Thirty-seven years ago today, Gerald Ford became the 38thpresident of the United States. Ford’s ascendancy to the presidency made him the first president in United States history to have never been elected to either the presidency or the vice-presidency. In late 1973, Ford had been picked to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had resigned his office in the face of tax evasion charges. At the time of his appointment to the vice-presidency, the Watergate scandal was brewing and many in Congress realized that it would most likely only be a matter of time before Ford became president. President Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency on August 9, 1974 put Ford into a place that he never expected to be: the Office of the President of the United States of America.
For more information on the Watergate scandal that led to Ford becoming President, the Washington Post (the paper that initially broke news of the scandal) has an excellent timeline of events.
For more information on Gerald Ford and his presidency, check out these resources:
Credo Reference has a topic page on President Ford with biographical information.
C-Span’s American Presidents website contains a profile of Ford, including a number of video clips of events from his presidency and the 1976 presidential election campaign.
The Miller Center at the University of Virginia has a very thorough profile of Ford, including videos of many of his speeches and information on his life before and after the presidency.
Finally, the Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum website contains a wealth of information about President Ford and his wife, Betty.
Interesting Tidbit about Gerald Ford: To date, Ford is the only United States President who suffered two failed assassination attempts in one month…both by women. On September 5, 1975, Lynette Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, attempted to shoot Ford. 17 days later, in an unrelated incident, Sara Jane Moore also unsuccessfully tried to kill the president.