Ford & Carter
Gerald Ford 1913 2006 38 th 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 39 th 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 hardwon 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 Falwell in 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 40 th 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."