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Gerald Ford was the 38th US President, serving after Richard Nixon’s resignation due to the Watergate scandal. He was also Vice President and a successful football player and lawyer. Ford ended the Vietnam War but lost the 1976 election due to pardoning Nixon. He died in 2006, leaving a legacy of public policy and service.
Gerald Ford is the 38th president of the United States and the only person to serve as both vice president and president without having been elected to either position. After being named Vice President, Gerald Ford took office in August 1974 in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, when President Richard Nixon became the first president to step down. Ford only served out the remainder of Nixon’s term, as he was defeated in the 1976 presidential election by Jimmy Carter.
Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska on July 14, 1913. However, following his parents’ divorce when he was young, he was later named Gerald R. Ford, Jr. after his stepfather. Gerald Ford was a football star at the University of Michigan and studied law at Yale University. Married to the infamous Elizabeth Bloomer, founder of the Betty Ford Clinic, Gerald Ford maintained an upstanding reputation and was popular during his congressional career.
Although Ford assumed the presidency in a time of turmoil, he has assumed the role entrusted to him without problems. Bringing many modern political figures into his cabinet, such as George HW Bush and Dick Cheney, Ford attempted to balance foreign and domestic affairs. Gerald Ford ended the Vietnam War, but in the 1976 presidential election, voters were apparently uneasy with Ford’s decision to pardon Nixon. Gerald Ford lost the election to former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter.
Gerald Ford remained active in politics long after his brief stint in the Oval Office. He opened the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Policy and Service as well as the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Library. As Ford approached 90, his health began to fail. After suffering two strokes and later being fitted with a pacemaker, Ford’s heart and lungs were deteriorating. Gerald Ford died the day after Christmas in 2006 on his ranch in California. His wife, Betty Ford, publicly announced his death and the funeral was held on January 2, 2007.
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