Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s [Hardcover]

Yanek Mieczkowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2005

History has not been kind to Gerald Ford. His name evokes an image of either America's only unelected president, who abruptly pardoned his corrupt predecessor, or an accident-prone man who failed to provide skilled leadership to a country in domestic turmoil. In Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s, historian Yanek Mieczkowski reexamines Ford's two and a half years in office, showing that his presidency successfully confronted the most vexing crises of the postwar era. Surveying the state of America in the 1970s, Mieczkowski focuses on the economic challenges facing the country. He argues that Ford's understanding of the national economy was better than that of any other modern president, that Ford oversaw a dramatic reduction of inflation, and that his attempts to solve the energy crisis were based in sound economic principles. Throughout his presidency, Ford labored under the legacy of Watergate. Democrats scored landslide victories in the 1974 midterm elections, and the president engaged with a spirited opposition Congress. Within an anemic Republican Party, the right wing challenged Ford's leadership, even as pundits predicted the death of the GOP. Yet Ford reinvigorated the party and fashioned a 1976 campaign strategy against Jimmy Carter that brought him from thirty points behind to a dead heat on election day. Mieczkowski draws on numerous personal interviews with the former president, cabinet officials, and members of the Ninety-fourth Congress. In his reassessment of this underrated president, Ford emerges as a skilled executive, an effective diplomat, and a leader with a clear vision for America's future. Working to heal a divided nation, Ford unified the GOP and laid the groundwork for the Republican resurgence in subsequent decades. The first major work on the former president to appear in more than ten years, Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s combines the best of biography and economic, social, and presidential history to create an intriguing portrait of a president, his times, and his legacy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the best presidential biographies I have read. It explains the rise of the Republican Party as a ruling majority today. It is fast paced and extremely well written. It is a worthy assessment of Mr. Ford's presidency." -- (Lanett, AL) Valley Times-News

"The reader come away from reading this fine and impeccably researched book with a new appreciation for Gerald Ford as a sophisticated thinker and a person with a consistent vision for the nation's domestic and international policy.... Succeeds admirably as a political biography." -- Business History Review

"In this impressive book, he argues that Ford's tenure as president deserves more consideration and even praise than it has often received. After reading it, one is hard pressed to disagree with the author's conclusion." -- H-Net Reviews

"A welcome study of an usual American president." -- Journal of American History

"This ambitious work calls for a reexamination of the Ford presidency in light of the formidable challenges he faced upon taking office. A welcome and important addition to the literature on the Ford presidency." -- Library Journal

"Adds a great deal to our understanding of Ford's priorities and guiding philosophy for the nation's domestic and international policies. Mieczkowski shows within a broad historical context how Ford dealt with the challenges the country faced during the mid-1970s." -- Michigan Historical Review

"By a masterful analysis, Mieczkowski shows how Ford restored credibility to government and promoted amicable relations with Congres." -- Richard Lowitt, University of Oklahoma

About the Author

Yanek Mieczkowski, associate professor of history at Dowling College, is the author of The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections and contributed the chapter on Gerald Ford for The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (April 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813123496
• ISBN-13: 978-0813123493
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,042,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary re-evaluation of the Ford Presidency, November 20, 2006

By 

Alexander Hogan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s (Hardcover)

An entertaining and historically necessary re-evaluation of one of our most underrated Presidents. Largely remembered for falling down, Mieczkowski shows how Ford's personal honesty, lack of arrogance or secrecy and willingness to let Congress, despite their largely successful attempt to thwart Ford's policy initiatives to regain their sense of power after four terms of an "Imperial Presidency" was exactly what America needed after the trauma of Watergate and Vietnam.

Ford never had any interest in seeking the Presidency. He was happy to stay in Congress, dreaming of being Speaker of the House. As Mieczkowski mentions, it takes a pretty big ego and a lot of ruthlessness to decide to run for President, make through the primaries and come out on top in November. As an "accidental" President who was never elected, Ford has perhaps the unique distinction of having smallest ego of any sitting President, an important bending of the stick after years of Nixon and Johnson.

Ironically despite being one of the most open Presidents when it came to press, he was mercilessly ridiculed by them, leading to his klutzy reputation. After Watergate and the 60's rebellion, no one was willing to trust anyone in authority and Ford had the bad luck to come into office when he did. Many who did attack him (even Chevy Chase as the book recounts) would latter regret it.

Mieczkowski also does a good job of reminding readers was a state of crisis America was in the mid- 1970's. Rampart inflation, out of control energy prices and a generalized lack of confidence in the future and our leaders were all problems Ford inherited and tried his best to confront. A combative Democratic controlled Congress, with a high percentage of "new Democrat" freshmen made sure that Ford spent more time in veto wars with the House and Senate instead signing his name to bills, so in terms of policy he accomplished little, but he did succeed in bringing back some sense of trust to the White House. In the end Ford was a man who never labored to sit in the White House, but when called upon to try to rebuild the broken trust America had in the Executive branch after the lies of Johnson and Nixon, Mieczkowski shows how Ford stepped into one of the more difficult positions any President has ever faced and left an important mark. His pardon of Nixon largely killed his chances to be re-elected, but Mieczkowski makes a well-argued defense of Ford's decision *whether you agree with it or not) and that Ford did it out of a need to move America onto issues beyond Watergate; not becuase of any "secret deal" with Nixon as some had rumoured. Even then, during his re-election campaign, he managed to cut Carter's intial dominating lead to mere points making the 76 election one of the closest in the 20th century. His openness, moderation and dialogue when dealing with opponents and scrupulous honesty are characteristics that I'm sure many of would like to see make a comeback in Washington.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good look at the Ford presidency in the context of the 1970's, January 1, 2007

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s (Hardcover)

This is a very good book that looks back at the Ford presidency in an unbiased way and examines almost every aspect of Ford's term in office, including his foreign policy and leadership style. Ford actually understood economic policy better than any postwar president, having spent fourteen years on the House Appropriations Committee in Congress - his actual goal had been to be Speaker of the House. Facing unprecedented increases in inflation and the rate of unemployment, Ford insisted that controlling inflation would serve the country better in the long run than trying to reach full employment. Therefore, he fought hard to decrease government spending and deregulate industry rather than promoting jobs programs or accepting the price controls advocated by many in Congress, which his predecessor had attempted with disastrous results. Before he left office, inflation had been cut by more than one half and the number of Americans without jobs was declining. However, it was not enough to save him from defeat in the 1976 elections. Only after the disastrous Carter administration did the federal government and the nation actually have the political will to implement Ford's original suggestions more fully during the Reagan years - and they worked.

The book does a good job of detailing how the energy problems and inflation that plagued Ford were not of his making, and would have caused problems for any president. Also detailed are the unparalleled expectations of the American public at that time, having just finished exiting the unprecedented 25 year-long post-war boom as well as the radical nature of the Congress that Ford had to work with that was ushered in during the 1974 elections almost immediately post-Watergate. The author makes a good case that if you had members of this Congress trying to introduce legislation that would outlaw the spanking of children by their own parents, it is unlikely that Ford would be able to get this bunch to compromise on Congressional spending. The author's analysis also points to the need to consider Ford's presidency in the context of other threads of conservative thought, such as the rise of the religious right and the later growth of the GOP. I would recommend this well-written book to anyone wanting to understand Ford's presidency in the context of the unique decade of the 1970's. Recognize, however, that this is not a biography of President Ford. It's entire focus is his presidency.

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb accurate work much needed, December 28, 2010

By 

Senator Larry Pressler (Ret.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s (Hardcover)

I was in the US House from l977-79and the Seante from l979-97. This is the first accurate, detailed account of Ford's presidency. I was there for much of this and I have not seen it written so thouroughly. It is an accurate, old fashioned history of what really happened--especially pointing out that Ford had been on appropriations all those years and was probably the first president to really understand that process. I was new in Wasshington and I was astounded at how harsh the press was on Ford--yet when I went to his funeral they were all praising him. I am so delighted that this book was written.

I must confess that i especially appreciated Mr. Mieczkowski dug out that Ford had fired one of his legislative aids Mr. Loen over his treatment of me after I had voted against Ford's position on natural gas. That took a lot of digging--and showed Jerry Ford's basic fairness and dignity. I hope Mr. Mieczkowski reads this and gets in touch with me by e mail--mine is [e-mail].