Transcript POWER POINT>>> President Ford Power Point

Gerald R. Ford
Republican
Ford’s background…
• U of Michigan Football star
• WW II - U Navy
• 12 terms in the House of Representatives
• Served on the Warren Commission
• Nixon appoints Ford VP
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The 1st person appointed V.P. & President under the 25th Amendment.
The only President to serve without being elected President or V.P.
Objectives…
• Summarize Ford’s response to the
economic problems of the era.
• Identify the major reasons for Americans
losing faith in the federal government.
“The trouble with Gerry
Ford is that he used to play
football without a helmet”
- LBJ
The 1970s Recession
• The cause…
- In protest of the Arab-Israeli conflict
OPEC embargoed oil exports to the west.
- High oil prices trigger inflation and a
deep recession
Inflation rose form 6% in 1973
10% in 1974
14% in 1980
Stagflation
Stagnation & Inflation
• A term used to describe a sluggish economy…
-Price inflation
-Slow economic growth
-Rising unemployment
-Recession
The economy was bad and Ford lacked a clear
vision for putting the economy back on track.
Ford’s plan to rejuvenate the economy…
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Stimulate economic growth
Stabilize interest rates
Raise taxes
Limit government spending
W.I.N.
Whip Inflation Now
• Fight inflation by saving & spending less
• Backfired: Americans stopped spending & the
economy slows even more
The Nixon Pardon
Sept, 1974
“My fellow Americans, our long time nightmare is over.
Our constitution works. Our great republic is a
government of laws, not of men”
–Gerald R. Ford
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GRF gives RMN a full pardon
A corrupt bargain?...
Justification: Spare the country a painful trial
Nixon’s employees were not given pardons..
Most went to prison
The War Powers Act (1973)
• Designed to control the
president's power to
commit the US to a war
without the permission of
Congress.
• The president has 48hrs
to inform Congress of a
troop movements.
• Troops can remain for 60
days without Congress
declaring war.
The Fall of Saigon
April, 1975
• The American embassy in Saigon is
evacuated
• This marks the end of the Vietnam War
• Vietnam falls to communism
What is the overall intention
of the War Powers Act...
To limit the power of the U.S. President in
engaging in a conflict by requiring that
he report troop movements and seek
Congressional permission after 60 days.
In the 1970s, the combination of
rising prices, high unemployment
& slow economic growth was
termed…..
STAGFLATION
High inflation, slow economic growth & high
unemployment.
President Ford’s
most controversial act as
President was to…
Pardon Nixon for Watergate