Question

What obstacles did Gerald ford go through

Answer 1

Challenges:
1. Vietnam
2. The worst economy since the Great Depression
3. Communist Europe (the Helsinki Accords)
4. Richard Nixon

One month after taking over the presidency, Ford pardoned Nixon. This caused a lot of controversy but Ford claimed he did it to save the nation from the prospect of a long, messy, and divisive trial.
In 1974, President Ford also offered clemency to those who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War if they would swear allegiance and perform two years of public service. Similarly, those who deserted during the war could return for two years in the branch they left to achieve clemency. However, Ford was criticized both by those who felt he was being to easy on the draft dodgers and those who had avoided the service because they felt they were in the right.

In 1974, Ford asked for aid to be sent to South Vietnam as fighting had resumed. Congress would not agree. In April 1975, Saigon fell and by 1976, North and South Vietnam were united into one country.

Ford escaped two assassination attempts, both by women. First on September 5, 1975, Lynette Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pointed a gun at him but did not fire. She was convicted of attempting to assassinate the president and sentenced to life in prison. The second attempt on Ford's life occurred on September 22, 1975 when Sara Jane Moore fired one shot that was deflected by a bystander. Moore was trying to prove herself to some radical friends with the assassination of the president. She was convicted of attempted assassination and sentenced to life in prison.