Even though Gerald Ford had only two and a half years as President, he had a great opportunity to be just as impactful as his post-WWII predecessors. The qualities that got him to the Vice-Presidency -- such as his laid-back demeanor, eagerness to avoid direct confrontation on difficult issues, and his overall compromising nature, though, is arguably what got in the way of him becoming an effective President. Unfortunately, a nation coming out of the year-long shock of Watergate needed more closure than what Ford was willing to offer.

The 1970s brought more unprecedented issues to the US, such as how to deal with an economy falling into a recession while experiencing rising prices due to its dependency on imported gas and oil. At the same time, the country’s middle class is reaching its peak of power and wealth, the poverty rate is falling, giant diplomatic gains are being made with the USSR and China, and 1976 brings bi-centennial celebrations across the nation that are ideal circumstances for any incumbent President heading for a general election. What factors, then, caused Ford to somehow lose in 1976, especially when his party just four years earlier won 49 out of 50 states in a historic landslide? Was Ford another President that just inherited unlucky circumstances? Or were the poor outcomes that came out of his Presidency exactly what we would expect from someone who was the only person to be both VP and President without ever being elected to either office?

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