President Ford
Ford's journey into Presidency
- first to become President purely based on the votes by Congress after the resignation of Nixon
- resigned as his name had been tainted
- Spiro Agnew, the Vice President, also resigned from office
- this left no President or Vice President
- Ford was chosen by Congress but not elected based the votes of America and the Electoral College
- chosen in place after Nixon resigned = there was a stench of illegitimacy that flowed through the White House due to the Watergate Scandal
- became president on August 1974
- popular view that he was a dumb football player
- Ford Pardon: pardoned Nixon from all his crimes
Ending of the Vietnam War
- 1975: North Vietnam concentrates strength and moves South
- Ford wants to send war materials to Vietnam but Congress does not approve
- South Vietnam falls
- April 29, 1975: finally the final American soldiers depart Vietnam
- 140,000 South Vietnamese people also get rescued
- in the end, 500,000 Vietnamese people ended making there way to America
- Americans had in a sense lost the war as well as their 'client'
- $118 billion were spent towards the war
- America had 56,000 dead soldiers and 300,000 wounded soldiers by the end of the war
- lost economic strength and confidence
- hit to America's self esteem = lost in front of foreign eyes
- their power and pride had hurt Vietnam