Ford and Carter

Gerald Ford He becomes president after Nixon resigned. He had become vice president after Spiro Agnew (Nixon’s original VP) resigned. He was a very self deprecating man, famously said “I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln.”

Continuation of Nixon He pardoned Nixon soon after he became President, and urged America to “move on.” America had an Oil Crisis in 1973 when the price of oil shot way up. This caused rapid inflation, as much at 10%, and our economy was in trouble. Ford comes up with “WIN,” (Whip Inflation Now) program that urged Americans to cut back on their oil use. It didn’t work.

Ford tries to fix the economy. He cut federal spending and encouraged the Federal Reserve to restrict credit. This actually ends up resulting in the worst recession we had seen in 40 years. D’oh!

Ford’s Foreign Policy Carried on Nixon’s plan. Kept negotiating with China and the Soviet Union. Signed the “Helsinki Accords,” which was an agreement between 35 countries to have better relations between the East and West. This was his biggest accomplishment.

Here comes Jimmy Carter! He is a Democrat from Georgia, very well respected, very religious, promises not to lie…… After the 60’s and early 70’s, America is eager for someone like this and he wins. He won 40.8 million of the popular vote, Ford won 39.1 million. Close race.

Because of this, he was unable to get many of his proposals passed. Carter’s politics He did not work well with Congress because he felt “deal making” with politicians was a dirty business that he did not want to be a part of. Because of this, he was unable to get many of his proposals passed.

Carter’s Domestic Agenda Worked hard to fix the economy. He wanted to get America “off” of its addiction to foreign oil. He is also President when we first start to see the manufacturing sector begin to diminish and the service sector begin to rise. This means less high paying jobs for people with little education.

Economic Crisis Worsens In 1979 more conflict in the Middle East again hiked up oil prices, which again hiked up inflation. He tried many different ways to fix this, all of which were unsuccessful, and people begin to think that he is not up to the job of President, given all the things America was dealing with. American morale is at a low point during his term.

Foreign Policy He was very much like Wilson, using morals to help guide policy. He was big into human rights, and pushed for countries around the globe to adopt better human rights records. This leads him into trouble with the Soviet Union. The Soviets Invade Afghanistan, and we start to break down the “détente” or thawing of relations that we had enjoyed with Nixon.

Camp David Accords Huge win for Carter, he gets Egypt and Israel to stop fighting, and Israel gives up some land to Egypt. This was seen as a great move on his part and huge part of his legacy. And then….

Iranian Hostage Crisis. The Sha of Iran, whom we backed, got overthrown by an Islamic Revolution. Ayatolloah Khomeini led the rebels and became leader. He instituted strict laws based on Islamic principles, and Iran completely changes its society. Students storm the US Embassy and take 52 American hostages. Carter would not send the Sha (who fled to America) back in exchange for the hostages, and the crisis went on for 444 days. This pretty much sinks Carter’s chances of reelection.