Gerald Ford

Moving on Up

President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, the Watergate scandals and August 9, 1974.  When all of these elements collided, they worked to propel Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives, Gerald R. Ford to the Presidency…  

Gerald R. Ford was the first president to assume leadership of the country due to the resignation of his predecessor, Richard M. Nixon.  The scandals of the Nixon Administration virtually pummeled Ford into the presidency and with it, a severe recession that had swallowed the country.  This became the focus of Ford’s two and a half-year presidency and this is the trail that led him there.

The Players

The President – Richard M. Nixon

The Vice-President – Spiro T. Agnew

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives – Gerald R. Ford

The Events Leading to Ford’s Inauguration

October 10, 1973 – Spiro T. Agnew resigns from the vice-presidency after pleading no contest on a felony charge of federal income tax evasion.

October 12, 1973 – Gerald R. Ford is appointed Vice-President by President Nixon under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution passed in 1967.  This Amendment gives a president the authority to fill any vacancy in the office of Vice-President, subject to confirmation by a majority vote in both houses of Congress.

December 6, 1973 – Ford takes office as Vice-President of the United States after an intense inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and open congressional hearings.

August 9, 1974 – President Nixon resigns.

August 9, 1974 – Ford assumes office of Presidency and requests choices for the office of vice-presidency from Republican officials and Democratic leaders.

August 20, 1974 – President Ford announced his selection of former Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York as Vice-President designate.

President Ford was considered trustworthy and unpretentious.  He sought to make the presidency more open and less imperial.  Some of his most talked about changes during his administration included:

- Henry Kissinger dismissed as head of the National Security Council.

- James R. Schlesinger, dismissed as Secretary of Defense.

- Donald H. Rumsfeld appointed to succeed Schlesinger.

- George Bush nominated to replace William E. Colby as CIA director.

- San Francisco, California – September 22, 1975.  President Ford winces at the sound of the gunfire during the assassination attempt by Sara Jane Moore. There were two assassination attempts on President Ford in 1975.

- July 1976, man shot and killed by a guard after climbing over the White House fence.

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This Old Tent Part 3

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