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Mrs. Hansen |
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One of the reasons people remember
Gerald Ford, is because he is the only president who did not
have to get elected president or vice president. In my report
you will find out why.Leslie Lynch King Jr. was born
in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14 1913. Gerald Ford's original name
was Leslie Lynch King Jr. Two years after he was born his parents
got divorced. Gerald's step father adopted him and gave him the
name Gerald Rudolf Ford, Jerry for short. He had three half brother's.
When his natural father got married he gained one half brother
and two half sisters. Most of his life was like any
other boy's life. One unusual thing about him that remained his
whole life, he was both right and left handed. Whenever he sat
down he used his left hand whenever he stood up he used his right
hand. Writing left handed and throwing football's right handed
upset his parents and teachers. They tried to change his pattern
but failed.During the summer he and his brothers
worked at the paint factory their father owned. While they were
there they got a lot of paint on their hands so they wiped it
on their pants and would change before they went home. Jerry
was the only one who wore short pants to work so he would wipe
his hands on his bare legs. On Friday night or any other night
he was going somewhere special he would wash and take it off.Jerry was a serious student he
played football. He did not hang out with girls or the gang much.
But was elected the most popular senior. The prize was a trip
to Washington D.C. Jerry was very serious about football. He
was made first string center on the high school football team.
At fifteen, he was tall and strong. He was not afraid of being
hurt. That same year, he bought a car
with money he had earned. It was a Ford. On a cold day after
he drove home, he put a blanket over the radiator to stop it
from freezing. When they were eating dinner, they smelled something
burning. When they heard a fire engine, they jumped up from the
table and went outside to see Jerry's Model T in flames. "Phone
your insurance agent," Mr. Ford told Jerry. "He'll
send you money for a new car." Because he had not done what
his father said, he did not have an insurance agent. He had to
walk or take the bus the rest of the year. Gerald Ford married Elizabeth
Bloomer, Betty for short. They had three boys and one girl. Betty
was a loving mother, but expected her children, John, Michael,
Steven, and Susan to do what they were told while their father
was at law school and traveling around the world giving speeches.
Ford was running for representative for the democrats against
Jonkman. The way Ford got his votes was he went around town wanting
to talk to people and if they were doing work and said they were
busy, he would lend a hand and help. He beat Jonkman by a margin
of two to one. Then he went on to beat democrat Fred Barr.Ford was elected republican leader
for the house of representatives in 1964. In 1972 Ford was reelected
to congress by a big vote in Michigan. In 1973 Vice-President
Spiro Agnew resigned after saying he took money for political
favors while he was a Governor in Maryland. After Vice President Spiro Agnew
resigned, President Nixon had to choose a new Vice-President.
Nixon chose Gerald Ford. Ford was a good friend of Nixon. Even though Ford was Vice-President
he did not know about the Water Gate incident. He found out and
was surprised that it was happening. Outside the office the public
was getting pretty mad at Nixon. Although Ford did his best to
help out his friend. The congress found out that Nixon had been
using Ford to do his political dirty work. Someone eventually
asked if the White House had anything to do with the Watergate.
Nixon said the White House had nothing to do with it. Like the
public Jerry Ford believed him.Nixon was going to run for President
again. He was a republican he wanted to get information about
the Democrat Party. To help his campaign. He hired a man to break
into the Watergate Hotel, and plant bugging devices into the
democratic headquarters. He was indicted to appear in front of
the senate committee to testify about what happened. They wanted
to impeach him and his cabinet for their wrong doings, but he
resigned before he was impeached. Four members of his cabinet
went to jail. Nixon left office and his Vice-president Ford became
President.While Ford was president he had
to pick a new Vice-president he chose Nelson A. Rockefeller of
New York. Ford pardoned Nixon for his wrong doings. Which made
Ford's popularity lower. Nixon did not go to jail because after
he left office his health lowered. When Ford went to visit him
he was stunned by his physical appearance.While Ford was out on the street
talking to the public he had been shot at two times. The first
was by Lynette Fromme. The second by Sara Jane Moore who escaped
from prison but was returned.Ford ran for another term against
Jimmy Carter, from Georgia. He had already done stuff to improve
international relations and the economy, and promised to keep
doing so. He went to many places to talk out loud to the public.
Ford lost in the election against
Jimmy Carter. Betty and Jerry left Washington D. C. on January
20, 1977. Ford was still active and played in golf tournaments. |
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Mercer. Gerald Ford. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1975. |
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