Gerald R.
Ford
38th
President of the United States
Gerald Rudolph Ford, the 38th
President of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., the son of
Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, on July 14, 1913, in Omaha,
Nebraska. His parents separated two weeks after his birth and his mother
took him to Grand Rapids, Michigan to live with her parents. On February
1, 1916, approximately two years after her divorce was final, Dorothy King
married Gerald R. Ford, a Grand Rapids paint salesman. The Fords began
calling her son Gerald R. Ford, Jr., although his name was not legally changed
until December 3, 1935. He did not know until 1930 that Gerald Ford,
Sr., was not his biological father. The future president grew up in a close-
knit family which included three younger half-brothers, Thomas, Richard, and
James.
Ford attended South High School
in Grand Rapids, where he excelled scholastically and athletically, being
named to the honor society and the "All-City" and
"All-State" football teams. He was also active in scouting,
achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in November 1927. He earned spending money
by working in the family paint business and at a local restaurant.
From 1931 to 1935 Ford attended
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he majored in economics and
political science. He held various part-time jobs to supplement his
scholarship. A gifted athlete, Ford played on the University's national
championship football teams in 1932 and 1933. He was voted the Wolverine's
most valuable player in 1934 and was chosen for the East team in the annual
East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. He graduated with a B.A. degree in
June 1935. In August 1935 he played in the College All-Star football game
against the Chicago Bears.
He received offers from two
professional football teams, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but
chose instead to take a position as boxing coach and assistant varsity
football coach at Yale hoping to attend law school there. Yale officials
denied him admission, because of his full-time coaching responsibilities,
until the spring of 1938 when he did enter law school. Among those he coached
were Robert Taft, Jr. and William Proxmire. Ford earned his LL.B. degree in
1941, graduating in the top 25 percent of his class in spite of the time he
had to devote to his coaching duties. His introduction to politics came in the
summer of 1940 when he worked in Wendell Willkie's presidential campaign.
After returning to Michigan and
passing his bar exam, Ford and a U of M fraternity brother, Philip A. Buchen
(who later served on Ford's White House staff as Counsel to the President),
set up a law partnership in Grand Rapids. He also taught a course in business
law at the University of Grand Rapids and served as line coach for the
school's football team. He had just become active in a group of reform-minded
Republicans in Grand Rapids, calling themselves the Home Front, who were
interested in challenging the hold of local political boss Frank McKay, when
the United States entered World War II.
In April 1942 Ford joined the
U.S. Naval Reserve receiving a commission as an ensign. After an orientation
program at Annapolis, he became a physical fitness instructor at a pre- flight
school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the spring of 1943 he began service
in the light aircraft carrier USS MONTEREY. He was first assigned as athletic
director and gunnery division officer, then as assistant navigator, with the
MONTEREY which took part in most of the major operations in the South Pacific,
including Truk, Saipan, and the Philippines. His closest call with death came
not as a result of enemy fire, however, but during a vicious typhoon in the
Philippine Sea in December 1944. He came within inches of being swept
overboard while the storm raged. The ship, which was severely damaged by the
storm and the resulting fire, had to be taken out of service. Ford spent the
remainder of the war ashore and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in
February 1946.
When he returned to Grand Rapids
Ford became a partner in the locally prestigious law firm of Butterfield,
Keeney, and Amberg. A self-proclaimed compulsive "joiner," Ford was
well-known throughout the community. Ford has stated that his experiences in
World War II caused him to reject his previous isolationist leanings and adopt
an internationalist outlook. With the encouragement of his stepfather, who was
county Republican chairman, the Home Front, and Senator Arthur Vandenberg,
Ford decided to challenge the isolationist incumbent Bartel Jonkman for the
Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1948
election. He won the nomination by a wide margin and was elected to Congress
on November 2, receiving 61 percent of the vote in the general election.
During the height of the
campaign Gerald Ford married Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren, a divorced
department store fashion consultant. They were to have four children: Michael
Gerald, born March 14, 1950; John Gardner, born March 16, 1952; Steven Meigs,
born May 19, 1956; and Susan Elizabeth, born July 6, 1957.
Gerald Ford served in the House
of Representatives from January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973, being reelected
twelve times, each time with more than 60% of the vote. He became a member of
the House Appropriations Committee in 1951, and rose to prominence on the
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, becoming its ranking minority member in
1961. He once described himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an
internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal
policy."
As his reputation as a
legislator grew, Ford declined offers to run for both the Senate and the
Michigan governorship in the early 1950s. His ambition was to become Speaker
of the House. In 1960 he was mentioned as a possible running mate for Richard
Nixon in the presidential election. In 1961, in a revolt of the "Young
Turks," a group of younger, more progressive House Republicans who felt
that the older leadership was stagnating, Ford defeated sixty-seven year old
Charles Hoeven of Iowa for Chairman of the House Republican Conference, the
number three leadership position in the party.
In 1963 President Johnson
appointed Ford to the Warren Commission investigating the Assassination of
President John F. Kennedy. In 1965 Ford co-authored, with John R. Stiles, a
book about the findings of the Commission, Portrait of the Assassin.
The battle for the 1964
Republican nomination for president was drawn on ideological lines, but Ford
avoided having to choose between Rockefeller and Goldwater by standing behind
Michigan favorite son George Romney.
In 1965 Ford was chosen by the
Young Turks as their best hope to challenge Charles Halleck for the position
of minority leader of the House. He won by a small margin and took over the
position early in 1965, holding it for eight years.
Ford led Republican opposition
to many of President Johnson's programs, favoring more conservative
alternatives to his social welfare legislation and opposing Johnson's policy
of gradual escalation in Vietnam. As minority leader Ford made more than 200
speeches a year all across the country, a circumstance which made him
nationally known.
In both the 1968 and 1972
elections Ford was a loyal supporter of Richard Nixon, who had been a friend
for many years. In 1968 Ford was again considered as a vice presidential
candidate. Ford backed the President's economic and foreign policies and
remained on good terms with both the conservative and liberal wings of the
Republican party.
Because the Republicans did not
attain a majority in the House, Ford was unable to reach his ultimate
political goal--to be Speaker of the House. Ironically, he did become
president of the Senate. When Spiro Agnew resigned the office of Vice
President of the United States late in 1973, after pleading no contest to a
charge of income tax evasion, President Nixon was empowered by the 25th
Amendment to appoint a new vice president. Presumably, he needed someone who
could work with Congress, survive close scrutiny of his political career and
private life, and be confirmed quickly. He chose Gerald R. Ford. Following the
most thorough background investigation in the history of the FBI, Ford was
confirmed and sworn in on December 6, 1973.
The specter of the Watergate
scandal, the break-in at Democratic headquarters during the 1972 campaign and
the ensuing cover-up by Nixon administration officials, hung over Ford's
nine-month tenure as vice president. When it became apparent that evidence,
public opinion, and the mood in Congress were all pointing toward impeachment,
Nixon became the first president in U.S. history to resign from that office.
Gerald R. Ford took the oath of
office as President of the United States on August 9, 1974, stating that
"the long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works."
Within the month Ford nominated
Nelson Rockefeller for vice president. On December 19, 1974, Rockefeller was
confirmed by Congress, over the opposition of many conservatives, and the
country had a full complement of leaders again.
One of the most difficult
decisions of Ford's presidency was made just a month after he took office.
Believing that protracted impeachment proceedings would keep the country mired
in Watergate and unable to address the other problems facing it, Ford decided
to grant a pardon to Richard Nixon prior to the filing of any formal criminal
charges. Public reaction was mostly negative; Ford was even suspected of
having made a "deal" with the former president to pardon him if he
would resign. The decision may have cost him the election in 1976, but
President Ford always maintained that it was the right thing to do for the
good of the country.
President Ford inherited an
administration plagued by a divisive war in Southeast Asia, rising inflation,
and fears of energy shortages. He faced many difficult decisions including
replacing Nixon's staff with his own, restoring the credibility of the
presidency, and dealing with a Congress increasingly assertive of its rights
and powers.
In domestic policy, President
Ford felt that through modest tax and spending cuts, deregulating industries,
and decontrolling energy prices to stimulate production, he could contain both
inflation and unemployment. This would also reduce the size and role of the
federal government and help overcome the energy shortage. His philosophy is
best summarized by one of his favorite speech lines, "A government big
enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from
us everything we have." The heavily Democratic Congress often disagreed
with Ford, leading to numerous confrontations and his frequent use of the veto
to control government spending. Through compromise, bills involving energy
decontrol, tax cuts, deregulation of the railroad and securities industries,
and antitrust law reform were approved.
On two separate trips to
California in September 1975, Ford was the target of assassination attempts.
Both of the assailants were women.
In foreign policy, Ford and
Secretary of State Kissinger continued the policy of détente with the Soviet
Union and "shuttle diplomacy" in the Middle East. U.S.-Soviet
relations were marked by on-going arms negotiations, the Helsinki agreements
on human rights principles and East European national boundaries, trade
negotiations, and the symbolic Apollo-Soyuz joint manned space flight. Ford's
personal diplomacy was highlighted by trips to Japan and China, a 10-day
European tour, and co-sponsorship of the first international economic summit
meeting, as well as the reception of numerous foreign heads of state, many of
whom came in observance of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.
With the fall of South Vietnam
in 1975 as background, Congress and the President struggled repeatedly over
presidential war powers, oversight of the CIA and covert operations, military
aid appropriations, and the stationing of military personnel.
On May 14, 1975, in a dramatic
move, Ford ordered U.S. forces to retake the S.S. MAYAGUEZ, an American
merchant ship seized by Cambodian gunboats two days earlier in international
waters. The vessel was recovered and all 39 crewmen saved. In the preparation
and execution of the rescue, however, 41 Americans lost their lives.
During the 1976 campaign, Ford
fought off a strong challenge by Ronald Reagan to gain the Republican
nomination. He chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas as his running mate
and succeeded in narrowing Democrat Jimmy Carter's large lead in the polls,
but finally lost one of the closest elections in history. Three televised
candidate debates were focal points of the campaign.
On January 20, 1977, President
and Mrs. Ford moved to California where they built a new house in Rancho
Mirage. They continue to vacation at their home outside Vail, Colorado, where
Ford enjoys skiing and golf. President Ford's memoirs, A Time to Heal: The
Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford, were published in 1979. President
Ford is active on behalf of Republican Party and charitable causes, serves on
corporate boards, and speaks frequently before a variety of audiences. He is
supportive of the Library and Museum that bear his name, taking part in
symposia, conferences, and other special events.
Masonic
History of Gerald R. Ford
Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth President of
the United States of America, was initiated into Masonry on September 30,
1949, in Malta Lodge No. 465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with his brothers
Thomas Gardner Ford (1918-1995), Richard Addison Ford (1924-) and James
Francis Ford (1927- ). The Fellowcraft and Master Mason Degrees were conferred
by Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, D.C., on April 20 and May 18, 1951, as a
courtesy to Malta Lodge.
Brother Ford was made a Sovereign Grand
Inspector General, 33°, and Honorary Member, Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Northern
Jurisdiction at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, on September 26, 1962,
for which he served as Exemplar (Representative) for his Class. He was also
awarded the Grand Cross, by Grand Commander Clausen in 1975.
President Ford said of Masonry, “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.
Masonic principles--internal, not external--and
our order’s vision of duty to country and acceptance of God as a Supreme Being
and guiding light have sustained me during my years of Government service.
Today especially, the guidelines by which I strive to become an upright man in
Masonry give me great personal strength.
Masonic precepts can help America retain our
inspiring aspirations while adapting to a new age. It is apparent to me that
the Supreme Architect has set out the duties each of us has to perform, and I
have trusted in His will with the knowledge that my trust is well-founded.
...It was almost 200 years ago, in the darkest
days of our war for independence, that George Washington answered a question
that is sometimes asked today. The question is whether things are as bad as
some say. George Washington answered, and I quote: “We should never despair.
Our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I
trust it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new
exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times.”
Let us today rededicate ourselves to new
efforts--as Masons and as Americans. Let us demonstrate our confidence in our
beloved Nation and a future that will flow from the glory of the past. When I
think of the things right about America, I think of this order with its sense
of duty to country, its esteem for brotherhood and traditional values, its
spiritual high principles, and its humble acceptance of God as the Supreme
Being.”
Brother and President Ford was unanimously
elected an Active Member of the International Supreme Council, Order of
DeMolay and its Honorary Grand Master, at its Annual Session held at Orlando,
Florida, April 6-9, 1975; Brother Ford held this post until January 1977, at
which time he became a Past Honorary Grand Master, receiving his Collar and
Jewel on October 24, 1978 in Topeka, Kansas, from the Hon. Thomas C. Raum,
Jr., Grand Master, Order of DeMolay.
President Ford died at age 93 on December 26,
2006. He will be missed by his friends, family and Brethren.
The President’s words about Masonry were
spoken at the unveiling of the Gerald R. Ford Masonic Medallion.
Visit the Presidential Library and Museum of
Gerald Ford:
http://www.ford.utexas.edu/
