Remembering Gerald Ford
On December 26, 2006 (just 16 years ago today) Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the 38th President of the United States, and the only person to hold the office without ever having been elected President or Vice-President, died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis. Up until recently, Ford lived longer than any other U.S. president, living 93 years and 165 days. (In November of 2017 his record was passed by George H. W. Bush, and later by Jimmy Carter who now breaks his own record every day, and will for years to come, God willing.) Ford's 895 day presidency remains the shortest of all Presidents who did not die in office.
Ford was born on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His name at birth was Leslie Lynch King, Jr. He would later change his name because his birth father was physically abusive to his mother and he preferred to honor his mother's second husband, a much kinder man and more of a father figure to the future 38th President. His mother was Dorothy Ayer Gardner, and his father was Leslie Lynch King, Sr., a wool trader and son of a prominent banker Charles Henry King. 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 and she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930. Ford later said his biological father had a history of hitting his mother. According to Ford's biographer Lou Cannon, the Kings' separation and divorce was the result of an incident which occurred a few days after Ford's birth, when Leslie King threatened to kill Dorothy while brandishing a butcher knife. King had first hit his wife on their honeymoon for smiling at another man.
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, however, and he did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935 (with a more traditional spelling of Rudolph). Ford later said "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."
After a distinguished career in Congress, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after Richard Nixon's Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned.) He became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, and became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College.
As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union, 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 on his watch. Domestically, Ford presided over a terrible economy with growing inflation and a bad recession coupled with high consumer interest rates. His most controversial act was his granting of a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon. In presenting the award to Ford, Senator Ted Kennedy said that he had initially been opposed to the pardon, but later realized that history had proved Ford to have made the correct decision.
Ford also escaped two assassination attempts, both by female would-be assassins. In Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt .45-caliber handgun at Ford. As Fromme pulled the trigger, Larry Buendorf, 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. In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds. This strategy may have saved his life, as 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. Moore fired a single round but missed because the sights were off. As she tried to fire 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. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.
In 1976, Ford survived a challenge by Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter. 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. Originally, it was believed that Ford had no chance of winning because of the unpopularity of his pardon of Nixon. But he campaigned valiantly and in the end, the election was close enough that if less than 25,000 votes shifted in Ohio and Wisconsin, Ford would have won the electoral vote with 276 votes to 261 for Carter. In the three months between the Republican National Convention and the election Ford had managed to close what was once a 33% Carter lead to a 2-point margin. Ford carried 27 states versus 23 carried by Carter.
Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. After experiencing health problems, Ford died in his home on December 26, 2006. Ford was interred at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His wife Betty survived him by four and a half years. She died on July 8, 2011 at the age of 93.
Ford was born on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His name at birth was Leslie Lynch King, Jr. He would later change his name because his birth father was physically abusive to his mother and he preferred to honor his mother's second husband, a much kinder man and more of a father figure to the future 38th President. His mother was Dorothy Ayer Gardner, and his father was Leslie Lynch King, Sr., a wool trader and son of a prominent banker Charles Henry King. 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 and she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather Charles Henry King paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930. Ford later said his biological father had a history of hitting his mother. According to Ford's biographer Lou Cannon, the Kings' separation and divorce was the result of an incident which occurred a few days after Ford's birth, when Leslie King threatened to kill Dorothy while brandishing a butcher knife. King had first hit his wife on their honeymoon for smiling at another man.
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, however, and he did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935 (with a more traditional spelling of Rudolph). Ford later said "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."
After a distinguished career in Congress, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after Richard Nixon's Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned.) He became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, and became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College.
As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union, 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 on his watch. Domestically, Ford presided over a terrible economy with growing inflation and a bad recession coupled with high consumer interest rates. His most controversial act was his granting of a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon. In presenting the award to Ford, Senator Ted Kennedy said that he had initially been opposed to the pardon, but later realized that history had proved Ford to have made the correct decision.
Ford also escaped two assassination attempts, both by female would-be assassins. In Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a Colt .45-caliber handgun at Ford. As Fromme pulled the trigger, Larry Buendorf, 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. In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds. This strategy may have saved his life, as 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. Moore fired a single round but missed because the sights were off. As she tried to fire 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. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.
In 1976, Ford survived a challenge by Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter. 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. Originally, it was believed that Ford had no chance of winning because of the unpopularity of his pardon of Nixon. But he campaigned valiantly and in the end, the election was close enough that if less than 25,000 votes shifted in Ohio and Wisconsin, Ford would have won the electoral vote with 276 votes to 261 for Carter. In the three months between the Republican National Convention and the election Ford had managed to close what was once a 33% Carter lead to a 2-point margin. Ford carried 27 states versus 23 carried by Carter.
Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party. After experiencing health problems, Ford died in his home on December 26, 2006. Ford was interred at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His wife Betty survived him by four and a half years. She died on July 8, 2011 at the age of 93.