Books with title Gerald R. Ford

The "accidental" president whose innate decency and steady hand restored the presidency after its greatest crisisWhen Gerald R. Ford entered the White House in August 1974, he inherited a presidency tarnished by the Watergate scandal, the economy was in a recession, the Vietnam War was drawing to a close, and he had taken office without having been elected. Most observers gave him little chance of success, especially after he pardoned Richard Nixon just a month into his presidency, an action that outraged many Americans, but which Ford thought was necessary to move the nation forward. Many people today think of Ford as a man who stumbled a lot--clumsy on his feet and in politics--but acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley shows him to be a man of independent thought and conscience, who never allowed party loyalty to prevail over his sense of right and wrong. As a young congressman, he stood up to the isolationists in the Republican leadership, promoting a vigorous role for America in the world. Later, as House minority leader and as president, he challenged the right wing of his party, refusing to bend to their vision of confrontation with the Communist world. And after the fall of Saigon, Ford also overruled his advisers by allowing Vietnamese refugees to enter the United States, arguing that to do so was the humane thing to do. Brinkley draws on exclusive interviews with Ford and on previously unpublished documents (including a remarkable correspondence between Ford and Nixon stretching over four decades), fashioning a masterful reassessment of Gerald R. Ford's presidency and his underappreciated legacy to the nation.

The United States president preserves, protects, and defends the U.S. Constitution. Each president's term influences events in America and around the world for years to come. This biography introduces young readers to the life of Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., beginning with his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Information about Ford's football stardom and education and at the University of Michigan and Yale Law School, as well as his early career as a coach and a lawyer is discussed. In addition, his family and personal life, as well as his retirement years in Rancho Mirago, California, during which the Gerald R. Ford Library and Gerald R. Ford Museum opened, and Ford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is highlighted. Easy-to-read text details Ford's military service in the U.S. navy during World War II and his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served on the House Appropriations Committee, served on the Warren Commission, co-wrote Portrait of the Assassin, voted for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, served as minority leader, and then became the first appointed vice president under President Richard Nixon. Finally, students will explore key events from Republican president Ford's administration, including his rise to the presidency after Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate scandal, his pardon of Nixon, the end of the Vietnam War, and his survival of two assassination attempts. Beautiful graphics showcase the primary source documents and photographs. A timeline, fast facts, and sidebars help put essential information at students' fingertips. In addition, a quick-reference chart provides easy access to facts about every U.S. president. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.