I Wish I Knew That: U.S. Presidents: Cool Stuff You Need to Know (18 page)

“I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.”

Born

July 14, 1913 Omaha, Nebraska

Political Party

Republican

First Lady

Elizabeth Anne “Betty”

Children

Michael, John, Steven, and Susan

Pet

Liberty, a golden retriever, who gave birth to a litter of puppies in the White House

A Fresh Start

Gerald Ford became president when Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. “My fellow Americans,” Ford said, entering the White House, “Our long national nightmare is over.” The dark days of people not trusting their president were over. He made it his goal to restore people’s faith in America.

A Scholar-Athlete

Ford knew something about scoring goals. A star football player, he was an All-American center and linebacker for the University of Michigan who led his team to two undefeated, championship seasons. “I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers,” he said later. “If I had gone into professional football, the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.”

Instead he went to Yale Law School, paying his tuition by taking positions as Yale’s boxing coach and assistant football coach. He graduated in the top quarter of his class, even though he had been so busy with his coaching duties.

Political Career

Ford served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific in World War II and then became a Michigan congressman, serving for nearly 25 years. His biggest hope was to be Speaker of the House, but he had to settle for vice president (appointed when Nixon’s vice president resigned) and then president (when Nixon resigned).

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST

Gerald Ford was the first (and only) president who was not elected either vice president or president but served as both.

FUN FACT

Gerald Ford was born with the name Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His parents separated just weeks after he was born, and after the divorce his mother married Gerald Rudolff Ford. They called her son Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr. He legally changed his name (using the more common spelling of Rudolph) when he was 22 years old.

Ford destroyed his chances for continuing as president when he pardoned Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States during his presidency. Some people thought something fishy was going on. But Ford did it, he said, because it was the right thing to do, to help heal the country.

Personal Life

Ford often said that the thing he was proudest of in his life was making the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts. He always kept a copy of the Boy Scout manual on his desk throughout his career. When he died in 2006, more than 400 Eagle Scouts formed an honor guard at his state funeral.

FAMOUS FIRST LADIES

BETTY FORD

April 8, 1918–July 8, 2011

Betty Ford was a First Lady who was unafraid to speak out on the important issues of the day. The way she took care of her personal problems was her greatest contribution to the nation.

Off to Washington

Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Ford grew up in Michigan. When she was eight, she began to study dance and dreamed of becoming a dancer. She was introduced to Gerald Ford, Jr., a college football star who went to Harvard and became a lawyer. They began dating and soon were married. When Jerry announced his candidacy for Congress, Betty jumped in to help with his campaign for Congress—and he won! When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Gerald Ford, who was vice president, took the oath of office as the new president.

Outspoken

As First Lady, Betty Ford spoke out in favor of equal rights for women and her support for a woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Soon after becoming First Lady, Betty found out that she had breast cancer. Her openness about the disease and the importance of getting early treatment gave other women hope.

Needed Help

When President Ford lost the presidency, Betty was very sad. She began to drink too much alcohol and take too many drugs for her back pain, and she soon realized that she needed help. She checked herself into the Long Beach Naval Hospital and her experience there led her to open the Betty Ford Treatment Center in California. She was open and honest about her treatment. Because Betty Ford spoke out about her problems, she made it easier for other people to get the help they needed—and probably saved many lives.

FUN FACT

When she was a teenager, Betty Ford studied dance with the famous dance teacher, Martha Graham. She was such a talented dancer that she was chosen to dance at Carnegie Hall!

39th President ~ 1977–1981

JAMES EARL CARTER

Jimmy

“Wherever life takes us, there are always moments of wonder.”

Born

October 1, 1924 Plains, Georgia

Political Party

Democrat

Vice President

Walter Mondale

First Lady

Rosalynn

Children

John “Jack,” James Earl III “Chip,” Jeffrey “Jeff,” and Amy

Pets

Grits, a collie; Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a Siamese cat

Before Politics

Jimmy Carter grew up on his family’s peanut farm in Georgia. He studied nuclear physics at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and worked on a nuclear submarine. When his father died in 1953, Carter went home to run the farm and soon got into politics.

The Outsider

When Carter ran for president, people liked him because he was an “outsider” in Washington. Voters were tired of all the wheelers and dealers in the government and wanted someone new who wasn’t “connected.” Carter was a born-again Christian with very high moral standards.

World Problems

Unfortunately for the new president, a worldwide energy crisis was making gas prices skyrocket out of control. Cars had to wait in long lines just to buy gas. And it got more expensive than ever to borrow money to buy a house.

In Iran, protesters stormed the U.S. embassy in November 1979 and took 52 American diplomats hostage, holding them as prisoners. Carter worked around the clock to get them free, but couldn’t. After 444 days—and on Carter’s last day as President—the hostages were released.

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST

Jimmy Carter was the first president who had been born in a hospital.

FUN FACT

Jimmy Carter, his family, and staff took speed-reading classes at night at the White House.

An Outsider’s Problems

Not being a Washington “insider” worked against President Carter. He had trouble getting Congress to go along with many of his ideas. And international and domestic difficulties just didn’t seem to get any better. He lost re-election.

The Nobel Prize

An extremely intelligent, decent, and sincere man, Carter was the third U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2002 he was awarded the honor for forging a 1978 peace treaty between warring sides in the Middle East.

“War may be a necessary evil,” he said. “But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”

An Active Former President

After leaving the White House, he and Mrs. Carter worked to build homes for the homeless, often taking up hammer and nails and doing the carpentry themselves. Carter also actively worked for human rights causes around the world.

40th President ~ 1981–1989

RONALD REAGAN

The Great Communicator

“Don’t be afraid to see what you see.”

Born

February 6, 1911 Tampico, Illinois

Political Party

Republican

Vice President

George H.W. Bush

First Lady

Nancy

Children

Maureen, Michael, Patricia, Ronald, and Christine (died in infancy)

Pets

Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres; Rex, a King Charles spaniel

An Actor First

At 69, former movie star Ronald Reagan was the oldest president ever to enter the White House. He joked: “Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.”

The Actor

Called the Great Communicator, Reagan was perfectly at ease in front of cameras and large crowds. His years in Hollywood had prepared him for one of the greatest demands of the job: winning people over. “How can a president not be an actor?” he asked.

He made more than 50 movies for Warner Brothers Studios, usually cast as the wholesome all-American kid. Only Errol Flynn received more fan mail than he did. He then went to work for General Electric as a television host and became familiar to even more Americans.

Political Life

When he entered politics, he rose quickly, serving as governor of California for eight years. He beat his opponent in his first run for governor by almost a million votes.

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST

Ronald Reagan was the first (and only) president to have been divorced. He was divorced from actress Jane Wyman, his first wife, and married to actress Nancy Davis, his second wife, when he took office.

FUN FACT

Reagan was hard of hearing, especially in his right ear. During his movie career in the 1930s, an actor fired a pistol near his head, which caused his hearing problems. He began wearing hearing aids in 1983—first in his right ear, then later in his left.