Rare 1973 VICE PRESIDENT GERALD FORD NIXON REPUBLICAN PARTY PINBACK BUTTON 1¾ !

Description

Here’s a
R
A
R
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1¾”
“
VICE
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD – 1973”
Republican Party Presidential Photo Cello Pinback Button!
In the
1976 Republican presidential primaries, Gerald Ford
, the incumbent President, faced a very strong primary challenge from Ronald Reagan. The former California Governor was popular among the GOP's conservative wing. The race for the nomination was the last one by the Republicans not to have been decided by the start of the party convention. Ford had been appointed to the vice-presidency after the resignation of Spiro Agnew in 1973 and then elevated to the presidency by the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974.
Reagan would ultimately win the RNC nomination in 1980 and become the 40
th
President of the United States!
THE PIN FEATURES A PHOTO OF A SMILING JERRY FORD and IS IN VERY FINE CONDITION!
AN UNCOMMON PIECE OF PRESIDENTIAL MEMORABILIA.
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Biography of the Honorable
Gerald Rudolph “Jerry” Ford, Jr.
(July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006)
Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913 to Leslie and Dorothy King, Gerald R. Ford moved from his hometown in Omaha, Nebraska to Grand Rapids, Michigan after his parents’ separation. On February 1, 1916, Dorothy King married Gerald R. Ford, a Grand Rapids paint salesman. The Fords began calling her son Gerald R. Ford, Jr., although his name was not legally changed until December 3, 1935. Until Leslie King’s surprise visit in 1930, the future president was unaware of his biological father’s identity.
Ford attended South High School in Grand Rapids; his excellence in academics and athletics earned him a place in the honor society as well as the "All-City" and "All-State" football teams. He was also involved with the Boy Scouts, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in November 1927.
In 1931 Ford attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he majored in economics and graduated with a B.A. degree in June 1935. He played on the University's national championship football teams in 1932 and 1933 and was voted the Wolverine's most valuable player in 1934.
Ford received offers from two professional football teams, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but chose instead to take a position as boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at Yale in hopes of attending law school there. Among those he coached were future U.S. Senators Robert Taft, Jr. and William Proxmire. Ford earned his LL.B. degree in 1941, graduating in the top 25% of his class in spite of the time he had to devote to his coaching duties.
After returning to Michigan and passing his bar exam, Ford and a University of Michigan fraternity brother, Philip A. Buchen (who later served on Ford's White House staff as Counsel to the President), set up a law partnership in Grand Rapids.
Ford briefly practiced law in 1941 – 1942 before joining the navy to fight in World War II. In 1943, he was sent to sea on the USS Monterey in the South Pacific. His ship took part in the recapture of the Philippines. Ford spent the remainder of the war ashore and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in February 1946.
In 1948 Ford won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin and was elected to Congress on November 2, receiving 61% of the vote in the general election; he would serve in this position from January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973, being reelected twelve times, each time with more than 60% of the vote.
Ford declined offers to run for both the Senate and the Michigan governorship in the early 1950s. His ambition was to become Speaker of the House. In 1960 he was mentioned as a possible running mate for Richard Nixon in the presidential election.
After Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973, Ford left his seat in the House in order to assume the position under Richard Nixon. He took the vice presidential oath of office on December 6, 1973. During the summer of 1974, as Watergate tensions continued to increase, Nixon resigned as President and Ford took the oath of office the next day, becoming the thirty-eighth President of the United States.
Domestically, Ford's greatest challenge was the country's slumping economy, battling repeatedly with Congress over tax cuts, federal spending, and energy policy. In foreign affairs, Ford worked hard to maintain détente with the Soviet Union but was unable to deliver the major arms agreement he sought. Nevertheless, the United States, the Soviets, and more than thirty other nations signed the Helsinki Accords, a hallmark of détente. Ford also presided over the evacuation of Americans (and their Vietnamese allies) from defeated South Vietnam in 1975. That same year, Ford ordered the successful rescue of nearly 40 American sailors captured by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge.
Despite these achievements, Ford was never able to quell complaints from conservatives in the Democratic and Republican parties regarding his leadership of American foreign policy. His critics were most vocal in rejecting Ford's pursuit of détente with the Soviet Union.
Ford's campaign in the 1976 proved to be a challenge; Ronald Reagan, the leader of the conservative wing of the Republican Party, battled Ford throughout the primary season for the GOP presidential nomination. After surviving Reagan's challenge, Ford faced Democrat and former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, a "Washington outsider" who promised to restore decency and honesty to governance in the wake of Watergate, a promise that brought Carter to victory.
Gerald and Betty Ford retired to California after leaving the White House. He remained active in politics as a commentator and member of a variety of corporate boards. Ford died on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.
I am a proud member of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Society and the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) (member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code of ethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service and historical memorabilia online for over 20 years.~
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