Gerald Ford
- 38th U.S. President
- Neither elected as President nor Vice-President
- Pardoned Nixon and all Vietnam draft dodgers
- Straight forward President "Restored the nations's faith in gov't"
- Continued détente
Jimmy Carter
- 39th President from 1976-1980
- Most famous for his dealings with the Arab Isreali conflict
- Hosted the Camp David Accords in 1979
- Was a strong supporter of détente and oversaw the SALT II talks
Summary
When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President ever to resign.Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace.