Highlights

Date: Aug. 9, 1974
Remarks On Taking
The Oath Of Office

The First 100 Days

Presidential Priorities:
• Pardon of former President Nixon
• Whip Inflation Now program
• Vietnam War wounds

Originally published Jan. 13, 2001

"Our long national nightmare is over," Gerald Ford told the nation at his swearing-in on Aug. 9, 1974. For the previous two years, the Watergate scandal had consumed America, and in the end, it forced Richard Nixon, the nation's 37th president, to resign in disgrace. To Ford -- who had himself become vice president under highly unusual circumstances -- his goal seemed clear: His first 100 days would be spent attempting to heal the nation.

Historians agree that Ford did have a honeymoon, albeit a brief one. Though never elected to anything other than a House seat from Michigan -- he had assumed the vice presidency just eight months before, following the resignation of Spiro T. Agnew, who had become ensnared in a scandal of his own -- Ford did not face questions of legitimacy. "Our Constitution works," he reassured Americans after he took the oath.

Ford's close ties to Congress helped. He had served in the House from 1949 to 1973, giving him more congressional service than any president before or since. His personality was roughly the opposite of Nixon's -- Ford struck most people as optimistic and trusting. During those initial days as president, he held prayer meetings with Democratic members of Congress and refused to accept the resignations of any Nixon White House staffers. He called in foreign ambassadors to reassure allies and enemies abroad that the United States was in capable hands. He addressed the United Nations. (More)