THE MAKING OF A NATION 220 - Gerald Ford

THE MAKING OF A NATION -November 21, 2002: Gerald Ford¹

By Jeri Watson

VOICE ONE:

This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history
of the United States.

(THEME)

Today, we tell about the administration of the thirty-eighth president of the United
States, Gerald Ford.

VOICE ONE:

Gerald Ford was sworn-in as president on August ninth, nineteen-seventy-four. The
day before, President Richard Nixon had announced that he would resign.

If he had not resigned, he probably would have been removed from office. A
Congressional investigation² had found evidence that Nixon violated the
Constitutional rights of the American people during the Watergate case.

The new president spoke³ about Watergate, and what it meant to America, on the day
he was sworn-in.

FORD: "Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great
republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. ... As we
bind⁴ up the internal wounds of Watergate -- more painful and more poisonous than

those of foreign wars -- let us restore the 'Golden Rule' to our political process and let brotherly love purge⁵ our
hearts of suspicion and of hate."

VOICE TWO:

Gerald Ford became the only president in American history to serve as vice⁶ president and president without being
elected.

Richard Nixon nominated him for vice president in October, Nineteen-Seventy-Three. That was when Nixon's
vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned. When Nixon himself resigned, Ford became president.

Ford was a long-time Congressman⁷ from the state of Michigan. He was well-liked. He had been a good student
and a good athlete. He studied economics and political science at the University of Michigan. The he studied law
at Yale University. During World War Two, he served as a Navy officer in the Pacific battle area.

VOICE ONE:

After the war, Ford entered politics. He was a member of the Republican Party. He was first elected to Congress
in Nineteen-Forty-Eight. He won re-election twelve times. Other Republican members of the House of
Representatives elected him minority leader during the presidential administration of Democrat⁸ Lyndon Johnson.

Ford was still minority leader when Republican Richard Nixon was elected president in Nineteen-Sixty-Eight. In
his leadership position, he helped win approval of a number of Nixon's proposals. He became known for his
strong loyalty⁹ to the president. It was no surprise, then, that Nixon named Ford vice president.

Chief Justice Warren Burger
gives the oath of office as
Betty Ford watches.
(Photo - Ford Library)

VOICE TWO:

Gerald Ford became president suddenly. Almost as suddenly, he had to decide what to do about former president
Nixon. After Nixon left office, he could have been charged with crimes for his part in the Watergate case.
Instead, one month after Nixon resigned, President Ford settled the question. He pardoned Nixon of any crimes
for which he might have been responsible.

The pardon made many Americans angry. Some believed Nixon should have been put on trial. They thought he
might have answered more questions about Watergate if he had not been pardoned.

The new president did what he thought was right. He said he pardoned Nixon to end divisions in the country. For
a while, owever, his action seemed to increase the divisions.

VOICE ONE:

Anger about the pardon was still strong when President Ford took another highly disputed action. He pardoned
the men who illegally escaped military service in the Vietnam War. Most were not sent to prison. Instead, they
were permitted to perform work for their communities. Many of the men did not accept the president's offer,
however. They remained in hiding in the United States. Or they remained in other countries where they had fled.

President Ford received much better public support when he asked Congress to control and limit the activities of
the nation's intelligence agencies. He hoped this would prevent future administrations from interfering¹⁰ with the
Constitutional rights of citizens.

VOICE TWO:

Other problems also caused trouble for President Ford. As vice president, he had described inflation as America's
'public enemy number one'. He proposed several measures to fight it. As president, he was forced to cancel some
of these measures because there was an economic recession.

During the recession, inflation decreased. But fewer Americans had jobs. Unemployment in Nineteen-Seventy-
Five was at its highest rate since the great economic depression of the Nineteen-Thirties.

VOICE ONE:

In foreign policy, Ford usually took the advice of Henry Kissinger. Kissinger served as President Nixon's
assistant for national security and as secretary of state. He kept those jobs under President Ford.

Kissinger won much praise for his service to Richard Nixon. Yet he received much criticism, too. He was
accused of interfering with civil liberties in the name of national security. And he was accused of supporting the
overthrow¹¹ of the leftist government of Salvador Allende in Chile.

Still, President Ford was pleased that Kissinger would remain in the administration. Even Kissinger's worst critics
admitted that he was excellent negotiator.

VOICE TWO:

At the time Ford became president, America's situation in the world was generally hopeful. Former President
Nixon and Soviet¹² leader Leonid Brezhnev had signed two agreements to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.
Also, relations with China were less tense than before.

However, American policy in parts of southeast Asia had failed completely.

VOICE ONE:

American involvement in the Vietnam war officially ended the year before Ford became president. But fighting
continued between South Vietnam and communist forces from North Vietnam. The peace agreement signed by
the United States and North Vietnam in Nineteen-Seventy-Three left South Vietnam to defend itself. By
Nineteen-Seventy-Five, it became clear that South Vietnamese forces were in danger of defeat.


President Ford tried to prevent a total communist take-over of the south. He asked Congress to approve seven-
hundred-million dollars in military aid for South Vietnam. The American people, owever, were tired of paying
for the war. Their representatives in Congress said no.

VOICE TWO:

What happened in Vietnam was like a bad dream. Communist forces moved into Saigon, capital of the south.
Ford ordered the rescue of American citizens and of Vietnamese who had supported American efforts. Few who
saw people trying to escape Saigon will ever forget the day.

It was April Thirtieth, Nineteen-Seventy-Five. Terrified Vietnamese were screaming for help at the American
embassy. Everyone was pushing, trying to escape. Some who reached the embassy's roof passed their children
forward. At least, they hoped, they could get the children to safety on American military helicopters. Others held
on to the helicopters from the outside as the overloaded¹³ aircraft tried to take off.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

The Ford administration also faced trouble in the Middle East. Israel and an alliance of Arab nations had fought
two wars in about ten years. After the war of Nineteen-Seventy-Three, Henry Kissinger led negotiations¹⁴ to settle
some issues.

Israel agreed to give up some of the territory it had seized during the fighting. In return, the United States made a
promise. It would not recognize or deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization as long as the P-L-O failed to
meet certain conditions. In September, Nineteen-Seventy-Five, Israel and Egypt signed a ceasefire agreement.
They also agreed to permit American civilians¹⁵ to act as observers along the ceasefire lines.

Henry Kissinger received widespread praise for his peacemaking efforts. Yet the situation in the Middle East
remained tense.

VOICE TWO:

The Ford administration could not fix all the problems of the world. Still, as the presidential election campaign of
Nineteen-Seventy-Six began, things seemed better. The United States was not fighting any wars. Unemployment
was high. But inflation had improved a little. Most important, erald Ford had led the country through the difficult
days after Watergate.

The election will be our story next time.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Cynthia Kirk. This
is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of
the United States.

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1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

5 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

11 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

12 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

13 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。