Hoff: President Ford’s pardon of Nixon should be defended
Dr. Samuel B. Hoff is a George Washington Distinguished Professor Emeritus of history and political science at Delaware State University. A presidential specialist, he has conducted research at several presidential libraries around the nation.
At the half-century mark, President Gerald R. Ford’s pardon of former President Richard M. Nixon still evokes strong reaction. Thanks to newly released files from presidential libraries and BACM Research, we are able to discover additional facts about this consequential decision and its aftermath. However, that does not change the verdict from this writer that President Ford’s action — while politically unpopular at the time — was and remains the right move for the presidency and for the nation.
House Minority Leader Ford was selected by President Richard Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president in October 1973 and confirmed two months later. Throughout winter and spring 1974, the fallout from the Watergate scandal continued to diminish President Nixon’s authority. In the chaotic summer of 1974, Vice President Ford witnessed what everyone else did: the House Judiciary Committee hearings and eventual approval of impeachment articles against President Richard Nixon at the end of July.
Records show that Nixon White House chief of staff Alexander Haig contacted Vice President Ford on Aug. 1, 1974, with instructions to prepare for a transition. That little-known incident explains what happened hence: the release of the “smoking gun” Watergate tape Aug. 5 that confirmed President Nixon’s role in the scandal; the Aug. 7 visit by Sens. Hugh Scott and Barry Goldwater and Rep. John Rhodes, who apprised Nixon that his chances of avoiding impeachment were slim; and Nixon’s Aug. 8 speech in which he announced his resignation, effective the next day.
After Nixon’s departure from the White House on Aug. 9, Ford was formally administered the presidential oath. In his remarks, he recognized his unique status and asked for support: “I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers.” Three days later, President Ford addressed a joint session of Congress, warning against excessive spending. On Aug. 20, President Ford announced his pick for vice president: Gov. Nelson Rockefeller of New York. These moves helped President Ford earn a popularity rating of 71% at the end of August 1974, according to The New York Times.
Looming over the nascent administration was the question of what to do about the former president, who was facing the prospect of criminal prosecution. On Aug. 28, Ford White House counsel Philip Buchen received a letter from Nixon attorney Leonard Garment, who lobbied hard for a pardon and offered a sample speech announcing same. On Sept. 4, communication from Watergate special counsel Leon Jaworski to Buchen responded to a query about the projected time between the possible indictment and trial of Richard Nixon. Jaworski indicated that the delay would be at least six months but likely much longer, which signaled to the Ford team that the matter would hang over the nation if something wasn’t done. Finally, directly before the pardon announcement Sept. 8, President Ford met with six members of Congress, which included four Democrats.
Taking all parties into consideration, together with his own values and instinct, President Ford issued a proclamation pardoning the former president for any offenses committed while president. In his statement to the press, President Ford admitted that “my conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed.”
The reaction to the pardon decision was fierce and extremely negative. President Ford’s press secretary, Jerry terHorst, resigned immediately. An eventual tally of White House mail during the period revealed that 72% of letters and cards opposed the pardon. In an instant, President Ford’s popularity suffered a record 21-point decline. Perhaps most threatening was a Sept. 17 letter from Rep. William Hungate, chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, demanding answers to a series of questions about how the pardon transpired. Ford took the unusual step of appearing before the latter group a month later to explain the pardon in person.
Other controversies involving the former president percolated over the rest of 1974, including a visit by Ford to Nixon while he was hospitalized in California and the question of how and when remaining White House Watergate tapes would be released. As the calendar turned to 1975, the Ford White House managed to ostensibly put the pardon behind it, as the administration dealt with economic challenges at home and a plethora of foreign policy issues. However, as the 1976 presidential campaign took shape, the Democratic team of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale began rehashing the pardon, arguing that it was wrong and that former President Nixon should have been held accountable. Starting the final push to the 1976 election down by as much as 15 points in the polls, the Ford team closed the gap to nearly even. Ultimately, Gerald Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the ninth-closest presidential election result in history.
Former President Jerry Ford offered a personal perspective about his friend and former president as he wrote his memoir in 1977: “His pride and public toughness plus his detest for those who were weak in moments of peril overcame his family taught traits of right and wrong.” Ironically, as Richard Nixon began rebuilding his reputation with the 1977 David Frost interviews, Ford was seemingly forever burdened with the damage that the pardon wrought on his presidency and legacy. A full generation would pass before people recognized and appreciated the healing power of President Ford’s pardon amid the rancor of the day.
In his last seven years of life on Earth, Jerry Ford finally got validation, through a series of awards for his service to the country and its impact: He received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999; the University of Michigan named its School of Public Policy after him; and the NCAA established an award in his honor. But the real closing of the pardon chapter occurred in May 2001, when President Ford received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and former adversary Ted Kennedy admitted that he was wrong for opposing Ford’s action at the time.
In that Aug. 28, 1974, letter to Ford counsel Philip Buchen advocating for a pardon, Leonard Garment observed that “in the final analysis, the judgment on Richard Nixon that matters will be the judgment of history.” He was right about that: In a 2024 presidential greatness survey, Gerald Ford ranks No. 27, seven presidents higher than the one he replaced.
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