1974 Timeline of the presidency of Gerald Ford

the swearing in of president gerald ford supreme court chief justice warren burger



august 9 – gerald ford takes oath of office president, administered chief justice warren burger, in east room of white house. afterward, speaks assembled audience in speech broadcast live nation. ford notes peculiarity of position, saying acutely aware have not elected me president ballots, , ask confirm me president prayers. declares, fellow americans, our long national nightmare over. our constitution works; our great republic government of laws , not of men. here, people rule. there higher power, whatever name honor him, ordains not righteousness love, not justice, mercy. ... let restore golden rule our political process, , let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion , hate. remains recent non-scheduled presidential inauguration in american history.
august 9 – following swearing-in ceremony, president ford meets congressional leaders, senior white house staff, transition advisers, senior economic advisers, , foreign emissaries.
august 9 – jerald terhorst appointed serve president ford s white house press secretary.
august 12 – president ford addresses joint session of united states congress. states, “i not want honeymoon you. want marriage.” states first priority bring inflation under control, declaring “public enemy number one.”
august 15–18 – president ford hosts king hussein of jordan. first foreign head of state received president ford.
august 19 – president ford delivers major speech veterans of foreign wars convention in chicago, supporting earned clemency vietnam war draft evaders.
august 19 – rodger davies, united states ambassador cyprus, along antoinette varnavas, embassy secretary, , greek cypriot national killed sniper fire during anti-american demonstration outside u.s. embassy in nicosia, protesting against failure of u.s. stop turkish invasion of cyprus. afterwards, u.s. government sends replacement, ambassador yemen william r. crawford, in order demonstrate not blaming greek-cypriot authorities murder .
august 20 – president ford nominates nelson rockefeller, former governor of new york, vice president.
august 22 – president ford signs housing , community development act of 1974.
august 28 – president ford holds first press conference president. many of questions concern unresolved issues surrounding watergate.
september 8 – president ford issues proclamation grants former president nixon full , unconditional pardon crimes might have committed against united states while president. surprise announcement stuns country , ford s approval rating plummets in polls. press secretary jerald terhorst resigns in protest after pardon. full text 


september 16 – president ford issues proclamation announcing amnesty program vietnam era draft evaders , military deserters return home. conditions of amnesty required individual reaffirm allegiance united states , serve 2 years working in public service job or total of 2 years’ service had served less 2 years of honorable service in military. clemency board established review personnel records , make recommendations receiving presidential pardon , change in military discharge status.
september 26–28 – first lady betty ford diagnosed breast cancer , undergoes surgery.


win (whip inflation now) button



september 27–28 – white house convenes summit conference on inflation , economy. president ford closes conference address american people, asking them send him list of ten inflation-reducing ideas.

october – december

october 8 – ford announces whip inflation program before joint session of congress.
october 11 – ford signs energy reorganization act of 1974 establishing nuclear regulatory commission.
october 15 – ford signs federal election campaign act amendments of 1974, seek regulate campaign fundraising , spending.


president ford appears @ house judiciary subcommittee hearing regarding pardon of richard nixon



october 17 – ford appears before house judiciary subcommittee on criminal justice explain facts , circumstances basis pardon of former president richard nixon. first sitting president since abraham lincoln testify before house of representatives .
october 17 – ford vetoes freedom of information act amendments believing not enough protection given sensitive , classified intelligence documents. congress overrides ford’s veto on november 21, 1974 making bill law.
october 21 – ford makes first international trip of presidency, travelling nogales , magdalena de kino, mexico. there meets president luis echeverría , lay wreath @ tomb of padre eusebio kino.
november 1 – ford meets ailing richard nixon in long beach, california hospital.
november 5 – republicans lose 40 seats in house , 4 in senate, widening democratic majority in congress during 1974 midterm elections.


gerald ford soviet leader leonid brezhnev in vladivostok, u.s.s.r., november 24, 1974.



november 19–24 – ford makes second international trip of presidency:

november 19–22 – state visit tokyo , kyoto; meets prime minister kakuei tanaka. first visit country incumbent american president
november 22–23 – travels seoul, south korea; meets president park chung-hee.
november 23–24 – travels vladivostok, soviet union; meets general secretary leonid brezhnev. 2 heads of state agree terms limit both nations equal aggregate number of various weapons, including strategic nuclear delivery vehicles (sndvs), intercontinental ballistic missiles (icbms), , submarine-launched ballistic missiles (slbms) fitted multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (mirvs).


december 14–16 – ford makes third international trip of presidency, travelling fort-de-france, martinique, meeting french president valéry giscard d estaing.
december 17 – ford lights national community christmas tree, living 42-foot colorado blue spruce, decorated on 2,000 tiny amber , white energy conserving lights, braided gold-colored rope , large gold ornaments. later, in first christmas greeting american people president, ford mentions former national park service ranger , concerned environmental conservation, pleased fact first national christmas tree living one.
december 19 – president delivers remarks @ american freedom train dedication ceremonies @ alexandria union station in alexandria, virginia.
december 19 – following congressional approval, nelson rockefeller sworn in 41st vice president of united states.




^ gerald r. ford s remarks upon taking oath of office president . gerald r. ford presidential library. august 9, 1974. retrieved november 18, 2010. 
^ remarks president gerald ford on taking oath of office president . watergate.info. 1974. retrieved december 28, 2006. 
^ ford, gerald r. (august 9, 1974). gerald r. ford s remarks on taking oath of office president . gerald r. ford presidential library. archived original on august 13, 2012. retrieved may 2, 2011. 
^ visits foreign leaders in 1974 . washington, d.c.: u.s. department of state office of historian. retrieved august 21, 2016. 
^ u.s. ambassador killed on cyprus . boca raton news. nicosia. 19 august 1974. 
^ nick carbone (september 12, 2012). before libya: u.s. ambassadors have died in line of duty . time. 
^ cyprus: looking paradise lost . time. september 2, 1974. 
^ ford pardons nixon - events of 1974 - year in review . upi.com. retrieved november 4, 2011. 
^ hunter, marjorie (september 16, 1974). ford offers amnesty program requiring 2 years public work; defends pardon of nixon . new york times. retrieved august 10, 2013. 
^ gerald r. ford: proclamation 4313 - announcing program return of vietnam era draft evaders , military deserters . ucsb.edu. 
^ win losing . washington post. dec 20, 1974. retrieved august 26, 2016. 
^ ford testimony on nixon pardon - c-span video library . c-spanvideo.org. october 17, 1974. retrieved december 30, 2012. 
^ sitting presidents , vice presidents have testified before congressional committees (pdf). senate.gov. 2004. retrieved november 22, 2015. 
^ travels of president gerald r. ford . u.s. department of state office of historian. 
^ arms control summits . psr.org. physicians social responsibility. retrieved 25 january 2013. 
^ rippeteau, jane (december 18, 1974). president lights national christmas tree . washington post. 
^ white house christmas cards & messages of presidents of united states: christmas cards & messages gerald ford (1974-1977) . retrieved august 19, 2016. 
^ gerald r. ford: remarks @ american freedom train ceremonies in alexandria, virginia . american presidency project. december 19, 1974. retrieved august 29, 2016.