Ford, Gerald
Ford, Gerald (1913–), thirty‐eighth president of the United States.Born in 1913, a decorated veteran of the Pacific theater in World War II (serving in the U.S. Navy as an ensign aboard USS Monterey), Ford served twelve consecutive terms in the House of Representatives before he was chosen by Richard M. Nixon (1973) to be his vice president.
When Ford became president after Nixon's resignation in 1974, he found himself caught between two ideological camps on national security issues. Many Americans, tired of war, wanted Ford to reject any further obligations abroad. However, conservatives in both parties demanded that Ford demonstrate that the Vietnam War had not weakened American military resolve. Himself a conservative in military affairs, who had supported the American commitment in Korea and Vietnam, Ford nevertheless wanted to win his own term as...
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