Gerald Ford
By Joseph An
Ford Enters Office
- After Nixon resigned in 1974 after being humiliated of his cover-up stories, Ford automatically takes over
- He pardons Nixon for his scandalous actions, which created suspicion of Ford and Nixon creating a planned out deal
- Foreign relations established the Helsinki accords with the USSR, which set: boundaries of Eastern Europe, agreements on travel between the two countries, and human rights
The End of the Vietnam War
- In early 1975, Northern Vietnam outruns the south and Saigon is taken
- America was unable to support southern Vietnam, lowering military self-esteem
- War costed $118 billion and 356,000 casualties
- Many consider America to have lost the war since they did not contribute much
Rise in Feminism and Desegregation
- Title IX- prevented sex discrimination in educational programs
- Roe vs. Wade case led to the legalization of abortion, more freedom for women
- The ERA(Equal Rights Amendment) attempted to give gender equality, supported mainly by feminists, but was not passed since it did not get enough states to ratify it
- The Bakke Case- Allan Bakke argues that the college admission process cannot be based off race and wins