Ford & Carter

Gerald Ford 1913 – 2006

38th President (1974 – 77)

Former Univ. of Michigan football player, WWII veteran, and 25 year Congressman

Self-deprecatingly once described his abilities as president with, “I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln”

Only president to never be elected to the office of president or vice-president, since he was appointed Nixon’s vice-president after Spiro Agnew resigned due to scandal

Nixon’s Pardon Only a month into his

presidency, Ford issued a presidential pardon to Nixon, ending the Watergate scandal

Ford explained his actions as helping to heal the nation, but many suspected that Nixon had negotiated the pardon out of Ford in return for making Ford president with his resignation

Economic Downturn Ford inherited an

economy that was quickly failing, due to too much deficit spending on the Vietnam War and Great Society programs under Johnson and Nixon

Inflation was on the rise

Overdependence on oil imports left the US economy vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices

Oil Embargo In anger over US support for

Israel, most Arab states began to seek ways to punish America, and the most effective way was to damage the US economy by restricting oil production

The predominantly Arab oil cartel OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) cut back production and raised prices, leading to a gas shortage in the US

Oil that was $3/barrel in 1973 climbed to $30/barrel by 1980

Increased fuel costs meant less money to spend on other things, which led to a recession

Stagflation Economic stagnation +

inflation = stagflation

Economists had not believed that it was possible to have both a recession and inflation at the same time, believing that prices should only rise if demand increased, but it turned out they were wrong!

Whip Inflation Now (WIN)

Plan put forth by Ford which asked Americans to voluntarily reduce energy and fuel consumption

When that failed, he tried cutting government spending and raising interests rates, but that didn’t work either

Helsinki Accords 1975 meeting of NATO

and Warsaw Pact leaders

Soviets promised to uphold basic human rights, but when they did not keep that promise, American enthusiasm for détente began to fade and the Cold War began to deepen once again

Mayaguez Incident May 1975

Cambodia seized an American cargo ship off its shore that they claimed was spying

Ford ordered the ship retaken by the Marines, but the rescue attempt (which proved unnecessary since the ship’s crew had already been released) proved costly, with 41 Marines killed

Still, rescue attempt was seen as a success and helped Ford’s reputation both at home and abroad

Election of 1976 Republicans nominated

Ford Democrats nominated

former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter – a Washington outsider who promised to restore morality and honesty to the government, as well as major reforms to US energy, welfare, and economic policies

Carter won in a close election

Jimmy Carter 1924 – Present

39th President (1977-81)

Graduate of the US Naval Academy, but took over his family’s peanut farm after the sudden death of his father

Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifelong commitment to human rights

Economic Failure Tried to fix the

faltering economy by increasing government spending and cutting taxes – it didn’t work

Reversed course and killed his own hard-won programs and tax cuts – that didn’t work either

Energy Reform Created Dept. of Energy

Called on Americans to conserve oil and to develop new forms of renewable energy like solar, geothermal, & nuclear power

Continued instability in the Middle East led to another oil shortage in 1979, further complicating America’s energy problems

National Energy Act of 1978

Placed higher taxes on cars that weren’t fuel efficient

Gave tax credits to homeowners who improved insulation or used solar energy

Provided funding for research into alternative energy sources

Three-Mile Island March 28, 1979

One of the nuclear reactors at the Three-Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania suffered a core meltdown, releasing radioactive gas into the surrounding environment

Although there were no deaths directly contributed to the accident, cancer and infant mortality rates in the areas downwind showed marked increases in the years immediately following

Since the accident, use of nuclear power has declined in the US

Deregulation Carter approved

removing government regulations on several industries:

Oil industry – to encourage increased domestic production

Airlines – to open up free market competition and reduce prices for consumers

Amnesty to Draft-dodgers

Carter issued a blanket amnesty for anyone who had fled the US to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War

This cost him the support of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans who had done their duty as American citizens

Returning the Panama Canal

Carter convinced the Senate to agree to a treaty which would transfer control of the Panama Canal to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999

Intended to help repair US image in Latin America

Camp David Accords 1978

Carter brokered a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, creating hope for a stabilized Middle East

Menachem Begin (Israel) and Anwar Sadat (Egypt) shared the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, but Sadat was assassinated 2 years later, largely due to his willingness to negotiate with Israel

Iranian Revolution January 1979

Iran’s pro-US Shah (king) was forced to flee due to civil unrest, leaving Iran in the control of Muslim fundamentalists under the Ayatollah Khomeini

When the US allowed the fugitive Shah to receive cancer treatments in the US, tensions boiled over

Iranian Hostage Crisis Nov. 4, 1979

Angry college students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and seized 66 members of the embassy staff as hostages

Ultimately, 52 hostages were held for 444 days, released only once Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president (female and black hostages had been released almost immediately after the embassy was taken)

Failed Rescue Attempt Operation Eagle Claw

April 1980

Daring plan was to rescue the hostages using helicopters, but one of the helicopters crashed en route and the mission was aborted

The failure of the mission, and of Carter’s diplomatic attempts to gain the hostages’ release, badly damaged his already shaky reputation

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

In December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to help the communist government put down a rebellion

US responded to this “invasion” with a grain embargo against the Soviet Union, by boycotting the 1980 Olympic Games which were being held in Moscow, and by refusing to ratify the recently agreed to SALT II treaty

Détente completely collapsed

The Religious Right The “sex, drugs, and rock

and roll” culture of the late 1960s and 1970s prompted a backlash that led many Americans to embrace religious conservatism during the 1980s

Many were greatly concerned by such things as the Roe v Wade and Engel v Vitale decisions, and the feminist and gay rights movements, which they saw as eroding to the moral fabric of America

The Moral Majority Powerful lobbying group

Founded by Jerry Falwellin 1979, dissolved after the 1988 election

Designed to promote the interests of evangelical Christian groups

Their support of Republican candidate Ronald Reagan was a major factor in his win in the 1980 presidential race

1980 Election Democrats nominated Carter

despite his growing unpopularity; many Democrats would have preferred to nominate Ted Kennedy, but an old scandal cost him the nomination

Republicans nominated conservative Ronald Reagan, while a more moderate Republican, John Anderson, chose to run as an independent

Reagan won in a landslide, carrying all but 5 states

Ronald Reagan 1911 – 2004

40th President (1981 – 89)

Former actor

Former Gov. of California

Reagan promised to rebuild the US’ military strength and to fix the economy, all while creating a balanced budget and cutting taxes

"A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."