Ford Administration

Before becoming Vice President, Ford had been a Congressman for many years.

He had been a college football star, but he was often awkward in public

He was a likeable and unpretentious man, but many people questioned his ability to be president.

In the first month of Ford’s presidency, he pardoned Nixon for all crimes that he might have committed.

Ford was accused of making a “deal” with Nixon.

This cost Ford much support from the American people.

He encouraged voluntary steps to be taken by the American public to rid themselves of the inflation.

Ford tried to find ways to combat the incredibly high inflation rate during his tenure.

Not only did inflation continue, but the economy also sank deeper into a recession

The Unemployment Rate also rose to 9%

Ford could not get funding to help support the South Vietnamese who were facing a strong North Vietnamese army.

South Vietnam fell shortly after.

Cambodia also fell to the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist faction that conducted genocide against over a million of its own people

A US merchant ship, the Mayaguez was captured by the Cambodian military.

Ford called for an attack. 38 US Marines died in this assault, but 39 crewmen were freed.

In 1976, Ford ran against Jimmy Carter.

Carter ran successfully as an outsider.

Carter “squeaked” by Ford to win by an electoral vote of 287-241.

Carter Administration

Carter cultivated an informal style to end the idea of an “imperial president.”

In his inaugural parade, he walked down Pennsylvania Avenue instead of riding in the presidential limousine.

Unfortunately, his outsider status hurt him in dealings with Congress, and his reliance on his politically inexperienced advisors from Georgia also hurt his presidency.

A new treaty was negotiated with the country of Panama.

In 1978, after a long debate, the US Senate ratified a treaty that would gradually transfer operation and control of the Panama Canal from the US to Panama.

This was a very unpopular treaty with many people in the US

Carter’s greatest single achievement as President was arranging a peace settlement between Israel and Egypt.

He invited the leaders of Egypt and Israel, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, to meet at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.

The Camp David Accords led to a later treaty that made Egypt the first Arab nation to recognize the nation of Israel.

Carter tried to continue the Nixon-Ford policy of détente with China and the USSR.

1979: US ended its official recognition of the Nationalist government of Taiwan and completed the first exchange of ambassadors with the People’s Republic of China.

1979: SALT II Treaty with the USSR was signed, but the Senate never ratified the treaty as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1979 Islamic fundamentalists, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini’ overthrew the government of the Shah of Iran.

The Shah had been supported by the US and he had sent large amounts of oil to the US.

A large part of the Iranian population was upset with his policy of westernization and his autocratic rule.

When the fundamentalists took power, oil production ground to a halt causing the second worldwide oil shortage of the decade and another round of price increases.

November 1979: Iranian militants seized the US embassy in Teheran and held more than 50 members of the American staff hostage.

The hostage crisis dragged on throughout Carter’s term.

In April, 1980, Carter approved a rescue mission but it failed

For many Americans, Carter’s inability to bring the hostages home was a symbol of a failed presidency.

Inflation became a terrible problem during Carter’s term.

His attempts to curb inflation were entirely unsuccessful and inflation seemed completely out of control and reached the unheard of rate of 13% in 1980.

The Fed attempted to stop inflation by raising interest rates higher and higher, to 20% in 1980.

The Federal Deficit grew to $60 billion by 1980.

Carter viewed as a weak and indecisive leader.

By the election his approval rate had fallen to 23% .