Gerald Ford facts and life story. Presentation “The Board of US Presidents. Life outside of politics

When studying US history, any attentive reader will notice that the least studied period is the presidency of Gerald Ford. But after the end of World War II, this period in the life of a powerful power was perhaps the most tragic.

Characteristics of the time period under President Ford

In fact, the rise in crime and the economic crisis increased tension in society. The number of citizens losing trust in government and becoming disillusioned with American society also grew. and its completion, inglorious for the American state, aggravated the situation.

Despite this, President Ford was able, thanks to his calm and balanced character, to restore citizens' trust in presidential power and strengthen hope for a better future. During his presidency, in 1975, a joint Soviet-American flight was carried out under the Soyuz-Apollo program with spacecraft docking. Preparations for this event began under Nixon. In addition, at the same time the United States solemnly celebrated the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence.

However, this was not enough to raise the prestige of the Republican Party, which had been undermined by the Watergate scandal, which prevented Gerald Ford from becoming president for a second term.

Gerald Ford: biography of childhood and youth

Gerald Rudolph Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, who served from 1973 to 1976, was born on July 14, 1913. This event took place in Omaha, Nebraska. The boy's name was Leslie Lynch King. After a short period of time, the family broke up. The mother of the future head, Dorothy King, remarried. This time her chosen one was merchant Gerald Rudolph Ford, originally from her hometown of Grand Springs. Thus, Leslie Lynch King one day turned, thanks to his stepfather, into Gerald Rudolph Ford.

As a child, young Gerald was a scout; in the hierarchy of this organization he reached the very top and received the highest rank of Eagle Scout. In the school football team, a teenager, and then a young man, was captain. He did not give up playing football even while studying at the University of Michigan.

Having completed his studies at this alma mater in 1935, the young man continued his education at Yale University Law School. Completion of studies - 1941.

Biography of Gerald Ford before his appearance in big politics

Afterwards, Gerald Ford attended special courses, where he trained military personnel as a military instructor.

In 1943, Ford's instructor career ended, and he served on the USS Monterey until 1946. This ship, while in the Pacific Ocean, took part in a number of combat operations against the Imperial Japanese Navy.

After leaving the reserve, Gerald Ford returned to his city of Palm Springs, where he began working as a practicing lawyer. Then he decided that he would go into politics.

Participation in the political life of the country in the period before entering the Oval Office

The year 1948 arrived. Ford is nominated by the Republican Party for the US House of Representatives. His career in big politics began with the victory in these elections. Ford was elected to this position several times over the years, until 1973.

Sitting in the House of Representatives, the politician participated in the investigation into the sensational assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. The Warren Commission was involved in the case, and Ford was an active member of it. True, this work did not bring any special laurels, because the results of the investigation, reported by the commission to the US authorities and public, have so far been subject to sharp criticism.

To complete the characterization of Ford as a politician, we note that he opposed escalation by the United States and was a supporter and friend of President Nixon.

Rising to the top of power

In 1973, as a result of a tax scandal, Spiro Agnew, who held the post of vice president at that time, was forced to resign. Using a constitutional amendment, President Nixon appointed Gerald Ford to succeed Agnew.

A year later, the notorious Watergate scandal broke out, Nixon was threatened with impeachment. This led to the voluntary early resignation of the head of the White House. So, without elections or congresses, Vice President Gerald Ford, according to the constitution, became President of the United States, officially taking this post in 1974, on August 9. Before continuing our story, it would be appropriate to illustrate it. So, meet Gerald Ford (photo below).

Foreign policy

In this area of activity, it can be argued that President Gerald Ford has left a significant mark on international history. Continuing the policy of détente begun by previous President Nixon, Ford paid a visit to the USSR, continued the normalization of relations with communist China that began in 1971, and ended the Vietnam War.

At the same time, there were also negative aspects. Thus, bypassing Congress, at the direction of President Ford, a special operation was carried out in Cambodia. A US merchant ship detained by Cambodian warships and its crew of 39 sailors returned home unharmed, but American Marines (41 people) were killed and the Cambodian city of Sihanoukville was bombed from the air. In 1975, again unbeknownst to Congress, Ford authorized assistance to anti-government forces during the Civil War. Gerald Ford's foreign policy, among other things, had two important directions that deserve special attention. This is detente and Vietnam. Let's talk about this in more detail later.

Relieving tension

In 1975, President Ford made a visit to the USSR, where in Vladivostok he met with the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L.I. Brezhnev. At this meeting, the state of relations between the USSR and the USA, and international problems, and ways to reduce the threat to the universal were discussed. Within the framework of the latter problem, issues were resolved restrictions on strategic offensive weapons.

At the same time, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords on security and cooperation.

However, even in this field, congressional Democrats resisted the president’s efforts. Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the 1972 USSR-USSR Trade Agreement, which tied the implementation of this agreement to the situation with civil rights in the USSR.

Vietnam

A special page in American history is the participation of the United States in the Vietnam War, or, as progressive politicians and journalists called it, the US Vietnam adventure. Without dwelling on all the vicissitudes and circumstances of this painful campaign for American society, we will only say that during the years of Ford’s reign it was already known that the reason for the start of the bombing of North Vietnam, the so-called. The Tonkin incident was a fake, concocted by American intelligence agencies. Almost the entire world morally or materially supported the struggle of the Vietnamese people for independence and reunification of the country. In 1975, Saigon, the capital of the Republic of South Vietnam, was stormed by the DRV troops, and a victory banner was raised over the presidential palace.

The Americans evacuated their embassy and those Vietnamese who could not remain in the liberated country.

However, the direct participation of American troops in hostilities ended earlier, in 1973, with the signing of a peace treaty in Paris.

The impact of the war on American society was so strong that the United States abolished conscription and switched to a contract army. This reform began under President Nixon. The last conscript left the US Army in 1974.

In general, both society and the authorities were struck by the so-called as a result of this war. Vietnam syndrome. That is, society and the state carefully avoided reasons to be drawn into the same war. The consequences of this influenced the foreign policy activities of US presidents and the US Congress for a long time.

At the same time, the actions of US administrations in previous periods to mislead public opinion, both in the international arena and in America itself, became known.

Domestic policy

In this area, a number of the president's actions caused growing discontent among citizens. So, in 1974, on September 8, Ford issued a decree pardoning his predecessor for all unidentified offenses against the country committed as President of the United States.

As a result of this amnesty, although it complied with constitutional norms, President Gerald Ford did not have a good relationship with Congress. Moreover, the majority there was for the Democrats.

Thus, Congress refused to reduce appropriations for social needs. During his years in office, Ford himself imposed more than 50 vetoes on various bills. In turn, Congress did not agree with the president and approved them again. Ford also lost on the issue of income tax rebates. The president was essentially a conservative, while the majority of congressmen were liberals. And, contrary to the position of the head of the White House, these discounts were received by low-income individuals. Thus, Gerald Ford's domestic policies could not be effective in the face of constant struggle with Congress.

Economy

At the time Gerald Ford assumed the presidency and during his reign, the United States was in a deep economic crisis: inflation and unemployment were constantly growing, and production was in decline. The authorities were forced to significantly reduce government spending. Funding for any program not related in one way or another to the needs of the Pentagon was effectively stopped.

End of political career and death

Despite a number of achievements and efforts, despite all the efforts made by Gerald Ford, the domestic and foreign policies briefly described in this article were not widely popular in American society. Measures to reduce inflation were carried out urgently, but this caused unemployment to rise to 12%, beginning the largest decline in the US economy since the Great Depression of 1929-1933. In 1974, the Republicans' regular opponents, the Democrats, won the midterm elections for both houses of Congress. Next came their turn of triumph in the race for the presidency. The next - thirty-ninth - President of the United States became a candidate from the Democratic Party.

Gerald Ford, having lost the presidential election to a candidate from a rival party, left the Oval Office and worked for a long time at the American Enterprise Institute.

During his tenure at the highest level of power in the United States, Ford survived two failed attempts on his life. Having become ex-president, he actually left big politics.

In 2006, on December 26, former US President Gerald Ford, whose domestic and foreign policies were already beginning to be forgotten, died, leaving behind four children. And of course, a very noticeable mark on world history.

Thirty-eighth President of the United States from 1974 to 1977 from the Republican Party.

Gerald Ford was born on July 14, 1913 in Grand Rennes, USA. The boy grew up in a strictly religious family and studied law at Yale University as a scholarship student. After World War II, which he spent as a highly decorated officer on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, Ford decided to go into politics.

In 1948, Ford was elected to the House of Representatives from the 5th district in Michigan, where by 1965 he rose to leader of the Republican caucus. Gerald Ford had an unblemished reputation and had rich political experience.

Richard Nixon appoints Ford Vice President of the United States in 1973 after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Less than a year later, on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford assumed the presidency of the United States when Nixon himself resigned in connection with the Watergate investigation. More than other vice presidents who were unexpectedly promoted to the top job, Ford was considered a transitional president, at least until he acquired his own mandate through the election.

However, when Ford pardoned Nixon without admitting guilt in September 1974, his actions were sharply criticized, and suspicions of a backroom deal were actively discussed in the press. Gerald Ford broke the record previously held by Ronald Reagan to become the longest-living US president.

President Gerald Ford left a significant mark on international history. Continuing the policy of détente begun by previous President Nixon, Ford paid a visit to the USSR, continued the normalization of relations with communist China, and ended the Vietnam War.

At the same time, there were also negative aspects. Thus, bypassing Congress, at the direction of President Ford, a special operation was carried out in Cambodia. A US merchant ship detained by Cambodian warships and its crew of 39 sailors returned home unharmed, but 41 US Marines were killed. The Cambodian city of Sihanoukville was also bombed from the air, and in 1975, again secret from Congress, Ford authorized assistance to anti-government forces during the civil war in Angola.

Foreign Policy At the Origins of the Cold War After the sudden death of Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, Truman, according to the constitution, assumed the presidency. Almost from the first days of his presidency, he began to revise one of the fundamental elements of his predecessor’s foreign policy - cooperation with the USSR, trying to resolve disagreements that arose between the allies (especially on issues of the post-war system in Eastern Europe) without taking into account his interests, from a position of strength. The new, unfriendly position of the United States towards the USSR was evidenced by Truman’s emphatically harsh conversation with V. M. Molotov in Washington on April 23, and the US cessation of supplies under Lend-Lease in May 1945, and attempted threats during the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference, related to the successful tests of the atomic bomb carried out the day before. The Truman administration was gradually abandoned by supporters of Roosevelt's line - G. Hopkins, G. Wallace (who served as Secretary of Commerce). In August 1945, he decided to use nuclear weapons against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a result of which over 200 thousand people, mostly civilians, were killed and wounded. Pursuing a policy of “containment,” the Truman administration made extensive use of both economic and military-political levers. In March 1947, on his initiative, the US Congress adopted a program of military and economic assistance (worth $400 million) to the governments of Greece and Turkey to strengthen their positions in the fight against the communists, which later became known as the “Truman Doctrine.” According to the Marshall Plan (named after the Secretary of State in the Truman Administration), the countries of Western Europe in 1948-51 were provided with economic assistance in the amount of over $13 billion, which contributed to their post-war recovery. By 1951, industrial production in Western Europe was 43% higher than the pre-war level. The implementation of the Marshall Plan simultaneously strengthened the position of American capital here (US private investment increased fourfold) and provided American companies with extensive sales markets. According to the National Security Laws adopted in 1947 and 1949, a single Department of Defense was created, combining the three ministries of the armed forces (Army, Air Force and Navy), and the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were formed. In April 1949, an agreement was signed in Washington to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). During the last years of Truman's presidency, the United States took an active part in the Korean War (1950-53). American troops under the command of General D. MacArthur acted on the side of South Korea under the flag of UN troops (which also included small military contingents from 16 other countries). However, when, after Chinese troops entered the war on the side of the DPRK in November 1950, MacArthur announced his readiness to transfer hostilities to the territory of the PRC and use nuclear weapons, Truman not only did not authorize such actions, but also removed him from command.

Such conditions were created in 1973, when the current Vice President S. Agnew left his post due to allegations of corruption, and Nixon approved in Congress as his successor his friend Congressman Ford, who had a reputation as a principled and honest politician. It can therefore be stated that Ford, who had never been popularly elected, ended up in the White House by pure chance.

The future US president was born on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska, and his parents were the son of a banker and wool merchant Leslie Ling King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner, the daughter of a businessman and mayor. A year later the couple lived together and sixteen days after the birth of their first child, Leslie Ling Jr., Dorothy, due to her husband’s beatings, took her son, went to her parents’ house in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and soon officially divorced the marriage.

In February 1916, she married again, and her husband, an entrepreneur in the paint industry, Gerald Rudolph Ford, adopted a three-year-old boy and changed his name to his own. A few years later, Gerald went to school. Along with his studies, he actively played football. After school, the young man entered the oldest University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and, graduating in 1935, received a Bachelor of Arts degree. During his studies, he was the leader of the student football team, which successfully competed in two annual national championships.

That same year, Gerald moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked as an assistant football coach, and soon began attending classes at Yale University Law School. Having completed four years of study, obtained a license and joined the Michigan State Bar, in 1941 the young man opened a joint office with a friend in Grand Rapids.

After the United States entered World War II, the lawyer, postponing his professional activities, entered military service and first attended instructor courses. Then, in May 1942, Ensign Ford was assigned to the North Carolina Naval School, where he taught navigation, gunnery, and other academic subjects for a year, and coached students in football, basketball, boxing, and other sports.

Some time later, Gerald, having become a lieutenant, commissioned the new aircraft carrier Monterey and then, after serving on it for a year and a half, participated in a number of battles with the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. In 1945–1946 The future politician, awarded four prestigious medals for courage and bravery, is sent to the naval schools of the states of California and Illinois, where he, as before, teaches and at the same time conducts sports training with students.

At the end of June 1946, Ford retired with the rank of lieutenant commander and returned to the practice of law. Soon, deciding to switch to political activity, he joined the ranks of the Republican Party and nominated himself as a delegate from the state of Michigan in the US House of Representatives.

A year before the parliamentary elections, in August 1947, the thirty-four-year-old lawyer and war veteran met Elizabeth Ann Bloomer, and a romantic relationship began between them. She was born in Chicago and was the only daughter of a traveling salesman for a trading company; her parents and two older brothers simply called her Betty. Having received secondary education, she graduated from dance school and, having organized a troupe, traveled around the country with concerts.

Elizabeth was in an unsuccessful marriage for five years, taught dance to children, including disabled people, worked in a frozen food factory, as a store clerk, and as a clothing designer in a department store. Gerald and Betty's meeting culminated in a wedding ceremony on October 15, 1948, at the Grand Rapids Episcopal Church, after which the newlyweds attended a political rally and a football game.

The following month, Ford was elected congressman. Subsequently, being re-elected more than ten times, he served in the House of Representatives for twenty-five years, until December 6, 1973. The couple settled in the suburbs of Washington, and here in 1949-1957. their three sons and a daughter were born.

The congressman was a member of the Appropriations and Defense Committees, and also served on the government commission investigating the assassination of President Kennedy (he, in particular, was tasked with studying in detail the biography of Lee Harvey Oswald). In addition, he participated in the development of various bills, invariably showing conservatism, and objected to many proposals of the country's presidents. By the way, colleagues often even called him a reactionary and a hidden racist.

For example, he did not support the laws initiated by the Truman administration on the minimum wage and federal assistance to the education system. He reacted negatively to President Eisenhower's proposals for government assistance to farmers and the construction of modern highways. He did not approve of the measures developed by the Kennedy administration to stimulate economic growth and improve housing legislation.

In 1965, Ford was elected Republican minority leader, and over the next eight years he exerted an even greater negative influence on the activities of the House of Representatives. It became especially acute during the discussion of the Great Society program proposed by President Johnson, which envisaged the implementation of a set of socio-economic reforms in order to eradicate poverty in the country. Just some of the proposals of the next President R.M. For example, in the economic sphere, the Republicans considered it possible to support Nixon.

At the same time, participating in discussions of foreign policy and especially the events of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Ford and his fellow party members approved almost all decisions of the executive branch (with the exception of the escalation of the war in Vietnam). On December 6, 1973, the ex-congressman was officially proclaimed vice-president of the country and over the next eight months successfully fulfilled his official duties.

On August 9, 1974, Gerald R. Ford became, as we already mentioned, President of the United States. Since he was not re-elected to a second term two years later, the Ford couple left the White House on January 20, 1977. During the two years and almost five and a half months that the thirty-eighth president was in power, a number of negative events occurred that significantly complicated his activities.

The most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s erupted in the United States, accompanied by a catastrophic increase in inflation and unemployment. As a result of the parliamentary elections, members of the Democratic Party in conflict with the Republicans received an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress.

A deep split in society was caused by the president's announcement of a pardon for the Watergate scandal of his predecessor, Nixon. Some called Ford's version of his desire to save the nation from a painful trial plausible. Others argued that the pardon was just a disguised form of payment for the president.

In Sacramento and San Francisco (California), on the mornings of September 5 and 21, 1975, when Ford was leaving the hotel, attempts were made on his life, respectively, by a twenty-three-year-old associate of a well-known serial killer in the United States and a forty-five-year-old member of a left-wing radical organization. Fortunately, both attempts to assassinate the head of state were unsuccessful (the girl’s revolver misfired, and the second criminal missed when shooting).

Ford's presidency was marked by the complete collapse of foreign policy in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, in which pro-communist governments came to power, and the United States had to urgently remove military equipment, military personnel and civilians from there. America's intervention in the civil war in Angola, where a socialist regime of government was established with the help of the Cuban army, also ended in failure.

At the same time, despite the above circumstances, the president, using methods of persuasion of legislators, often compromising with them and widely using the veto power, was able to achieve the implementation of some innovations useful for the economy.

For example, in order to quickly eliminate any emergency situations, a law was passed that for the first time clarified the rights and responsibilities of each of the three branches of government. The presidential administration approved a congressional resolution on a temporary reduction in government spending on social protection of the population and federal construction projects for unemployed citizens. To reduce the cost of expensive imported oil, the profitability of domestic energy was actively increased. In addition, the president reformed the tax and judicial systems. In solving economic problems, great assistance was provided by the staff of the American Enterprise Institute, organized in Washington back in the early 40s. Thanks to the efforts of the administration, by the end of Ford's presidency, business activity of businessmen had revived, inflation had dropped, and the unemployment rate had noticeably decreased. In 1974–1977 Other important positive events also occurred.

A satellite navigation system was launched, making it possible to accurately determine the coordinates of any objects on land, in water and in the air, and the first docking of American and Soviet spacecraft took place. The railroads began using improved diesel locomotives, new Washington DC metro stations opened, digital cameras went on sale, Bill Gates founded Microsoft, and eight scientists received the Nobel Prize.

The detente between the USA and the USSR continued. On November 23–24, 1974, a meeting between Ford and the leader of the Soviet Union L.I. took place near Vladivostok. Brezhnev. Agreements on cooperation in a number of sectors of the economy and a treaty on the limitation of strategic arms were signed.

In August of the following year, representatives of the USA, USSR, Canada and thirty-three European states signed the Final Act of the Helsinki Treaty on Cooperation and Security in Europe. In May 1976, the United States and the USSR signed an agreement to limit nuclear tests. US relations with the People's Republic of China developed positively.

At all stages of Ford's career, his wife Betty provided him with full support. During her husband's service in Congress, she not only managed the house and raised four children, but also managed the congressman's office in the Capitol. Moreover, to help Gerald establish informal relationships with colleagues, she collaborated with the “Congressmen’s Wives Club.”

A month after moving to the White House, she underwent surgery to remove a breast cancer tumor, and after successful treatment, the first lady began her duties. She skillfully managed the staff, organized crowded receptions, willingly answered any questions from journalists, and in conversations with her husband expressed her opinion on government affairs, for example, she advised to forgive Nixon.

In her free time, she was interested in sports, gardening and volunteer social activities (she demanded mandatory registration of personal firearms, supported the legalization of abortion, participated in programs to help the elderly and mentally retarded children, and sought the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women equal rights with men).

After the 1976 presidential campaign, the first lady, deeply affected by her husband's defeat, began taking anti-anxiety pills, drinking and using drugs. Therefore, when the Ford family, having left Washington, settled in their own house in Rancho Mirage, California, the family had to place Betty in a rehabilitation center, where she gradually got rid of her addictions.

Subsequently, the couple lived together for almost thirty years.

Ford provided campaigning support to Republican Party candidates in election campaigns, participated in party conferences, and attended presidential inaugurations and memorial events.

He also headed the board of trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowship organization, served on the directors of a number of financial and industrial corporations, collaborated with the American Enterprise Institute for many years, and was a member of the World Trade Center Reconstruction Commission.

The ex-president did not hesitate to criticize the actions of the country's leaders in the media, objecting, for example, to the appointment of some members of the Supreme Court, discrimination against sexual minorities and the invasion of Iraq. He was often invited to the White House for consultations and official receptions. One of them took place in 2003 on the occasion of the 90th birthday of the former politician.

Before the anniversary, he competed in several golf competitions, received a doctorate from the University of Connecticut, published an autobiography and a humorous collection of political anecdotes, founded a library at the University of Michigan and a museum dedicated to his life in Grand Rapids.

The wife of the ex-president founded and for many years headed the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of alcoholics and drug addicts, published memoirs (remembering her passion for dancing, she even went to Moscow and watched the ballet “The Nutcracker”), and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Gold Medal for her many-sided public activities Congress.

Soon she had to switch to helping her husband, whose health began to noticeably deteriorate. Betty had to admit him to hospitals several times, but doctors were unable to cure the 93-year-old patient. On the evening of December 26, 2006, Gerald R. Ford died at home from arteriosclerosis.

The state funeral lasted three days. In addition to the family, President Bush, ex-presidents and their spouses, members of Congress, the Supreme Court and the diplomatic corps, as well as many other dignitaries, attended the funeral ceremony in the Capitol and the National Cathedral in Washington.

The coffin with the body of the deceased was transported first to Grand Rapids, where a funeral service was held in the Episcopal Church, and then, having been transported to the city of Rancho Mirage, it was installed in the premises of the Museum. Ford. In these three cities, tens of thousands of US citizens came to say goodbye to Ford. Mourning was declared in the country. On January 3, 2007, the funeral of the ex-president took place on the territory of the museum.

After the death of her husband, the elderly Betty, cared for by her children and grandchildren, continued to live in. Rancho Mirage. However, due to age and deteriorating health, especially after surgery on her legs, her social activities almost completely ceased.

On July 8, 2011, three months after her 93rd birthday, she died while being treated at a medical center. After a farewell ceremony attended by First Lady Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, former President Bush and other famous people in the country, Betty Ford was buried next to her husband.

In memory of Gerald R. Ford, postage stamps have been issued, coins and medals have been minted, and his statues have been installed in a number of cities.

Films, books and articles are devoted to the life and work of the thirty-eighth president. Most authors consider the presidency of Ford, who accidentally ended up in the White House, to be weak and argue that he left a mark in US history only as a person who forgave Nixon.

Material prepared

Leonid LURIE

Nixon's place was taken by Vice President Gerald Ford (1974-1976)

In foreign policy, Republicans J. Ford tried to implement the policy of détente: normalization of relations with the USSR, restrictions on strategic nuclear weapons, reducing the threat of nuclear war.

The United States also normalized relations with communist China (1971), stopped the war and withdrew its troops from Vietnam (in 1975, the communists won the civil war in the south in Vietnam). The defeat in Vietnam gave rise to the so-called “Vietnam syndrome” in the United States - the fear of being drawn into a long bloody conflict with no prospect of victory.

The period of George Ford's presidency is the least studied in US history. The years of his reign fell on the most tragic post-war period in the country's history: the economic crisis, the rise in crime, the consequences of the political crisis, which undermined trust in the institutions of power, the end of the Vietnam War, disappointment in society. Ford, with his balanced and calm character, managed to restore confidence in the power of the president and instill hope in the souls of Americans for the future. However, the “Watergate scandal” undermined the prestige of the Republicans so much that in the 1976 presidential election, Democrat Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia and a specialist in the field of nuclear energy, won.

During his presidency, a turning point took place in the mood of American society. It became convinced that it was impossible to get out of the crisis with the help of government regulation. For Democrat Carter, this had fatal consequences, since they were associated with government regulation, although in his policies he tried to implement the opposite strategy. In particular, he cut social programs. He tried to reconcile government spending and budget revenues. These changes played into the hands of the Republicans. In addition, the failure to release American diplomats in Tehran, where the Islamic revolution took place, (1979) gave rise to accusations of weakness of the administration. And the new phase of the energy crisis (1979-1980) added new economic problems.

In 1978, at the Camp David summit chaired by Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed on peace, mutual recognition and the transfer of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt; this ended a series of four Egyptian-Israeli wars.

Carter continued negotiations on strategic arms limitation with the USSR and in 1979 signed the SALT-2 treaty with L.I. Brezhnev. However, already in the same year, the policy of détente in relations with the USSR came to naught after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Soviet-American relations deteriorated sharply, the SALT II treaty was not ratified by Congress, and the United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Carter received Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky at the White House.

During Carter's reign, the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran; Ayatollah Khomeini declared the United States the “Great Satan” (or “Great Devil”), and in 1979, employees of the American embassy in Tehran were taken hostage. The negotiations were unsuccessful. On April 24, 1980, the United States attempted to conduct a military operation to free the hostages, but it ended in complete failure.

On January 23, 1980, Jimmy Carter delivered his annual State of the Union address, in which he announced a new foreign policy doctrine. The Persian Gulf region was declared a zone of US interests, for the protection of which the United States is ready to use armed force. In accordance with the “Carter Doctrine,” attempts by any power to establish control over the Persian Gulf region were declared in advance by the American leadership as an encroachment on important US interests.

He lifted sanctions against Cuba. But Reagan restored them again.

Carter's positions were predominantly liberal democratic. He argued that it was possible to reduce unemployment to 4.5% and reduce inflation to an annual rate of 4%. He promised to thoroughly review the federal tax system, which he called “a disgrace to the human race.” He stated that he would try to introduce a unified federal social security system and reduce the cost of treatment in medical hospitals. Carter also promised a complete reorganization of the federal bureaucracy and the creation of an “open government.” From the very beginning, the president paid visits to small provincial towns, where he held meetings with the local public. He answered questions from fellow citizens on the radio program “Ask President Carter.” He declared an amnesty for those who evaded conscription for the Vietnam War, introduced two women into the cabinet (more than anyone before him), and found responsible political positions for representatives of national minorities.

Carter's presidency coincided with "soaring oil prices." Against this backdrop, unemployment and inflation were higher than ever, and by 1979 the United States was on the brink of economic disaster.