The Changing Presidency (Ford to Carter)

- one of Ford's first acts as President of the US was to pardon Nixon for Watergate (he was Nixon's vice) - intended to give the message that Republicans looked after their own but gave the wrong impression to the American public. 

- Ford was uninspiring, not charasmatic and a poor orator. He was the 'safe' option, but this was not what America needed. 

- most of his proposals were blocked by a Democrat congress, led to him not getting much done and therefore being destroyed by Carter in the 1976 election. 

- made campaign pledges that he couldn't keep due to extraneous circumstances, had plans to create jobs by increasing spending (an impossibility due to the economy) for example. 

- he did increase state employment of blacks from 3% to 40% - but these jobs were lowly paid. This is the only good he really did. 

- the failures of Carter: 

• failed to cope with fluctuating oil prices, led to the second oil crisis in 1979, (the first was in 1973). 
• sent in 8 navy seals who died during the 1979-1981 Iranian hostage crisis (without ending it).
• inflation was at 15% by the end of his tenure (failed to cope with growing economic issues).
• failed both domestically and internationally. 

- due to all of this it is no surprise that the American public decided to turn away from the ideals of social welfare proposed by Carter and the Democrats, instead voting for the Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.