Read complete books and articles on: Gerald Ford

Ford, Gerald Rudolph - 1913–, 38th President of the United States (1974–77), b. Omaha, Nebr. He was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr., but his parents were divorced when he was two, and when his mother remarried he assumed the name of his stepfather. Admitted to the Michigan bar in 1941, he was a member (1949–73) of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as the Republican minority leader (1965–73). Ford gained a reputation as a loyal Republican who supported his party on virtually all issues. A consistent proponent of a large defense budget, he led the Republican opposition to the Great Society programs of President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was permanent chairman of the Republican National Convention in 1968 and 1972. In Oct., 1973, Ford was nominated by Richard Nixon to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as Vice President of the United States; on Dec. 6, 1973, he became Vice President, the first to be appointed under the procedures specified by the 25th Amendment. As Vice President, Ford traveled widely around the country, attempting to rally for the Nixon administration the support that had eroded as a result of the Watergate affair. His tenure as Vice President was short, however; when Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, Ford became President. He pledged to continue Nixon's foreign policy and to work to curb inflation. One month later he issued a complete pardon to Nixon for all criminal acts perpetrated by Nixon while he was President. In the 1974 election the Republicans suffered substantial losses, attributable both to Watergate and to the economy. To deal with the economic recession, Ford proposed (1975) tax cuts, limited social spending (with continued high defense expenditure), and heavy taxation on imported oil. The Democratic Congress opposed many elements of the program. Ford was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election.

See Ford's Selected Speeches, ed. by M. V. Doyle (1973); C. Fitzgerald, ed., Gerald R. Ford (1988).

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14 of the Best Books and Articles on: Gerald Ford

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America, Vol. 1 » Read Now
by Alexej Ugrinsky. 356 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This two-volume collection draws together essays commissioned for the Hofstra University Presidential Conference on Gerald R. Ford. The essays and transcripts of panel discussions, prepared by academic political scientists and historians, as well as members of the Ford administration, are divided...
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This two-volume collection draws together essays commissioned for the Hofstra University Presidential Conference on Gerald R. Ford. The essays and transcripts of panel discussions, prepared by academic political scientists and historians, as well as members of the Ford administration, are divided into sections devoted to such issues as the pardon of Richard Nixon, the Rockefeller vice-presidency, Middle East diplomacy, economic policy, and Ford's relations with the press. In a period when the Ford presidency is undergoing reevaluation, these essays will be of particular value.
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2.

Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America, Vol 2 » Read Now
by Bernard J. Firestone, Alexej Ugrinsky. 372 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This two-volume collection draws together essays commissioned for the Hofstra University Presidential Conference on Gerald R. Ford. The essays and transcripts of panel discussions, prepared by academic political scientists and historians, as well as members of the Ford administration, are divided...
Read More

This two-volume collection draws together essays commissioned for the Hofstra University Presidential Conference on Gerald R. Ford. The essays and transcripts of panel discussions, prepared by academic political scientists and historians, as well as members of the Ford administration, are divided into sections devoted to such issues as the pardon of Richard Nixon, the Rockefeller vice-presidency, Middle East diplomacy, economic policy, and Ford's relations with the press. In a period when the Ford presidency is undergoing reevaluation, these essays will be of particular value.
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3.

The Great Debates: Carter vs. Ford, 1976 » Read Now
by Sidney Kraus. 553 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
4.

Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations » Read Now
by James Reichley. 482 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
5.

Executive Privilege in the Ford Administration: Prudence in the Exercise of Presidential Power, in Presidential Studies Quarterly » Read Now
by Mark J. Rozell. 13 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...use of executive privilege in the Gerald Ford administration. Drawing primarily...conclude from the above evidence that Gerald Ford was a successful practitioner of...box...
6.

Missing the Bus: Gerald Ford and School Desegregation, in Presidential Studies Quarterly » Read Now
by Lawrence J. McAndrews. 14 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Missing the bus: Gerald Ford and school desegregation by...Like the Boston priest, Representative Gerald Ford had supported the 1954 Brown v Board...Boston desegregation...
7.

Presidential Secrecy and Deception: Beyond the Power to Persuade (Chap. 6 "Gerald Ford: The End of The Secret Presidency?") » Read Now
by John M. Orman. 242 pgs.

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...PRESIDENTIAL POWER: JOHN F. KENNEDY TO GERALD R. FORD 3 2. THE PRESIDENTIAL...RICHARD NIXON 123 6. GERALD FORD: THE END OF THE SECRET PRESIDENCY...public. When a new...
8.

The Press and the Modern Presidency: Myths and Mindsets from Kennedy to Election 2000 (Chap. Six "Mr. Ford's Double-Edged Sword") » Read Now
by Louis W. Liebovich. 283 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Scandal and sex sell, even in the serious business of presidential news coverage. The media deference shown to Kennedy and the scrutiny applied to Clinton illustrate the changed relation between the two, and bookend this pertinent, updated 1998 Choice "Outstanding Academic Book" award-winner...
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Scandal and sex sell, even in the serious business of presidential news coverage. The media deference shown to Kennedy and the scrutiny applied to Clinton illustrate the changed relation between the two, and bookend this pertinent, updated 1998 Choice "Outstanding Academic Book" award-winner. Liebovich tackles misconceptions about the media's role in politics; how chief executives cooperate with and manipulate the press as it suits their needs; and how ratings pressures have bent coverage of elections and the Executive Branch for the worse.
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9.

The Modern Presidency and Crisis Rhetoric (Chap. Six "The Coalitional Crisis of the Ford Presidency: The Pardons Reconsidered") » Read Now
by Amos Kiewe. 246 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This volume examines how presidents from Truman to Bush rhetorically approached and managed political, military, judicial, legislative, and economic crises during their presidencies. Editor Amos Kiewe brings together new essays by communications scholars who look at rhetoric initiated during...
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This volume examines how presidents from Truman to Bush rhetorically approached and managed political, military, judicial, legislative, and economic crises during their presidencies. Editor Amos Kiewe brings together new essays by communications scholars who look at rhetoric initiated during national crises, examining especially the development of rhetoric at the onset of crises, changes in presidential rhetoric, and situational crisis constraints on rhetoric. Their studies suggest similarities in rhetoric in different types of crises, and yield resources for postulating patterns of crisis rhetoric.
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10.

American Prince, American Pauper: The Contemporary Vice Presidency in Perspective ("The Ford Succession: Presidential Resignation" begins on p. 83) » Read Now
by Marie D. Natoli. 212 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
11.

The White House Speaks: Presidential Leadership as Persuasion ("The Coalitionless Ford Presidency" begins on p. 55) » Read Now
by Craig Allen Smith, Kathy B. Smith. 263 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

This work treats presidential leadership as persuasive communication. The major theories of presidential leadership found in the literature establish the central role of persuasion, and introduce the interpretive systems approach to political communication as a theoretical framework for the study of...
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This work treats presidential leadership as persuasive communication. The major theories of presidential leadership found in the literature establish the central role of persuasion, and introduce the interpretive systems approach to political communication as a theoretical framework for the study of presidential leadership as persuasion. Case studies examine recent presidents' use of public persuasion to perform their leadership functions. Particular attention is devoted to coalitional constraints on presidential pardoning rhetoric, presidential leadership through the politics of division, the political significance of conflicting political narratives, the sermonic nature of much 20th-century presidential discourse, the difficulties inherent in persuading the public to make sacrifices, and the dangers of relying too heavily on public rhetoric. The concluding chapter considers the rhetoric that contributed to the demise of the Bush presidency, the election of Bill Clinton, and the challenges facing the Clinton presidency.
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12.

Reparations to Poverty: Domestic Policy in America Ten Years after the Great Society ("Putting the Ford Stamp on Food Stamps" begins on p. 225) » Read Now
by Brigitta Loesche-Scheller. 476 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
13.

Popular Images of American Presidents (Chap. 20 "Gerald R. Ford") » Read Now
by William C. Spragens. 632 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The contributors to this volume examine the popular images of 22 American presidents. They attempt to determine the public standing of these presidencies and consider each president in terms of his image over time. It is argued that fluctuations in succeeding generations' interpretations of past...
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The contributors to this volume examine the popular images of 22 American presidents. They attempt to determine the public standing of these presidencies and consider each president in terms of his image over time. It is argued that fluctuations in succeeding generations' interpretations of past presidents are significant to understanding the kaleidoscopic nature of presidential images. A variety of analytical approaches is employed, including examination of historical narrative, content analysis of editorials and news coverage, and explication of public opinion survey data.
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14.

The Inaugural Addresses of Twentieth-Century American Presidents » Read Now
by Halford Ryan. 324 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The essays in Halford Ryan's The Inaugural Addresses of Twentieth-Century American Presidents explore how presidents have used their addresses to empower themselves in office. The volume's construct holds that the president delivers persuasive speeches to move the Congress and the people, and to...
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The essays in Halford Ryan's The Inaugural Addresses of Twentieth-Century American Presidents explore how presidents have used their addresses to empower themselves in office. The volume's construct holds that the president delivers persuasive speeches to move the Congress and the people, and to move the people to move the Congress if it is intransigent. Even on Inauguration Day, a largely ceremonial occasion, the president seeks acquiescence and action from Congress and the people in his first rhetorical deed as the nation's chief executive officer. Since scholars agree that the rhetorical presidency arose in the twentieth century with Theodore Roosevelt, the book commences with Roosevelt's address, followed by all subsequent presidents' inaugurals - including that of Bill Clinton. The authors' methodology applies classical rhetoric to the nexus of political discourse - the interrelationships among the speaker, the speech, and the audience - discussing vox populi, elocutio, inventio, and actio. Each of the,chapters analyzes the political situation with regard to political purpose, giving special attention to genre criticism and to the themes of campaign rhetoric that were or were not carried forth into the inaugural address. The essayists explicate the evolution of each inaugural's preparation, criticize its delivery, and evaluate its persuasive strengths and weaknesses by accounting for its reception by the media and by the American people. Recommended for scholars of political communication and rhetoric, political science, history, and presidential studies.
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