audience in a speech broadcast live to the nation.[55] Ford noted the peculiarity of his position: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers."[56] He went on to state:

Ford and his golden retriever, Liberty, in the Oval Office, 1974

I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.[57]

He also stated:

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice, but mercy. ... let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and hate.[58]

Message to Congress nominating Nelson A. Rockefeller to be Vice President (August 20, 1974)

A portion of the speech would later be memorialized with a plaque at the entrance to his presidential museum.

On August 20, Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vice presidency he had vacated.[59] Rockefeller's top competitor had been George H. W. Bush. Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made large gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation, and his nomination passed both the House and Senate. Some, including Barry Goldwater, voted against him.[60]

Pardon of Nixon[edit]

Main article: Pardon of Richard Nixon

A man in a suit is seated at a table as he speaks into a bank of microphones. An audience is visible behind him.

President Ford appears at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing regarding his pardon of Richard Nixon

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Nixon Pardon

On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while President.[61][62][63] In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."[64]

The Nixon pardon was highly controversial. Critics derided the move and claimed a "corrupt bargain" had been struck between the men.[9] They claimed Ford's pardon was granted in exchange for Nixon's resignation that elevated Ford to the presidency. Ford's first press secretary and close friend Jerald terHorst resigned his post in protest after the pardon. According to Bob Woodward, Nixon Chief of Staff Alexander Haig proposed a pardon deal to Ford. He later decided to pardon Nixon for other reasons, primarily the friendship he and Nixon shared.[65] Regardless, historians believe the controversy was one of the major reasons Ford lost the election in 1976, an observation with which Ford agreed.[65] In an editorial at the time, The New York Times stated that the Nixon pardon was a "profoundly unwise, divisive and unjust act" that in a stroke had destroyed the new president's "credibility as a man of judgment, candor and competence".[39] On October 17, 1974, Ford testified before Congress on the pardon. He was the first sitting President to testify before the House of Representatives since Abraham Lincoln.[66][67]

In the months following the pardon, Ford often declined to mention President Nixon by name, referring to him in public as "my predecessor" or "the former president." When, on a 1974 trip to California, White House correspondent Fred Barnes pressed Ford on the matter, Ford replied in surprisingly frank manner: "I just can’t bring myself to do it.”[68]

After Ford left the White House in 1977, the former President privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.[69] In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon.[70] In presenting the award to Ford, Senator Ted Kennedy said that he had initially been opposed to the pardon of Nixon, but later stated that history had proved Ford to have made the correct decision.[71]

Pardon given by President Ford under Proclamation 4313

Presidential Proclamation 4313[edit]

On September 16, shortly after he announced the Nixon pardon, Ford introduced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War draft dodgers who had fled to countries such as Canada as well as for military deserters. The conditions of the amnesty required that those reaffirm their allegiance to the United States and serve two years working in a public service job or a total of 2 years service for those who had served less than 2 years of honorable service in the military.[72] Full pardon for the draft dodgers, however, did not come about until the Carter Administration.[73] The program for the Return of Vietnam Era Draft Evaders and Military Deserters[74] established a Clemency Board to review the records and make recommendations for receiving a Presidential Pardon and a change in Military discharge status.

Administration and cabinet[edit]

Upon assuming office, Ford inherited Nixon's Cabinet. During Ford's brief administration, only Secretary of State Kissinger and Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon remained. Ford appointed William Coleman as Secretary of Transportation, the second black man to serve in a presidential cabinet (after Robert Clifton Weaver) and the first appointed in a Republican administration.[75]

The Ford Cabinet

Office Name Term

President Gerald Ford 1974–1977

Vice President none* 1974

Nelson Rockefeller 1974–1977

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger 1974–1977

Secretary of Treasury William E. Simon 1974–1977

Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger 1974–1975

Donald Rumsfeld 1975–1977

Attorney General William B. Saxbe 1974–1975

Edward H. Levi 1975–1977

Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton 1974–1975

Stanley K. Hathaway 1975

Thomas S. Kleppe 1975–1977

Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz 1974–1976

John Albert Knebel 1976–1977

Secretary of Commerce Frederick B. Dent 1974–1975

Rogers Morton 1975

Elliot Richardson 1975–1977

Secretary of Labor Peter J. Brennan 1974–1975

John Thomas Dunlop 1975–1976

William Usery Jr. 1976–1977

Secretary of Health,

Education, and Welfare Caspar Weinberger 1974–1975

F. David Mathews 1975–1977

Secretary of Housing and

Urban Development James Thomas Lynn 1974–1975

Carla Anderson Hills 1975–1977

Secretary of Transportation Claude Brinegar 1974–1975

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. 1975–1977

* A vacancy by ascension briefly occurred for the position of Vice President from August 9, 1974 to December 19, 1974 after Richard Nixon's resignation from office.

Other important posts:

United States National Security Advisor

Henry Kissinger (1974–1975)

Brent Scowcroft (1975–1977)

Director of Central Intelligence

William E. Colby (1974–1976)

George H. W. Bush (1976–1977)

Press Secretary

Jerald terHorst (1974)

Ronald H. Nessen (1974–1977)

Ford selected George H.W. Bush as Chief of the US Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China in 1974, and then Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in late 1975.[76]

Ford's transition chairman and first Chief of Staff was former congressman and ambassador Donald Rumsfeld. In 1975, Rumsfeld was named by Ford as the youngest-ever Secretary of Defense. Ford chose a young Wyoming politician, Richard Cheney, to replace Rumsfeld as his new Chief of Staff and later campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.[77] Ford's dramatic reorganization of his Cabinet in the fall of 1975 has been referred to by political commentators as the "Halloween Massacre".

Midterm elections[edit]

Ford in the Oval Office, 1974

Main articles: United States House elections, 1974 and United States Senate elections, 1974

The 1974 Congressional midterm elections took place fewer than three months after Ford assumed office and in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The Democratic Party turned voter dissatisfaction into large gains in the House elections, taking 49 seats from the Republican Party, and increasing their majority to 291 of the 435 seats. This was one more than the number needed (290) for a two-thirds majority, necessary to override a Presidential veto (or to propose a constitutional amendment). Perhaps due in part to this fact, the 94th Congress overrode the highest percentage of vetoes since Andrew Johnson was President of the United States (1865–1869).[78] Even Ford's old, reliably Republican seat was taken by Democrat Richard Vander Veen, defeating Republican Robert VanderLaan. In the Senate elections, the Democratic majority became 61 in the 100-seat body.[79]

Domestic policy[edit]

Twenty people meet in a conference room around an oval table. One man, at the center of the table on the right-hand side, is addressing the others. All are wearing suits or similar attire.

President Ford meets with his Cabinet in 1975

The economy was a great concern during the Ford administration. One of the first acts the new president took to deal with the economy was to create the Economic Policy Board by Executive Order on September 30, 1974.[80] In response to rising inflation, Ford went before the American public in October 1974 and asked them to "Whip Inflation Now". As part of this program, he urged people to wear "WIN" buttons.[81] At the time, inflation was believed to be the primary threat to the economy, more so than growing unemployment. They felt as though controlling inflation would work to fix unemployment.[80] To rein in inflation, it was necessary to control the public's spending. To try to mesh service and sacrifice, "WIN" called for Americans to reduce their spending and consumption.[82] On October 4, 1974, Ford gave a speech in front of a joint session of Congress and as a part of this speech kicked off the "WIN" campaign. Over the next nine days 101,240 Americans mailed in "WIN" pledges.[80] In hindsight, this was viewed as simply a public relations gimmick without offering any means of solving the underlying problems.[83] The main point of that speech was to introduce to Congress a one-year, five-percent income tax increase on corporations and wealthy individuals. This plan would also take $4.4 billion out of the budget, bringing federal spending below $300 billion.[84] At the time, inflation was over twelve percent.[85]

Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. In the early 1970s, an influenza strain H1N1 shifted from a form of flu that affected primarily pigs and crossed over to humans. On February 5, 1976, an army recruit at Fort Dix mysteriously died and four fellow soldiers were hospitalized; health officials announced that "swine flu" was the cause. Soon after, public health officials in the Ford administration urged that every person in the United States be vaccinated.[86] Although the vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, some 25% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled in December of that year. The vaccine was blamed for twenty-five deaths; more people died from the shots than from the swine flu.[87]

A man sits at his desk, smoking a pipe, while two other men speak to him from the other side of the desk.

Cheney, Rumsfeld and President Ford in the Oval Office, 1975

Ford was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, issuing Presidential Proclamation no. 4383 in 1975:

In this Land of the Free, it is right, and by nature it ought to be, that all men and all women are equal before the law.

Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, to remind all Americans that it is fitting and just to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment adopted by the Congress of the United States of America, in order to secure legal equality for all women and men, do hereby designate and proclaim August 26, 1975, as Women's Equality Day.[88]

As president, Ford's position on abortion was that he supported "a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice".[89] This had also been his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, which he opposed.[90] Ford came under criticism for a 60 Minutes interview his wife Betty gave in 1975, in which she stated that Roe v. Wade was a "great, great decision".[91] During his later life, Ford would identify as pro-choice.[92]

Budget[edit]

The federal budget ran a deficit every year Ford was President.[93] Despite his reservations about how the program ultimately would be funded in an era of tight public budgeting, Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which established special education throughout the United States. Ford expressed "strong support for full educational opportunities for our handicapped children" according to the official White House press release for the bill signing.[94]

The economic focus began to change as the country sank into the worst recession since the Great Depression four decades earlier.[95] The focus of the Ford administration turned to stopping the rise in unemployment, which reached nine percent in May 1975.[96] In January 1975, Ford proposed a 1-year tax reduction of $16 billion to stimulate economic growth, along with spending cuts to avoid inflation.[84] Ford was criticized greatly for quickly switching from advocating a tax increase to a tax reduction. In Congress, the proposed amount of the tax reduction increased to $22.8 billion in tax cuts and lacked spending cuts.[80] In March 1975, Congress passed, and Ford signed into law, these income tax rebates as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975. This resulted in a federal deficit of around $53 billion for the 1975 fiscal year and $73.7 billion for 1976.[97]

When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, Mayor Abraham Beame was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted the New York Daily News' famous headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead", referring to a speech in which "Ford declared flatly ... that he would veto any bill calling for 'a federal bail-out of New York City'".[98][99] The following month, November 1975, Ford changed his stance and asked Congress to approve federal loans to New York City.[100]

Foreign policy[edit]

Two men in suits are seated, each signing a document in front of them. Six men, one in a military uniform, stand behind them.

Ford meets with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev during the Vladivostok Summit, November 1974, to sign a joint communiqué on the SALT treaty

Ford makes remarks at a Reciprocal Dinner in Beijing on December 4, 1975.

Ford continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War. Still in place from the Nixon Administration was the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT).[101] The thawing relationship brought about by Nixon's visit to China was reinforced by Ford's December 1975 visit to the communist country.[102] In 1975, the Administration entered into the Helsinki Accords[103] with the Soviet Union, creating the framework of the Helsinki Watch, an independent non-governmental organization created to monitor compliance that later evolved into Human Rights Watch.[104]

Ford attended the inaugural meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations (initially the G5) in 1975 and secured membership for Canada. Ford supported international solutions to issues. "We live in an interdependent world and, therefore, must work together to resolve common economic problems," he said in a 1974 speech.[105]

According to internal White House and Commission documents posted in February 2016 by the National Security Archive at The George Washington University,[106] the Gerald Ford White House significantly altered the final report of the supposedly independent 1975 Rockefeller Commission investigating CIA domestic activities, over the objections of senior Commission staff. The changes included removal of an entire 86-page section on CIA assassination plots and numerous edits to the report by then-deputy White House Chief of Staff Richard Cheney.[107]

Middle East[edit]

A map of the world. The United States is indicated in Red, while countries visit by President Ford during his presidency are indicated in Orange. Other countries are indicated in grey.

Countries visited by Ford during his presidency

In the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, two ongoing international disputes developed into crises. The Cyprus dispute turned into a crisis with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, causing extreme strain within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. In mid-August, the government withdrew Greece from the NATO military structure; in mid-September 1974, the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to halt military aid to Turkey. Ford, concerned with both the effect of this on Turkish-American relations and the deterioration of security on NATO's eastern front, vetoed the bill. A second bill was passed by the house, and vetoed, although a compromise was accepted to continue aid until the end of the year.[2] As Ford expected, Turkish relations were considerably disrupted until 1978.

Ford with Anwar Sadat in Salzburg, 1975

In the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict, although the initial cease fire had been implemented to end active conflict in the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger's continuing shuttle diplomacy was showing little progress. Ford considered it "stalling" and wrote, "Their [Israeli] tactics frustrated the Egyptians and made me mad as hell."[108] During Kissinger's shuttle to Israel in early March 1975, a last minute reversal to consider further withdrawal, prompted a cable from Ford to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which included:

I wish to express my profound disappointment over Israel's attitude in the course of the negotiations ... Failure of the negotiation will have a far reaching impact on the region and on our relations. I have given instructions for a reassessment of United States policy in the region, including our relations with Israel, with the aim of ensuring that overall American interests ... are protected. You will be notified of our decision.[109]

On March 24, Ford received congressional leaders of both parties and informed them of the reassessment of the administration policies in the Middle East. "Reassessment", in practical terms, meant to cancel or suspend further aid to Israel. For six months between March and September 1975, the United States refused to conclude any new arms agreements with Israel. Rabin notes it was "an innocent-sounding term that heralded one of the worst periods in American-Israeli relations".[110] As could be expected, the announced reassessments upset the American Jewish community and Israel's well-wishers in Congress. On May 21, Ford "experienced a real shock", seventy-six senators wrote him a letter urging him to be "responsive" to Israel's request for $2.59 billion in military and economic aid. Ford felt truly annoyed and thought the chance for peace was jeopardized. It was, since the September 1974 ban on arms to Turkey, the second major congressional intrusion upon the President's [foreign policy] prerogatives.[111] The following summer months were described by Ford as an American-Israeli "war of nerves" or "test of wills",[112] and after much bargaining, the Sinai Interim Agreement (Sinai II), was formally signed on September 1 and aid resumed.

Vietnam[edit]

Ford and his daughter Susan watch as Henry Kissinger shakes hands with Mao Zedong, December 2, 1975

One of Ford's greatest challenges was dealing with the continued Vietnam War. American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the Paris Peace Accords, signed on January 27, 1973. The accords declared a cease fire across both North and South Vietnam, and required the release of American prisoners of war. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty-day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces.[113]

The accords had been negotiated by United States National Security Advisor Kissinger and North Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc Tho. South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu was not involved in the final negotiations, and publicly criticized the proposed agreement. However, anti-war pressures within the United States forced Nixon and Kissinger to pressure Thieu to sign the agreement and enable the withdrawal of American forces. In multiple letters to the South Vietnamese president, Nixon had promised that the United States would defend his government, should the North Vietnamese violate the accords.[114]

In December 1974, months after Ford took office, North Vietnamese forces invaded the province of Phuoc Long. General Trần Văn Trà sought to gauge any South Vietnamese or American response to the invasion, as well as to solve logistical issues before proceeding with the invasion.[115]

As North Vietnamese forces advanced, Ford requested aid for South Vietnam in a $522 million aid package. The funds had been promised by the Nixon administration, but Congress voted against the proposal by a wide margin.[101] Senator Jacob Javits offered "...large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid".[101] President Thieu resigned on April 21, 1975, publicly blaming the lack of support from the United States for the fall of his country.[116] Two days later, on April 23, Ford gave a speech at Tulane University. In that speech, he announced that the Vietnam War was over "...as far as America is concerned".[114] The announcement was met with thunderous applause.[114]

Twelve refugees of varying ages, carrying bundles of possessions, arrive on the deck of a United States naval vessel. Three US airmen, as well as a helicopter, are visible in the background.

South Vietnamese refugees arrive on a U.S. Navy vessel during Operation Frequent Wind

1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 Vietnamese and third country nationals were evacuated from the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind. Military and Air America helicopters took evacuees to U.S. Navy ships off-shore during an approximately 24-hour period on April 29 to 30, 1975, immediately preceding the fall of Saigon. During the operation, so many South Vietnamese helicopters landed on the vessels taking the evacuees that some were pushed overboard to make room for more people. Other helicopters, having nowhere to land, were deliberately crash landed into the sea after dropping off their passengers, close to the ships, their pilots bailing out at the last moment to be picked up by rescue boats.[117]

Many of the Vietnamese evacuees were allowed to enter the United States under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. The 1975 Act appropriated $455 million toward the costs of assisting the settlement of Indochinese refugees.[118] In all, 130,000 Vietnamese refugees came to the United States in 1975. Thousands more escaped in the years that followed.[119]

Mayaguez and Panmunjom[edit]

North Vietnam's victory over the South led to a considerable shift in the political winds in Asia, and Ford administration officials worried about a consequent loss of U.S. influence there. The administration proved it was willing to respond forcefully to challenges to its interests in the region on two occasions, once when Khmer Rouge forces seized an American ship in international waters and again when American military officers were killed in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.[120]

The first crisis was the Mayaguez Incident. In May 1975, shortly after the fall of Saigon and the Khmer Rouge conquest of Cambodia, Cambodians seized the American merchant ship Mayaguez in international waters.[121] Ford dispatched Marines to rescue the crew, but the Marines landed on the wrong island and met unexpectedly stiff resistance just as, unknown to the U.S., the Mayaguez sailors were being released. In the operation, two military transport helicopters carrying the Marines for the assault operation were shot down, and 41 U.S. servicemen were killed and 50 wounded while approximately 60 Khmer Rouge soldiers were killed.[122] Despite the American losses, the operation was seen as a success in the United States and Ford enjoyed an 11-point boost in his approval ratings in the aftermath.[123] The Americans killed during the operation became the last to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C.

Some historians have argued that the Ford administration felt the need to respond forcefully to the incident because it was construed as a Soviet plot.[124] But recent work by Andrew Gawthorpe, based on an analysis of the administration's internal discussions, shows that Ford's national security team understood that the seizure of the vessel was a local, and perhaps even accidental, provocation by an immature Khmer government. Nevertheless, they felt the need to respond forcefully to discourage further provocations by other Communist countries in Asia.[125]

The second crisis, known as the axe murder incident, occurred at Panmunjom, a village which stands in the DMZ between the two Koreas. At the time, this was the only part of the DMZ where forces from the North and the South came into contact with each other. Encouraged by U.S. difficulties in Vietnam, North Korea had been waging a campaign of diplomatic pressure and minor military harassment to try and convince the U.S. to withdraw from South Korea.[126] Then, in August 1976, North Korean forces killed two U.S. officers and injured South Korean guards who were engaged in trimming a tree in Panmunjom's Joint Security Area. The attack coincided with a meeting of the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at which Kim Jong-il, the son of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, presented the incident as an example of American aggression, helping secure the passage of a motion calling for a U.S. withdrawal from the South.[127]

At administration meetings, Kissinger voiced the concern that the North would see the U.S. as "the paper tigers of Saigon" if they did not respond, and Ford agreed with that assessment. After mulling various options the Ford administration decided that it was necessary to respond with a major show of force. A large number of ground forces went to cut down the tree, while at the same time the air force was deployed, which included B-52 bomber flights over Panmunjom. The North Korean government backed down and allowed the tree-cutting to go ahead, and later issued an unprecedented official apology.[128]

Indonesian invasion of East Timor[edit]

East Timor's decolonization due to political instability in Portugal saw Indonesia posture to annex the new state in 1975. Just hours before the Indonesian invasion of East Timor (now Timor Leste) on December 7, 1975, Ford and Kissinger had visited Indonesian President Suharto in Jakarta and guaranteed American compliance with the Indonesian operation. Suharto had been a key supporter of American influence in Indonesia and Southeast Asia and Ford did not desire to place pressure on the American-Indonesian relationship.[129]

Under Ford, a policy of arms sales to the Suharto regime began in 1975, before the invasion. "Roughly 90%" of the Indonesian army's weapons at the time of East Timor's invasion were provided by the U.S. according to George H. Aldrich, a former State Department Deputy Legal Advisor's hearing at the 1977 House International Relations Committee hearing. Post-invasion, Ford's military aid averaged about $30 million annually throughout East Timor's occupation, and arms sales increased exponentially under President Carter. This policy continued until 1999.[130]

Assassination attempts[edit]

A chaotic scene of motorcade vehicles surrounded by crowd of people including police and press

Reaction immediately after the second assassination attempt

Main articles: Gerald Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento and Sara Jane Moore

Ford faced two assassination attempts during his presidency, occurring within three weeks of each other and in the same state; while in Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt .45-caliber handgun at Ford.[131] As Fromme pulled the trigger, Larry Buendorf,[132] a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun and Fromme was taken into custody. She was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison; she was paroled on August 14, 2009.[133]

In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later; as he left the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, pointed her .38-caliber revolver at him.[134] Moore fired a single round but missed because the sights were off. Just before she fired a second round, retired Marine Oliver Sipple grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, having served 32 years.[135]

Judicial appointments[edit]

Further information: Gerald Ford judicial appointment controversies

Supreme Court[edit]

Main article: Gerald Ford Supreme Court candidates

John Paul Stevens was Ford's only Supreme Court appointment.

In 1975, Ford appointed John Paul Stevens as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to replace retiring Justice William O. Douglas. Stevens had been a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, appointed by President Nixon.[136] During his tenure as House Republican leader, Ford had led efforts to have Douglas impeached.[137] After being confirmed, Stevens eventually disappointed some conservatives by siding with the Court's liberal wing regarding the outcome of many key issues.[138] Nevertheless, President Ford paid tribute to Stevens. "He has served his nation well," Ford said of Stevens, "with dignity, intellect and without partisan political concerns."[139]

Other judicial appointments[edit]

Main article: List of federal judges appointed by Gerald Ford

In addition to the Stevens appointment, Ford appointed 11 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 50 judges to the United States district courts.[140]

1976 presidential election[edit]

Main article: United States presidential election, 1976

Governor Ronald Reagan congratulates President Ford after the president successfully wins the 1976 Republican nomination, while Bob Dole, Nancy Reagan, and Nelson Rockefeller look on.

Ford reluctantly agreed to run for office in 1976, but first he had to counter a challenge for the Republican party nomination. Former Governor of California Ronald Reagan and the party's conservative wing faulted Ford for failing to do more in South Vietnam, for signing the Helsinki Accords and for negotiating to cede the Panama Canal (negotiations for the canal continued under President Carter, who eventually signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaties). Reagan launched his campaign in autumn of 1975 and won numerous primaries, including North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, and California, before withdrawing from the race at the Republican Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The conservative insurgency had already convinced Ford to drop the more liberal Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in favor of U.S. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas.[141]

In addition to the pardon dispute and lingering anti-Republican sentiment, Ford had to counter a plethora of negative media imagery. Chevy Chase often did pratfalls on Saturday Night Live, imitating Ford, who had been seen stumbling on two occasions during his term. As Chase commented, "He even mentioned in his own autobiography it had an effect over a period of time that affected the election to some degree."[142]

President Ford's 1976 election campaign had the advantage that he was an incumbent president during several anniversary events held during the period leading up to the United States Bicentennial. The Washington, D.C. fireworks display on the Fourth of July was presided over by the President and televised nationally.[143] On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, which was televised on the Public Broadcasting Service network. The 200th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts gave Ford the opportunity to deliver a speech to 110,000 in Concord acknowledging the need for a strong national defense tempered with a plea for "reconciliation, not recrimination" and "reconstruction, not rancor" between the United States and those who would pose "threats to peace".[144] Speaking in New Hampshire on the previous day, Ford condemned the growing trend toward big government bureaucracy and argued for a return to "basic American virtues".[145]

Two men stand at podiums on a stage. The man on the right is speaking while gesturing to the man on the left. Two other men are seated, facing the podiums.

Ford (at right) and Jimmy Carter in a debate on September 23, 1976.

Democratic nominee and former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter campaigned as an outsider and reformer, gaining support from voters dismayed by the Watergate scandal and Nixon pardon. After the Democratic National Convention, he held a huge 33-point lead over Ford in the polls. However, as the campaign continued, the race tightened, and, by election day, the polls showed the race as too close to call. There were three main events in the fall campaign. Most importantly, Carter repeated a promise of a "blanket pardon" for Christian and other religious refugees, and also all Vietnam War draft dodgers (Ford had only issued a conditional amnesty) in response to a question on the subject posed by a reporter during the presidential debates, an act which froze Ford's poll numbers in Ohio, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Mississippi. (Ford had needed to shift just 11,000 votes in Ohio plus one of the other three in order to win.) It was the first act signed by Carter, on January 20, 1977. Earlier, Playboy magazine had published a controversial interview with Carter; in the interview Carter admitted to having "lusted in my heart" for women other than his wife, which cut into his support among women and evangelical Christians. Also, on September 24, Ford performed well in what was the first televised presidential debate since 1960. Polls taken after the debate showed that most viewers felt that Ford was the winner. Carter was also hurt by Ford's charges that he lacked the necessary experience to be an effective national leader, and that Carter was vague on many issues.

Ford campaigns at the Nassau County Veterans Coliseum in Hempstead, New York on October 31, 1976 during the final days of his failed election campaign.

Televised presidential debates were reintroduced for the first time since the 1960 election. As such, Ford became the first incumbent president to participate in one. Carter later attributed his victory in the election to the debates, saying they "gave the viewers reason to think that Jimmy Carter had something to offer". The turning point came in the second debate when Ford blundered by stating, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration." Ford also said that he did not "believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union".[146] In an interview years later, Ford said he had intended to imply that the Soviets would never crush the spirits of eastern Europeans seeking independence. However, the phrasing was so awkward that questioner Max Frankel was visibly incredulous at the response.[147] As a result of this blunder, and Carter's promise of a full presidential pardon for political refugees from the Vietnam era during the presidential debates, Ford's surge stalled and Carter was able to maintain a slight lead in the polls.

In the end, Carter won the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes compared with 48.0% and 240 electoral votes for Ford. The election was close enough that had fewer than 25,000 votes shifted in Ohio and Wisconsin – both of which neighbored his home state – Ford would have won the electoral vote with 276 votes to 261 for Carter.[148] Though he lost, in the three months between the Republican National Convention and the election Ford managed to close what was once an alleged 33-point Carter lead to a 2-point margin. Despite his defeat, Ford carried 27 states versus 23 carried by Carter.

Had Ford won the election, the provisions of the 22nd Amendment would have disqualified him from running in 1980, because he had served more than two years of Nixon's remaining term.

Post-presidential years, 1977–2006[edit]

Activity[edit]

The Nixon pardon controversy eventually subsided. Ford's successor, Jimmy Carter, opened his 1977 inaugural address by praising the outgoing President, saying, "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."[149]

Ford remained relatively active in the years after his presidency and continued to make appearances at events of historical and ceremonial significance to the nation, such as presidential inaugurals and memorial services. In January 1977, he became the president of Eisenhower Fellowships in Philadelphia then served as its chairman of the board of trustees from 1980 to 1986.[150] Later in the year, he reluctantly agreed to be interviewed by James M. Naughton, a New York Times journalist who was given the assignment to write the former President's advance obituary, an article that would be updated prior to its eventual publication.[151] In 1979, Ford published his autobiography, A Time to Heal (Harper/Reader's Digest, 454 pages). A review in Foreign Affairs described it as, "Serene, unruffled, unpretentious, like the author. This is the shortest and most honest of recent presidential memoirs, but there are no surprises, no deep probings of motives or events. No more here than meets the eye."[152] In addition to his autobiography, in 1987 Ford wrote Humor and the Presidency, a book of humorous political anecdotes.

During the term of office of his successor, Jimmy Carter, Ford received monthly briefs by President Carter's senior staff on international and domestic issues, and was always invited to lunch at the White House whenever he was in Washington, D.C. Their close friendship developed after Carter had left office, with the catalyst being their trip together to the funeral of Anwar el-Sadat in 1981.[153] Until Ford's death, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, visited the Fords' home frequently.[154] Ford and Carter served as honorary co-chairs of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2001 and of the Continuity of Government Commission in 2002.

Like Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton, Ford was an honorary co-chair of the Council for Excellence in Government, a group dedicated to excellence in government performance, which provides leadership training to top federal employees.

Ford considered a run for the Republican nomination in 1980, foregoing numerous opportunities to serve on corporate boards to keep his options open for a rematch with Carter. Ford attacked Carter's conduct of the SALT II negotiations and foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa. Many have argued that Ford also wanted to exorcise his image as an "Accidental President" and to win a term in his own right. Ford also believed the more conservative Ronald Reagan would be unable to defeat Carter and would hand the incumbent a second term. Ford was encouraged by his former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger as well as Jim Rhodes of Ohio and Bill Clements of Texas to make the race. On March 15, 1980, Ford announced that he would forgo a run for the Republican nomination, vowing to support the eventual nominee.

After securing the Republican nomination in 1980, Ronald Reagan considered his former rival Ford as a potential vice-presidential running mate, but negotiations between the Reagan and Ford camps at the Republican National Convention were unsuccessful. Ford conditioned his acceptance on Reagan's agreement to an unprecedented "co-presidency",[155] giving Ford the power to control key executive branch appointments (such as Kissinger as Secretary of State and Alan Greenspan as Treasury Secretary). After rejecting these terms, Reagan offered the vice-presidential nomination instead to George H.W. Bush.[156] Ford did appear in a campaign commercial for the Reagan-Bush ticket, in which he declared that the country would be "better served by a Reagan presidency rather than a continuation of the weak and politically expedient policies of Jimmy Carter".[157]

After his presidency, Ford joined the American Enterprise Institute as a distinguished fellow. He founded the annual AEI World Forum in 1982. Ford was awarded an honorary doctorate at Central Connecticut State University[158] on March 23, 1988.

After leaving the White House, Ford and his wife moved to Denver, Colorado. Ford successfully invested in oil with Marvin Davis, which later provided an income for Ford's children.[159]

In 1987, Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of District of Columbia Circuit Court judge and former Solicitor General Robert Bork after Bork was nominated by President Reagan to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.[160] Bork's nomination was rejected by a vote of 58-42.[161]

By 1988, Ford was a member of several corporate boards including Commercial Credit, Nova Pharmaceutical, The Pullman Company, Tesoro Petroleum, and Tiger International, Inc.[162] Ford also became an honorary director of Citigroup, a position he held till his death.[163]

In 1977, he established the Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, to give undergraduates training in public policy. In April 1981, he opened the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the north campus of his alma mater, the University of Michigan,[164] followed in September by the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.[165][166] In 1999, Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton.[167] In 2001, he was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for his decision to pardon Richard Nixon to stop the agony America was experiencing over Watergate.[168] In retirement Ford also devoted much time to his love of golf, often playing both privately and in public events with comedian Bob Hope, a longtime friend.

A Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to Ford in 1993.[169]

In April 1991, Ford joined former presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter, in supporting the Brady Bill.[170] Three years later, he wrote to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with Carter and Reagan, in support of the assault weapons ban.[171]

Two men in suits are flanked by two women in formal dresses, standing beside a large birthday cake with lit candles and flowers. The cake is decorated with the text "Happy 90th Birthday President Ford".

Ford at his 90th birthday with Laura Bush, President George W. Bush, and Betty Ford in the White House State Dining Room in 2003

In October 2001, Ford broke with conservative members of the Republican party by stating that gay and lesbian couples "ought to be treated equally. Period." He became the highest ranking Republican to embrace full equality for gays and lesbians, stating his belief that there should be a federal amendment outlawing anti-gay job discrimination and expressing his hope that the Republican Party would reach out to gay and lesbian voters.[172] He also was a member of the Republican Unity Coalition, which The New York Times described as "a group of prominent Republicans, including former President Gerald R. Ford, dedicated to making sexual orientation a non-issue in the Republican Party".[173]

On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Ford and the other living former Presidents (Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.

In a pre-recorded embargoed interview with Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in July 2004, Ford stated that he disagreed "very strongly" with the Bush administration's choice of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as justification for its decision to invade Iraq, calling it a "big mistake" unrelated to the national security of the United States and indicating that he would not have gone to war had he been President. The details of the interview were not released until after Ford's death, as he requested.[174][175]

Health problems[edit]

Gerald Ford and Roy W. Hill, Rancho Mirage California

Gerald Ford, Anne T. Hill, and Edgar L. McCoubrey, Rancho Mirage California

As Ford approached his 90th year, he began to experience health problems associated with old age. He suffered two minor strokes at the 2000 Republican National Convention, but made a quick recovery after being admitted to Hahnemann University Hospital.[176][177] In January 2006, he spent 11 days at the Eisenhower Medical Center near his residence at Rancho Mirage, California, for treatment of pneumonia.[178] On April 23, President George W. Bush visited Ford at his home in Rancho Mirage for a little over an hour. This was Ford's last public appearance and produced the last known public photos, video footage and voice recording. While vacationing in Vail, Colorado, he was hospitalized for two days in July 2006 for shortness of breath.[179] On August 15 Ford was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for testing and evaluation. On August 21, it was reported that he had been fitted with a pacemaker. On August 25, he underwent an angioplasty procedure at the Mayo Clinic, according to a statement from an assistant to Ford. On August 28, Ford was released from the hospital and returned with his wife Betty to their California home. On October 13, he was scheduled to attend the dedication of a building of his namesake, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, but due to poor health and on the advice of his doctors he did not attend. The previous day, Ford entered the Eisenhower Medical Center for undisclosed tests; he was released on October 16.[180] By November 2006, he was confined to a bed in his study.[181] In reality, President Ford had end-stage coronary artery disease and severe aortic stenosis and insufficiency, caused by calcific alteration of one of his heart valves.[182]

Death and legacy[edit]

Ford's casket lies in state at the United States Capitol as his widow, Betty, kneels in prayer

Main article: Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford

Ford died on December 26, 2006, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis. His age at the time of his death was 93 years and 165 days, making Ford the longest-lived U.S. President.[183][184] On December 30, 2006, Ford became the 11th U.S. President to lie in state. The burial was preceded by a state funeral and memorial services held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on January 2, 2007. After the service, Ford was interred at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[185]

Ford died on the 34th anniversary of President Harry Truman's death. He was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission.[186] His wife, Betty Ford, died on July 8, 2011.[187] Like her husband, she also died at age 93.

The State of Michigan commissioned and submitted a statue of Ford to the National Statuary Hall Collection, replacing Zachariah Chandler. It was unveiled on May 3, 2011 in the Capitol Rotunda. On the proper right side is inscribed a quotation from a tribute by Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Speaker of the House at the end of Ford's presidency: "God has been good to America, especially during difficult times. At the time of the Civil War, he gave us Abraham Lincoln. And at the time of Watergate, he gave us Gerald Ford—the right man at the right time who was able to put our nation back together again." On the proper left side are words from Ford's swearing-in address: "Our constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule."

Longevity[edit]

Ford was the longest-lived U.S. President, his lifespan being 45 days longer than Ronald Reagan's. He was the third-longest-lived Vice President, falling short only of John Nance Garner, 98, and Levi P. Morton, 96. Ford also had the third-longest post-presidency (29 years and 11 months) after Jimmy Carter (35 years, 4 months and counting) and Herbert Hoover (31 years and 7 months)

On November 12, 2006, upon surpassing Ronald Reagan's lifespan, Ford released his last public statement:

The length of one's days matters less than the love of one's family and friends. I thank God for the gift of every sunrise and, even more, for all the years He has blessed me with Betty and the children; with our extended family and the friends of a lifetime. That includes countless Americans who, in recent months, have remembered me in their prayers. Your kindness touches me deeply. May God bless you all and may God bless America.[188]

Public image[edit]

A man in a suit is standing next to an older man and woman in casual attire. The trio stands in front of a yellow house.

President George W. Bush with Ford and his wife Betty on April 23, 2006; this is the last known public photo of Gerald Ford.

Ford was the only person to hold the presidential office without being elected as either president or vice-president. The choice of Ford to fulfill Agnew's vacated role as vice president was based on his reputation for openness and honesty.[189] "In all the years I sat in the House, I never knew Mr. Ford to make a dishonest statement nor a statement part-true and part-false. He never attempted to shade a statement, and I never heard him utter an unkind word," said Martha Griffiths.[190]

The trust the American people had in him was severely and rapidly tarnished by his pardon of Nixon.[190] Nonetheless, many grant in hindsight that he had respectably discharged with considerable dignity a great responsibility that he had not sought.[190] His subsequent loss to Carter in 1976 has come to be seen as an honorable sacrifice he made for the nation.[189]

In spite of his athletic record and remarkable career accomplishments, Ford acquired a reputation as a clumsy, likable and simple-minded Everyman. An incident in 1975 when he tripped while exiting the presidential jet in Austria, was famously and repeatedly parodied by Chevy Chase, cementing Ford's image as a klutz.[190][191][192] Pieces of Ford's common Everyman image have also been attributed to Ford's inevitable comparison to Nixon, as well as his perceived Midwestern stodginess and self-deprecation.[189] Ridicule often extended to supposed intellectual limitations, with Lyndon B. Johnson once joking, "He's a nice fellow but he spent too much time playing football without a helmet."[190]

Honors[edit]

Ford honored on U.S Postage, issue of 2007

Ford was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1999.[169] And the following facilities were named after him:

Gerald R. Ford Freeway (Nebraska)

Gerald R. Ford Freeway (Michigan)

Gerald Ford Memorial Highway, I-70 in Eagle County, Colorado

Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado, in Ford Park, also named after him

Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy, Albion College

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Gerald R. Ford Elementary School, Indian Wells, California

Gerald Ford Boys and Girls Club, La Quinta, California

Gerald R. Ford Middle School, Grand Rapids, Michigan[193]

Gerald Ford Drive, Coachella Valley, California (Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert)

President Ford Field Service Council, Boy Scouts of America The council where he was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Serves 25 counties in Western and Northern Michigan with its headquarters located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[194]

The president of the United States (POTUS)[A] is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

The power of the presidency has grown substantially[11] since the office's establishment in 1789.[6] While presidential power has ebbed and flowed over time, the presidency has played an increasingly strong role in American political life since the beginning of the 20th century, with a notable expansion during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In contemporary times, the president is also looked upon as one of the world's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower.[12][13][14][15] As the leader of the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP, the president possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power.

Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government and vests the executive power in the president. The power includes the execution and enforcement of federal law and the responsibility to appoint federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers. Based on constitutional provisions empowering the president to appoint and receive ambassadors and conclude treaties with foreign powers, and on subsequent laws enacted by Congress, the modern presidency has primary responsibility for conducting U.S. foreign policy. The role includes responsibility for directing the world's most expensive military, which has the second largest nuclear arsenal.

The president also plays a leading role in federal legislation and domestic policymaking. As part of the system of checks and balances, Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution gives the president the power to sign or veto federal legislation. Since modern presidents are also typically viewed as the leaders of their political parties, major policymaking is significantly shaped by the outcome of presidential elections, with presidents taking an active role in promoting their policy priorities to members of Congress who are often electorally dependent on the president.[16] In recent decades, presidents have also made increasing use of executive orders, agency regulations, and judicial appointments to shape domestic policy.

The president is elected indirectly through the Electoral College to a four-year term, along with the vice president. Under the Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, no person who has been elected to two presidential terms may be elected to a third. In addition, nine vice presidents have become president by virtue of a president's intra-term death or resignation.[B] In all, 45 individuals have served 46 presidencies spanning 58 full four-year terms.[C]

Joe Biden is the 46th and current president of the United States, having assumed office on January 20, 2021.

Contents

1 History and development

1.1 Origins

1.2 Development

1.3 Imperial Presidency

1.4 Critics of presidency's evolution

2 Legislative powers

2.1 Signing and vetoing bills

2.2 Setting the agenda

2.3 Promulgating regulations

2.4 Convening and adjourning Congress

3 Executive powers

3.1 Administrative powers

3.2 Foreign affairs

3.3 Commander-in-chief

3.4 Juridical powers and privileges

4 Leadership roles

4.1 Head of state

4.2 Head of party

4.3 Global leader

5 Selection process

5.1 Eligibility

5.2 Campaigns and nomination

5.3 Election

5.4 Inauguration

6 Incumbency

6.1 Term limit

6.2 Vacancies and succession

6.3 Declarations of inability

6.4 Removal

6.5 Compensation

6.6 Residence

6.7 Travel

6.8 Protection

7 Post-presidency

7.1 Activities

7.2 Pension and other benefits

7.3 Presidential libraries

8 Political affiliation

9 Timeline of presidents

10 See also

11 Notes

12 References

13 Further reading

13.1 Historiography and memory

13.2 Primary sources

14 External links

History and development

Origins

In July 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, the Thirteen Colonies, acting jointly through the Second Continental Congress, declared themselves to be 13 independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule.[18] Recognizing the necessity of closely coordinating their efforts against the British,[19] the Continental Congress simultaneously began the process of drafting a constitution that would bind the states together. There were long debates on a number of issues, including representation and voting, and the exact powers to be given the central government.[20] Congress finished work on the Articles of Confederation to establish a perpetual union between the states in November 1777 and sent it to the states for ratification.[18]

Under the Articles, which took effect on March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation was a central political authority without any legislative power. It could make its own resolutions, determinations, and regulations, but not any laws, and could not impose any taxes or enforce local commercial regulations upon its citizens.[19] This institutional design reflected how Americans believed the deposed British system of Crown and Parliament ought to have functioned with respect to the royal dominion: a superintending body for matters that concerned the entire empire.[19] The states were out from under any monarchy and assigned some formerly royal prerogatives (e.g., making war, receiving ambassadors, etc.) to Congress; the remaining prerogatives were lodged within their own respective state governments. The members of Congress elected a president of the United States in Congress Assembled to preside over its deliberation as a neutral discussion moderator. Unrelated to and quite dissimilar from the later office of president of the United States, it was a largely ceremonial position without much influence.[21]

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies. With peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs.[18] By 1786, Americans found their continental borders besieged and weak and their respective economies in crises as neighboring states agitated trade rivalries with one another. They witnessed their hard currency pouring into foreign markets to pay for imports, their Mediterranean commerce preyed upon by North African pirates, and their foreign-financed Revolutionary War debts unpaid and accruing interest.[18] Civil and political unrest loomed.

Following the successful resolution of commercial and fishing disputes between Virginia and Maryland at the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785, Virginia called for a trade conference between all the states, set for September 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland, with an aim toward resolving further-reaching interstate commercial antagonisms. When the convention failed for lack of attendance due to suspicions among most of the other states, Alexander Hamilton led the Annapolis delegates in a call for a convention to offer revisions to the Articles, to be held the next spring in Philadelphia. Prospects for the next convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washington's attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia.[18][22]

When the Constitutional Convention convened in May 1787, the 12 state delegations in attendance (Rhode Island did not send delegates) brought with them an accumulated experience over a diverse set of institutional arrangements between legislative and executive branches from within their respective state governments. Most states maintained a weak executive without veto or appointment powers, elected annually by the legislature to a single term only, sharing power with an executive council, and countered by a strong legislature.[18] New York offered the greatest exception, having a strong, unitary governor with veto and appointment power elected to a three-year term, and eligible for reelection to an indefinite number of terms thereafter.[18] It was through the closed-door negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U.S. Constitution emerged.

Development

George Washington, the first president of the United States

As the nation's first president, George Washington established many norms that would come to define the office.[23][24] His decision to retire after two terms helped address fears that the nation would devolve into monarchy,[25] and established a precedent that would not be broken until 1940 and would eventually be made permanent by the Twenty-Second Amendment. By the end of his presidency, political parties had developed,[26] with John Adams defeating Thomas Jefferson in 1796, the first truly contested presidential election.[27] After Jefferson defeated Adams in 1800, he and his fellow Virginians James Madison and James Monroe would each serve two terms, eventually dominating the nation's politics during the Era of Good Feelings until Adams' son John Quincy Adams won election in 1824 after the Democratic-Republican Party split.

The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 was a significant milestone, as Jackson was not part of the Virginia and Massachusetts elite that had held the presidency for its first 40 years.[28] Jacksonian democracy sought to strengthen the presidency at the expense of Congress, while broadening public participation as the nation rapidly expanded westward. However, his successor, Martin Van Buren, became unpopular after the Panic of 1837,[29] and the death of William Henry Harrison and subsequent poor relations between John Tyler and Congress led to further weakening of the office.[30] Including Van Buren, in the 24 years between 1837 and 1861, six presidential terms would be filled by eight different men, with none winning re-election.[31] The Senate played an important role during this period, with the Great Triumvirate of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun playing key roles in shaping national policy in the 1830s and 1840s until debates over slavery began pulling the nation apart in the 1850s.[32][33]

Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War has led historians to regard him as one of the nation's greatest presidents.[D] The circumstances of the war and Republican domination of Congress made the office very powerful,[34][35] and Lincoln's re-election in 1864 was the first time a president had been re-elected since Jackson in 1832. After Lincoln's assassination, his successor Andrew Johnson lost all political support[36] and was nearly removed from office,[37] with Congress remaining powerful during the two-term presidency of Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant. After the end of Reconstruction, Grover Cleveland would eventually become the first Democratic president elected since before the war, running in three consecutive elections (1884, 1888, 1892) and winning twice. In 1900, William McKinley became the first incumbent to win re-election since Grant in 1872.

After McKinley's assassination, Theodore Roosevelt became a dominant figure in American politics.[38] Historians believe Roosevelt permanently changed the political system by strengthening the presidency,[39] with some key accomplishments including breaking up trusts, conservationism, labor reforms, making personal character as important as the issues, and hand-picking his successor, William Howard Taft. The following decade, Woodrow Wilson led the nation to victory during World War I, although Wilson's proposal for the League of Nations was rejected by the Senate.[40] Warren Harding, while popular in office, would see his legacy tarnished by scandals, especially Teapot Dome,[41] and Herbert Hoover quickly became very unpopular after failing to alleviate the Great Depression.[42]

Imperial Presidency

Main article: Imperial Presidency

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a radio address, 1933

The ascendancy of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the election of 1932 led further toward what historians now describe as the Imperial Presidency.[43] Backed by enormous Democratic majorities in Congress and public support for major change, Roosevelt's New Deal dramatically increased the size and scope of the federal government, including more executive agencies.[44]: 211–12 The traditionally small presidential staff was greatly expanded, with the Executive Office of the President being created in 1939, none of whom require Senate confirmation.[44]: 229–231 Roosevelt's unprecedented re-election to a third and fourth term, the victory of the United States in World War II, and the nation's growing economy all helped established the office as a position of global leadership.[44]: 269 His successors, Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, were each re-elected as the Cold War led the presidency to be viewed as the "leader of the free world,"[45] while John F. Kennedy was a youthful and popular leader who benefitted from the rise of television in the 1960s.[46][47]

After Lyndon B. Johnson lost popular support due to the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon's presidency collapsed in the Watergate scandal, Congress enacted a series of reforms intended to reassert itself.[48][49] These included the War Powers Resolution, enacted over Nixon's veto in 1973,[50][51] and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 that sought to strengthen congressional fiscal powers.[52] By 1976, Gerald Ford conceded that "the historic pendulum" had swung toward Congress, raising the possibility of a "disruptive" erosion of his ability to govern.[53] Both Ford and his successor, Jimmy Carter, failed to win re-election. Ronald Reagan, who had been an actor before beginning his political career, used his talent as a communicator to help re-shape the American agenda away from New Deal policies toward more conservative ideology.[54][55] His vice president, George H. W. Bush, would become the first vice president since 1836 to be directly elected to the presidency.[56]

With the Cold War ending and the United States becoming the world's undisputed leading power,[57] Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama each served two terms as president. Meanwhile, Congress and the nation gradually became more politically polarized, especially following the 1994 mid-term elections that saw Republicans control the House for the first time in 40 years, and the rise of routine filibusters in the Senate in recent decades.[58] Recent presidents have thus increasingly focused on executive orders, agency regulations, and judicial appointments to implement major policies, at the expense of legislation and congressional power.[59] Presidential elections in the 21st century have reflected this continuing polarization, with no candidate except Obama in 2008 winning by more than five percent of the popular vote and two — George W. Bush and Donald Trump — winning in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote.[E] Both Clinton and Trump were impeached by a House controlled by the opposition party, but the impeachments did not appear to have long-term effects on their political standing.[60][61]

Critics of presidency's evolution

The nation's Founding Fathers expected the Congress—which was the first branch of government described in the Constitution—to be the dominant branch of government; they did not expect a strong executive department.[62] However, presidential power has shifted over time, which has resulted in claims that the modern presidency has become too powerful,[63][64] unchecked, unbalanced,[65] and "monarchist" in nature.[66] In 2008 Professor Dana D. Nelson expressed belief that presidents over the previous thirty years worked towards "undivided presidential control of the executive branch and its agencies".[67] She criticized proponents of the Unitary executive theory for expanding "the many existing uncheckable executive powers—such as executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements—that already allow presidents to enact a good deal of foreign and domestic policy without aid, interference or consent from Congress".[67] Bill Wilson, board member of Americans for Limited Government, opined that the expanded presidency was "the greatest threat ever to individual freedom and democratic rule".[68]

Legislative powers

Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution vests all lawmaking power in Congress's hands, and Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 prevents the president (and all other executive branch officers) from simultaneously being a member of Congress. Nevertheless, the modern presidency exerts significant power over legislation, both due to constitutional provisions and historical developments over time.

Signing and vetoing bills

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King Jr. and others look on

The president's most significant legislative power derives from the Presentment Clause, which gives the president the power to veto any bill passed by Congress. While Congress can override a presidential veto, it requires a two-thirds vote of both houses, which is usually very difficult to achieve except for widely supported bipartisan legislation. The framers of the Constitution feared that Congress would seek to increase its power and enable a "tyranny of the majority," so giving the indirectly elected president a veto was viewed as an important check on the legislative power. While George Washington believed the veto should only be used in cases where a bill was unconstitutional, it is now routinely used in cases where presidents have policy disagreements with a bill. The veto – or threat of a veto – has thus evolved to make the modern presidency a central part of the American legislative process.

Specifically, under the Presentment Clause, once a bill has been presented by Congress, the president has three options:

Sign the legislation within ten days, excluding Sundays—the bill becomes law.

Veto the legislation within the above timeframe and return it to the house of Congress from which it originated, expressing any objections—the bill does not become law, unless both houses of Congress vote to override the veto by a two-thirds vote.

Take no action on the legislation within the above timeframe—the bill becomes law, as if the president had signed it, unless Congress is adjourned at the time, in which case it does not become law (a pocket veto).

In 1996, Congress attempted to enhance the president's veto power with the Line Item Veto Act. The legislation empowered the president to sign any spending bill into law while simultaneously striking certain spending items within the bill, particularly any new spending, any amount of discretionary spending, or any new limited tax benefit. Congress could then repass that particular item. If the president then vetoed the new legislation, Congress could override the veto by its ordinary means, a two-thirds vote in both houses. In Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such a legislative alteration of the veto power to be unconstitutional.

Setting the agenda

President Donald Trump delivers his 2018 State of the Union Address, with Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

For most of American history, candidates for president have sought election on the basis of a promised legislative agenda. Formally, Article II, Section 3, Clause 2 requires the president to recommend such measures to Congress which the president deems "necessary and expedient." This is done through the constitutionally-based State of the Union address, which usually outlines the president's legislative proposals for the coming year, and through other formal and informal communications with Congress.

The president can be involved in crafting legislation by suggesting, requesting, or even insisting that Congress enact laws he believes are needed. Additionally, he can attempt to shape legislation during the legislative process by exerting influence on individual members of Congress.[69] Presidents possess this power because the Constitution is silent about who can write legislation, but the power is limited because only members of Congress can introduce legislation.[70]

The president or other officials of the executive branch may draft legislation and then ask senators or representatives to introduce these drafts into Congress. Additionally, the president may attempt to have Congress alter proposed legislation by threatening to veto that legislation unless requested changes are made.[71]

Promulgating regulations

Many laws enacted by Congress do not address every possible detail, and either explicitly or implicitly delegate powers of implementation to an appropriate federal agency. As the head of the executive branch, presidents control a vast array of agencies that can issue regulations with little oversight from Congress.

In the 20th century, critics charged that too many legislative and budgetary powers that should have belonged to Congress had slid into the hands of presidents. One critic charged that presidents could appoint a "virtual army of 'czars'—each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for the White House".[72] Presidents have been criticized for making signing statements when signing congressional legislation about how they understand a bill or plan to execute it.[73] This practice has been criticized by the American Bar Association as unconstitutional.[74] Conservative commentator George Will wrote of an "increasingly swollen executive branch" and "the eclipse of Congress".[75]

Convening and adjourning Congress

To allow the government to act quickly in case of a major domestic or international crisis arising when Congress is not in session, the president is empowered by Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to call a special session of one or both houses of Congress. Since John Adams first did so in 1797, the president has called the full Congress to convene for a special session on 27 occasions. Harry S. Truman was the most recent to do so in July 1948 (the so-called "Turnip Day Session"). In addition, prior to ratification of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933, which brought forward the date on which Congress convenes from December to January, newly inaugurated presidents would routinely call the Senate to meet to confirm nominations or ratify treaties. In practice, the power has fallen into disuse in the modern era as Congress now formally remains in session year-round, convening pro forma sessions every three days even when ostensibly in recess. Correspondingly, the president is authorized to adjourn Congress if the House and Senate cannot agree on the time of adjournment; no president has ever had to exercise this power.[76][77]

Executive powers

Main article: Powers of the president of the United States

Suffice it to say that the President is made the sole repository of the executive powers of the United States, and the powers entrusted to him as well as the duties imposed upon him are awesome indeed.

Nixon v. General Services Administration, 433 U.S. 425 (1977) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting)

The president is head of the executive branch of the federal government and is constitutionally obligated to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed".[78] The executive branch has over four million employees, including the military.[79]

Administrative powers

Presidents make numerous federal appointments. An incoming president may make up to 6,000 upon taking office and 8,000 more while serving. Ambassadors, members of the Cabinet, and other officers, are all appointed by a president with the "advice and consent" of a majority of the Senate. When the Senate is in recess for at least ten days, the president may make recess appointments.[80] Recess appointments are temporary and expire at the end of the next session of the Senate.

The power of a president to fire executive officials has long been a contentious political issue. Generally, a president may remove executive officials purely at will.[81] However, Congress can curtail and constrain a president's authority to fire commissioners of independent regulatory agencies and certain inferior executive officers by statute.[82]

To manage the growing federal bureaucracy, presidents have gradually surrounded themselves with many layers of staff, who were eventually organized into the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Within the Executive Office, the president's innermost layer of aides (and their assistants) are located in the White House Office.

The president also possesses the power to manage operations of the federal government by issuing various types of directives, such as presidential proclamation and executive orders. When the president is lawfully exercising one of the constitutionally conferred presidential responsibilities, the scope of this power is broad.[83] Even so, these directives are subject to judicial review by U.S. federal courts, which can find them to be unconstitutional. Moreover, Congress can overturn an executive order via legislation (e.g., Congressional Review Act).

Foreign affairs

President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Gorbachev sign the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord in the White House.

Article II, Section 3, Clause 4 requires the president to "receive Ambassadors." This clause, known as the Reception Clause, has been interpreted to imply that the president possesses broad power over matters of foreign policy,[84] and to provide support for the president's exclusive authority to grant recognition to a foreign government.[85] The Constitution also empowers the president to appoint United States ambassadors, and to propose and chiefly negotiate agreements between the United States and other countries. Such agreements, upon receiving the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate (by a two-thirds majority vote), become binding with the force of federal law.

While foreign affairs has always been a significant element of presidential responsibilities, advances in technology since the Constitution's adoption have increased presidential power. Where formerly ambassadors were vested with significant power to independently negotiate on behalf of the United States, presidents now routinely meet directly with leaders of foreign countries.

Commander-in-chief

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, successfully preserved the Union during the American Civil War.

One of the most important of executive powers is the president's role as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, but the president has ultimate responsibility for the direction and disposition of the military. The exact degree of authority that the Constitution grants to the president as commander-in-chief has been the subject of much debate throughout history, with Congress at various times granting the president wide authority and at others attempting to restrict that authority.[86] The framers of the Constitution took care to limit the president's powers regarding the military; Alexander Hamilton explained this in Federalist No. 69:

The President is to be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. ... It would amount to nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces ... while that [the power] of the British king extends to the DECLARING of war and to the RAISING and REGULATING of fleets and armies, all [of] which ... would appertain to the legislature.[87] [Emphasis in the original.]

In the modern era, pursuant to the War Powers Resolution, Congress must authorize any troop deployments longer than 60 days, although that process relies on triggering mechanisms that have never been employed, rendering it ineffectual.[88] Additionally, Congress provides a check to presidential military power through its control over military spending and regulation. Presidents have historically initiated the process for going to war,[89][90] but critics have charged that there have been several conflicts in which presidents did not get official declarations, including Theodore Roosevelt's military move into Panama in 1903,[89] the Korean War,[89] the Vietnam War,[89] and the invasions of Grenada in 1983[91] and Panama in 1989.[92]

The amount of military detail handled personally by the president in wartime has varied greatly.[93] George Washington, the first U.S. president, firmly established military subordination under civilian authority. In 1794, Washington used his constitutional powers to assemble 12,000 militia to quell the Whiskey Rebellion—a conflict in western Pennsylvania involving armed farmers and distillers who refused to pay an excise tax on spirits. According to historian Joseph Ellis, this was the "first and only time a sitting American president led troops in the field", though James Madison briefly took control of artillery units in defense of Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812.[94] Abraham Lincoln was deeply involved in overall strategy and in day-to-day operations during the American Civil War, 1861–1865; historians have given Lincoln high praise for his strategic sense and his ability to select and encourage commanders such as Ulysses S. Grant.[95] The present-day operational command of the Armed Forces is delegated to the Department of Defense and is normally exercised through the secretary of defense. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combatant Commands assist with the operation as outlined in the presidentially approved Unified Command Plan (UCP).[96][97][98]

Juridical powers and privileges

For further information, see List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States.

President Barack Obama with his Supreme Court appointee Justice Sotomayor, 2009

The president has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the United States courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. However, these nominations require Senate confirmation before they may take office. Securing Senate approval can provide a major obstacle for presidents who wish to orient the federal judiciary toward a particular ideological stance. When nominating judges to U.S. district courts, presidents often respect the long-standing tradition of senatorial courtesy. Presidents may also grant pardons and reprieves. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon a month after taking office. Presidents often grant pardons shortly before leaving office, like when Bill Clinton pardoned Patty Hearst on his last day in office; this is often controversial.[99][100][101]

Two doctrines concerning executive power have developed that enable the president to exercise executive power with a degree of autonomy. The first is executive privilege, which allows the president to withhold from disclosure any communications made directly to the president in the performance of executive duties. George Washington first claimed the privilege when Congress requested to see Chief Justice John Jay's notes from an unpopular treaty negotiation with Great Britain. While not enshrined in the Constitution or any other law, Washington's action created the precedent for the privilege. When Nixon tried to use executive privilege as a reason for not turning over subpoenaed evidence to Congress during the Watergate scandal, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), that executive privilege did not apply in cases where a president was attempting to avoid criminal prosecution. When Bill Clinton attempted to use executive privilege regarding the Lewinsky scandal, the Supreme Court ruled in Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997), that the privilege also could not be used in civil suits. These cases established the legal precedent that executive privilege is valid, although the exact extent of the privilege has yet to be clearly defined. Additionally, federal courts have allowed this privilege to radiate outward and protect other executive branch employees, but have weakened that protection for those executive branch communications that do not involve the president.[102]

The state secrets privilege allows the president and the executive branch to withhold information or documents from discovery in legal proceedings if such release would harm national security. Precedent for the privilege arose early in the 19th century when Thomas Jefferson refused to release military documents in the treason trial of Aaron Burr and again in Totten v. United States 92 U.S. 105 (1876), when the Supreme Court dismissed a case brought by a former Union spy.[103] However, the privilege was not formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court until United States v. Reynolds 345 U.S. 1 (1953), where it was held to be a common law evidentiary privilege.[104] Before the September 11 attacks, use of the privilege had been rare, but increasing in frequency.[105] Since 2001, the government has asserted the privilege in more cases and at earlier stages of the litigation, thus in some instances causing dismissal of the suits before reaching the merits of the claims, as in the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.[104][106][107] Critics of the privilege claim its use has become a tool for the government to cover up illegal or embarrassing government actions.[108][109]

The degree to which the president personally has absolute immunity from court cases is contested and has been the subject of several Supreme Court decisions. Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982) dismissed a civil lawsuit against by-then former president Richard Nixon based on his official actions. Clinton v. Jones (1997) decided that a president has no immunity against civil suits for actions taken before becoming president, and ruled that a sexual harassment suit could proceed without delay, even against a sitting president. The 2019 Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election detailed evidence of possible obstruction of justice, but investigators declined to refer Donald Trump for prosecution based on a United States Department of Justice policy against indicting an incumbent president. The report noted that impeachment by Congress was available as a remedy. As of October 2019, a case was pending in the federal courts regarding access to personal tax returns in a criminal case brought against Donald Trump by the New York County District Attorney alleging violations of New York state law.[110]

Leadership roles

Head of state

Four ruffles and flourishes and 'Hail to the Chief' (long version) (0:59)

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As head of state, the president represents the United States government to its own people, and represents the nation to the rest of the world. For example, during a state visit by a foreign head of state, the president typically hosts a State Arrival Ceremony held on the South Lawn, a custom was begun by John F. Kennedy in 1961.[111] This is followed by a state dinner given by the president which is held in the State Dining Room later in the evening.[112]

President Ronald Reagan reviews honor guards during a state visit to China, 1984

President Woodrow Wilson throws out the ceremonial first ball on Opening Day, 1916

As a national leader, the president also fulfills many less formal ceremonial duties. For example, William Howard Taft started the tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators's Opening Day. Every president since Taft, except for Jimmy Carter, threw out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.[113] Every president since Theodore Roosevelt has served as honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America.[114]

Other presidential traditions are associated with American holidays. Rutherford B. Hayes began in 1878 the first White House egg rolling for local children.[115] Beginning in 1947, during the Harry S. Truman administration, every Thanksgiving the president is presented with a live domestic turkey during the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation held at the White House. Since 1989, when the custom of "pardoning" the turkey was formalized by George H. W. Bush, the turkey has been taken to a farm where it will live out the rest of its natural life.[116]

Presidential traditions also involve the president's role as head of government. Many outgoing presidents since James Buchanan traditionally give advice to their successor during the presidential transition.[117] Ronald Reagan and his successors have also left a private message on the desk of the Oval Office on Inauguration Day for the incoming president.[118]

The modern presidency holds the president as one of the nation's premier celebrities. Some argue that images of the presidency have a tendency to be manipulated by administration public relations officials as well as by presidents themselves. One critic described the presidency as "propagandized leadership" which has a "mesmerizing power surrounding the office".[119] Administration public relations managers staged carefully crafted photo-ops of smiling presidents with smiling crowds for television cameras.[120] One critic wrote the image of John F. Kennedy was described as carefully framed "in rich detail" which "drew on the power of myth" regarding the incident of PT 109[121] and wrote that Kennedy understood how to use images to further his presidential ambitions.[122] As a result, some political commentators have opined that American voters have unrealistic expectations of presidents: voters expect a president to "drive the economy, vanquish enemies, lead the free world, comfort tornado victims, heal the national soul and protect borrowers from hidden credit-card fees".[123]

Head of party

The president is typically considered to be the head of their political party. Since the entire House of Representatives and at least one-third of the Senate is elected simultaneously with the president, candidates from a political party inevitably have their electoral success intertwined with the performance of the party's presidential candidate. The coattail effect, or lack thereof, will also often impact a party's candidates at state and local levels of government as well. However, there are often tensions between a president and others in the party, with presidents who lose significant support from their party's caucus in Congress generally viewed to be weaker and less effective.

Global leader

With the rise of the United States as a superpower in the 20th century, and the United States having the world's largest economy into the 21st century, the president is typically viewed as a global leader, and at times the world's most powerful political figure. The position of the United States as the leading member of NATO, and the country's strong relationships with other wealthy or democratic nations like those comprising the European Union, have led to the moniker that the president is the "leader of the free world."

Selection process

Eligibility

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for holding the presidency. To serve as president, one must:

be a natural-born citizen of the United States;

be at least 35 years old;

be a resident in the United States for at least 14 years.[124]

A person who meets the above qualifications would, however, still be disqualified from holding the office of president under any of the following conditions:

Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, having been impeached, convicted and disqualified from holding further public office, although there is some legal debate as to whether the disqualification clause also includes the presidential office: the only previous persons so punished were three federal judges.[125][126]

Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, no person who swore an oath to support the Constitution, and later rebelled against the United States, is eligible to hold any office. However, this disqualification can be lifted by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.[127] There is, again, some debate as to whether the clause as written allows disqualification from the presidential position, or whether it would first require litigation outside of Congress, although there is precedent for use of this amendment outside of the original intended purpose of excluding Confederates from public office after the Civil War.[128]

Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no person can be elected president more than twice. The amendment also specifies that if any eligible person serves as president or acting president for more than two years of a term for which some other eligible person was elected president, the former can only be elected president once.[129][130]

Campaigns and nomination

President Jimmy Carter (left) debates Republican nominee Ronald Reagan on October 28, 1980.

Main articles: United States presidential primary and United States presidential nominating convention

See also: United States presidential debates

The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections, which the two major political parties use to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's presidential nominee. Typically, the party's presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential nominee, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention. The most common previous profession of presidents is lawyer.[131]

Nominees participate in nationally televised debates, and while the debates are usually restricted to the Democratic and Republican nominees, third party candidates may be invited, such as Ross Perot in the 1992 debates. Nominees campaign across the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.

Election

Map of the United States showing the number of electoral votes allocated following the 2010 census to each state and the District of Columbia for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections; it also notes that Maine and Nebraska distribute electors by way of the congressional district method. 270 electoral votes are required for a majority out of 538 votes possible.

Main article: United States presidential election

See also: United States Electoral College

The president is elected indirectly by the voters of each state and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College, a body of electors formed every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president to concurrent four-year terms. As prescribed by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the size of its total delegation in both houses of Congress. Additionally, the Twenty-third Amendment provides that the District of Columbia is entitled to the number it would have if it were a state, but in no case more than that of the least populous state.[132] Currently, all states and the District of Columbia select their electors based on a popular election.[133] In all but two states, the party whose presidential–vice presidential ticket receives a plurality of popular votes in the state has its entire slate of elector nominees chosen as the state's electors.[134] Maine and Nebraska deviate from this winner-take-all practice, awarding two electors to the statewide winner and one to the winner in each congressional district.[135][136]

On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, about six weeks after the election, the electors convene in their respective state capitals (and in Washington, D.C.) to vote for president and, on a separate ballot, for vice president. They typically vote for the candidates of the party that nominated them. While there is no constitutional mandate or federal law requiring them to do so, the District of Columbia and 32 states have laws requiring that their electors vote for the candidates to whom they are pledged.[137][138] The constitutionality of these laws was upheld in Chiafalo v. Washington (2020).[139] Following the vote, each state then sends a certified record of their electoral votes to Congress. The votes of the electors are opened and counted during a joint session of Congress, held in the first week of January. If a candidate has received an absolute majority of electoral votes for president (currently 270 of 538), that person is declared the winner. Otherwise, the House of Representatives must meet to elect a president using a contingent election procedure in which representatives, voting by state delegation, with each state casting a single vote, choose between the top three electoral vote-getters for president. For a candidate to win, he or she must receive the votes of an absolute majority of states (currently 26 of 50).[133]

There have been two contingent presidential elections in the nation's history. A 73–73 electoral vote tie between Thomas Jefferson and fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr in the election of 1800 necessitated the first. Conducted under the original procedure established by Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates that if two or three persons received a majority vote and an equal vote, the House of Representatives would choose one of them for president; the runner-up would become vice president.[140] On February 17, 1801, Jefferson was elected president on the 36th ballot, and Burr elected vice president. Afterward, the system was overhauled through the Twelfth Amendment in time to be used in the 1804 election.[141] A quarter-century later, the choice for president again devolved to the House when no candidate won an absolute majority of electoral votes (131 of 261) in the election of 1824. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the House was required to choose a president from among the top three electoral vote recipients: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William H. Crawford. Held February 9, 1825, this second and most recent contingent election resulted in John Quincy Adams being elected president on the first ballot.[142]

Inauguration

Main article: United States presidential inauguration

Pursuant to the Twentieth Amendment, the four-year term of office for both the president and the vice president begins at noon on January 20.[143] The first presidential and vice presidential terms to begin on this date, known as Inauguration Day, were the second terms of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner in 1937.[144] Previously, Inauguration Day was on March 4. As a result of the date change, the first term (1933–37) of both men had been shortened by 43 days.[145]

Before executing the powers of the office, a president is required to recite the presidential Oath of Office, found in Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution. This is the only component in the inauguration ceremony mandated by the Constitution:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.[146]

Presidents have traditionally placed one hand upon a Bible while taking the oath, and have added "So help me God" to the end of the oath.[147][148] Although the oath may be administered by any person authorized by law to administer oaths, presidents are traditionally sworn in by the chief justice of the United States.[146]

Incumbency

Term limit

Franklin D. Roosevelt won a record four presidential elections (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944), leading to the adoption of a two-term limit.

When the first president, George Washington, announced in his Farewell Address that he was not running for a third term, he established a "two terms then out" precedent. Precedent became tradition after Thomas Jefferson publicly embraced the principle a decade later during his second term, as did his two immediate successors, James Madison and James Monroe.[149] In spite of the strong two-term tradition, Ulysses S. Grant sought nomination at the 1880 Republican National Convention for a non-consecutive third term, but was unsuccessful.[150]

In 1940, after leading the nation through the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to a third term, breaking the long-standing precedent. Four years later, with the U.S. engaged in World War II, he was re-elected again despite his declining physical health; he died 82 days into his fourth term on April 12, 1945.[151]

In response to the unprecedented length of Roosevelt's presidency, the Twenty-second Amendment was adopted in 1951. The amendment bars anyone from being elected president more than twice, or once if that person served more than two years (24 months) of another president's four-year term. Harry S. Truman, president when this term limit came into force, was exempted from its limitations, and briefly sought a second full term—to which he would have otherwise been ineligible for election, as he had been president for more than two years of Roosevelt's fourth term—before he withdrew from the 1952 election.[151]

Since the amendment's adoption, five presidents have served two full terms: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Donald Trump each sought a second term but were defeated. Richard Nixon was elected to a second term, but resigned before completing it. Lyndon B. Johnson, having held the presidency for one full term in addition to only 14 months of John F. Kennedy's unexpired term, was eligible for a second full term in 1968, but he withdrew from the Democratic primary. Additionally, Gerald Ford, who served out the last two years and five months of Nixon's second term, sought a full term but was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election.

Vacancies and succession

President William McKinley and his successor, Theodore Roosevelt

Under Section 1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, ratified in 1967, the vice president becomes president upon the removal from office, death, or resignation of the president. Deaths have occurred a number of times, resignation has occurred only once, and removal from office has never occurred.

The original Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, stated only that the vice president assumes the "powers and duties" of the presidency in the event of a president's removal, death, resignation, or inability.[152] Under this clause, there was ambiguity about whether the vice president would actually become president in the event of a vacancy, or simply act as president,[153] potentially resulting in a special election. Upon the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841, Vice President John Tyler declared that he had succeeded to the office itself, refusing to accept any papers addressed to the "Acting President," and Congress ultimately accepted it. This established a precedent for future successions, although it was not formally clarified until the Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified.

In the event of a double vacancy, Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 also authorizes Congress to declare who shall become acting president in the "Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the president and vice president".[153] The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (codified as 3 U.S.C. § 19) provides that if both the president and vice president have left office or are both otherwise unavailable to serve during their terms of office, the presidential line of succession follows the order of: speaker of the House, then, if necessary, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then if necessary, the eligible heads of federal executive departments who form the president's cabinet. The cabinet currently has 15 members, of which the secretary of state is first in line; the other Cabinet secretaries follow in the order in which their department (or the department of which their department is the successor) was created. Those individuals who are constitutionally ineligible to be elected to the presidency are also disqualified from assuming the powers and duties of the presidency through succession. No statutory successor has yet been called upon to act as president.[154]

Declarations of inability

Main article: Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the president may temporarily transfer the presidential powers and duties to the vice president, who then becomes acting president, by transmitting to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate a statement that he is unable to discharge his duties. The president resumes his or her powers upon transmitting a second declaration stating that he is again able. The mechanism has been used by Ronald Reagan (once), George W. Bush (twice), and Joe Biden (once), each in anticipation of surgery.[155][156]

The Twenty-fifth Amendment also provides that the vice president, together with a majority of certain members of the Cabinet, may transfer the presidential powers and duties to the vice president by transmitting a written declaration, to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate, to the effect that the president is unable to discharge his or her powers and duties. If the president then declares that no such inability exist, he or she resumes the presidential powers unless the vice president and Cabinet make a second declaration of presidential inability, in which case Congress decides the question.

Removal

Main article: United States presidential impeachment

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution allows for the removal of high federal officials, including the president, from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 authorizes the House of Representatives to serve as a "grand jury" with the power to impeach said officials by a majority vote.[157] Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 authorizes the Senate to serve as a court with the power to remove impeached officials from office, by a two-thirds vote to convict.[158]

Three presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021; none have been convicted by the Senate. Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee conducted an impeachment inquiry against Richard Nixon in 1973–74 and reported three articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives for final action; however, he resigned from office before the House voted on them.[157]

Compensation

Presidential pay history

Year

established Salary Salary in

2020 USD

1789 $25,000 $736,000

1873 $50,000 $1,080,000

1909 $75,000 $2,135,000

1949 $100,000 $1,089,000

1969 $200,000 $1,412,000

2001 $400,000 $585,000

Sources:[159][160]

Since 2001, the president's annual salary has been $400,000, along with a: $50,000 expense allowance; $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 entertainment account. The president's salary is set by Congress, and under Article II, Section 1, Clause 7 of the Constitution, any increase or reduction in presidential salary cannot take effect before the next presidential term of office.[161][162]

Residence

For the official residences in which President Washington resided, see Presidency of George Washington § Residences. For the private residences of the various U.S. presidents, see List of residences of presidents of the United States.

The White House in Washington, D.C. is the official residence of the president. The site was selected by George Washington, and the cornerstone was laid in 1792. Every president since John Adams (in 1800) has lived there. At various times in U.S. history, it has been known as the "President's Palace", the "President's House", and the "Executive Mansion". Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.[163] The federal government pays for state dinners and other official functions, but the president pays for personal, family, and guest dry cleaning and food.[164]

Camp David, officially titled Naval Support Facility Thurmont, a mountain-based military camp in Frederick County, Maryland, is the president's country residence. A place of solitude and tranquility, the site has been used extensively to host foreign dignitaries since the 1940s.[165]

President's Guest House, located next to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House Complex and Lafayette Park, serves as the president's official guest house and as a secondary residence for the president if needed. Four interconnected, 19th-century houses—Blair House, Lee House, and 700 and 704 Jackson Place—with a combined floor space exceeding 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) comprise the property.[166]

Presidential residences

White House, the official residence

Camp David, the official retreat

Blair House, the official guest house

Travel

Main article: Transportation of the president of the United States

The primary means of long-distance air travel for the president is one of two identical Boeing VC-25 aircraft, which are extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners and are referred to as Air Force One while the president is on board (although any U.S. Air Force aircraft the president is aboard is designated as "Air Force One" for the duration of the flight). In-country trips are typically handled with just one of the two planes, while overseas trips are handled with both, one primary and one backup. The president also has access to smaller Air Force aircraft, most notably the Boeing C-32, which are used when the president must travel to airports that cannot support a jumbo jet. Any civilian aircraft the president is aboard is designated Executive One for the flight.[167][168]

For short-distance air travel, the president has access to a fleet of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters of varying models, designated Marine One when the president is aboard any particular one in the fleet. Flights are typically handled with as many as five helicopters all flying together and frequently swapping positions as to disguise which helicopter the president is actually aboard to any would-be threats.

For ground travel, the president uses the presidential state car, which is an armored limousine designed to look like a Cadillac sedan, but built on a truck chassis.[169][170] The U.S. Secret Service operates and maintains the fleet of several limousines. The president also has access to two armored motorcoaches, which are primarily used for touring trips.[171]

Presidential transportation

The presidential limousine, dubbed "The Beast"

The presidential plane, called Air Force One when the president is on board

Marine One helicopter, when the president is aboard

Protection

President Reagan surrounded by Secret Service

The U.S. Secret Service is charged with protecting the president and the first family. As part of their protection, presidents, first ladies, their children and other immediate family members, and other prominent persons and locations are assigned Secret Service codenames.[172] The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition.[173]

Post-presidency

From left: George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. Photo taken in the Oval Office on January 7, 2009; Obama formally took office thirteen days later.

Activities

Some former presidents have had significant careers after leaving office. Prominent examples include William Howard Taft's tenure as chief justice of the United States and Herbert Hoover's work on government reorganization after World War II. Grover Cleveland, whose bid for reelection failed in 1888, was elected president again four years later in 1892. Two former presidents served in Congress after leaving the White House: John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, serving there for 17 years, and Andrew Johnson returned to the Senate in 1875, though he died soon after. Some ex-presidents were very active, especially in international affairs, most notably Theodore Roosevelt;[174] Herbert Hoover;[175] Richard Nixon;[176] and Jimmy Carter.[177][178]

Presidents may use their predecessors as emissaries to deliver private messages to other nations or as official representatives of the United States to state funerals and other important foreign events.[179][180] Richard Nixon made multiple foreign trips to countries including China and Russia and was lauded as an elder statesman.[181] Jimmy Carter has become a global human rights campaigner, international arbiter, and election monitor, as well as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Bill Clinton has also worked as an informal ambassador, most recently in the negotiations that led to the release of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, from North Korea. During his presidency, George W. Bush called on former Presidents Bush and Clinton to assist with humanitarian efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. President Obama followed suit by asking Presidents Clinton and Bush to lead efforts to aid Haiti after an earthquake devastated that country in 2010.

Clinton was active politically since his presidential term ended, working with his wife Hillary on her 2008 and 2016 presidential bids and President Obama on his 2012 reelection campaign. Obama was also active politically since his presidential term ended, having worked with his former vice president Joe Biden on his 2020 election campaign. Trump has continued to make appearances in the media and at conventions and rallies since leaving office.

Pension and other benefits

The Former Presidents Act (FPA), enacted in 1958, grants lifetime benefits to former presidents and their widows, including a monthly pension, medical care in military facilities, health insurance, and Secret Service protection; also provided is funding for a certain number of staff and for office expenses. The act has been amended several times to provide increases in presidential pensions and in the allowances for office staff. The FPA excludes any president who was removed from office by impeachment.[182]

According to a 2008 report by the Congressional Research service:[182]

Chief executives leaving office prior to 1958 often entered retirement pursuing various occupations and received no federal assistance. When industrialist Andrew Carnegie announced a plan in 1912 to offer $25,000 annual pensions to former Presidents, many Members of Congress deemed it inappropriate that such a pension would be provided by a private corporation executive. That same year, legislation was first introduced to create presidential pensions, but it was not enacted. In 1955, such legislation was considered by Congress because of former President Harry S. Truman’s financial limitations in hiring an office staff

The pension has increased numerous times with congressional approval. Retired presidents receive a pension based on the salary of the current administration's cabinet secretaries, which was $199,700 per year in 2012.[183] Former presidents who served in Congress may also collect congressional pensions.[184] The act also provides former presidents with travel funds and franking privileges.

Prior to 1997, all former presidents, their spouses, and their children until age 16 were protected by the Secret Service until the president's death.[185][186] In 1997, Congress passed legislation limiting Secret Service protection to no more than 10 years from the date a president leaves office.[187] On January 10, 2013, President Obama signed legislation reinstating lifetime Secret Service protection for him, George W. Bush, and all subsequent presidents.[188]

A first spouse who remarries is no longer eligible for Secret Service protection.[187]

As of 2022, there were five living former U.S. presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) (1924-10-01) 1 October 1924 (age 97)

Jimmy Carter

(1977–1981)

1 October 1924 (age 97)

Bill Clinton (1993–2001) (1946-08-19) 19 August 1946 (age 75)

Bill Clinton

(1993–2001)

19 August 1946 (age 75)

George W. Bush (2001–2009) (1946-07-06) 6 July 1946 (age 75)

George W. Bush

(2001–2009)

6 July 1946 (age 75)

Barack Obama (2009–2017) (1961-08-04) 4 August 1961 (age 60)

Barack Obama

(2009–2017)

4 August 1961 (age 60)

Donald Trump (2017–2021) (1946-06-14) 14 June 1946 (age 76)

Donald Trump

(2017–2021)

14 June 1946 (age 76)

The most recent death of a former president was George H. W. Bush (served from 1989 to 1993), on 30 November 2018, aged 94.

Presidential libraries

Main article: Presidential library

Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, 2013

Every president since Herbert Hoover has created a repository known as a presidential library for preserving and making available his papers, records, and other documents and materials. Completed libraries are deeded to and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); the initial funding for building and equipping each library must come from private, non-federal sources.[189] There are currently thirteen presidential libraries in the NARA system. There are also presidential libraries maintained by state governments and private foundations and Universities of Higher Education, such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by the State of Illinois; the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by Southern Methodist University; the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by Texas A&M University; and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by the University of Texas at Austin.

A number of presidents have lived for many years after leaving office, and several of them have personally overseen the building and opening of their own presidential libraries. Some have even made arrangements for their own burial at the site. Several presidential libraries contain the graves of the president they document, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. These gravesites are open to the general public.

Political affiliation

Political parties have dominated American politics for most of the nation's history. Though the Founding Fathers generally spurned political parties as divisive and disruptive, and their rise had not been anticipated when the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, organized political parties developed in the U.S. in the mid-1790s nonetheless. They evolved from political factions, which began to appear almost immediately after the Federal government came into existence. Those who supported the Washington administration were referred to as "pro-administration" and would eventually form the Federalist Party, while those in opposition joined the emerging Democratic-Republican Party.[190]

Greatly concerned about the very real capacity of political parties to destroy the fragile unity holding the nation together, Washington remained unaffiliated with any political faction or party throughout his eight-year presidency. He was, and remains, the only U.S. president never to be affiliated with a political party.[191][192] Since Washington, every U.S. president has been affiliated with a political party at the time of assuming office.[193][194]

The number of presidents per political party at the time they were sworn into office (arranged in alphabetical order by last name) and the cumulative number of years that each political party has been affiliated with the presidency are:

Party # Years Name(s)

Republican 19 92 Chester A. Arthur, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Herbert Hoover, Abraham Lincoln,[F] William McKinley, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Donald Trump

Democratic 15 89 Joe Biden (incumbent), James Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, Grover Cleveland, Bill Clinton, Andrew Jackson, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Martin Van Buren, and Woodrow Wilson

Democratic-Republican 4 28 John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe

Whig 4 8 Millard Fillmore, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler[G]

Federalist 1 4 John Adams

National Union 1 4 Andrew Johnson[H]

None 1 8 George Washington

Timeline of presidents

See also: List of presidents of the United States

The following timeline depicts the progression of the presidents and their political affiliation at the time of assuming office.