The

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

as the 38th president of the United States was held on Friday, August 9, 1974, in the

East Room The East Room is an event and reception room in the Executive Residence, which is a building of the White House complex, the home of the president of the United States. The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence; it is used for ...

of the White House in Washington, D.C., after President Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. The inauguration – the last non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place in the 20th century – marked the commencement of

's only term (a partial term of ) as president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

. The Bible upon which Ford recited the oath was held by his wife, Betty Ford, open to Proverbs 3:5–6. Ford was the ninth vice president to succeed to the presidency intra-term, and he remains the most recent to do so, as of . Although this was the ninth, and most recent non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place since the presidency was established in 1789, it was the first to take place due to the president's resignation; the previous eight had been occasioned by the president's death in office. Ford had become vice president only eight months earlier, after Spiro Agnew resigned due to bribery allegations while serving as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland. He was the first vice president appointed as such under the terms of the

Twenty-fifth Amendment The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...

. Thus, when he succeeded Nixon, Ford became the first (and remains the only) person to have held both the office of vice president and president without having been elected to either office.

Nixon's farewell

In a televised

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

on August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon, who was facing impeachment proceedings for his role in the Watergate scandal and alleged cover-up, announced to the nation, "I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow ugust 9" At 9:00 the following morning, Nixon gave a farewell talk to an

assembly of White House staff and selected dignitaries, including the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

and Vice President Ford. It was an emotional event, with President Nixon nearly breaking down multiple times. When it was finished, Vice President Ford escorted the President and

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

to an Army helicopter, where the President waved his famous "V-sign" before flying off to

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...

and a flight to "exile" in California. The

nuclear codes The Gold Codes are the launch codes for nuclear weapons provided to the President of the United States in their role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In conjunction with the nuclear football, the Gold Codes allow the president to aut ...

were left with Ford.

Ford's swearing-in

Nixon's resignation was tendered to United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at 11:35 a.m. At that moment, Ford became the 38th president of the United States, although he took the official

at 12:05 p.m. After the former president (and now private citizen) Nixon left the building, the White House staff began preparations for President Ford's swearing-in. More chairs were added for the much larger crowd of invited guests than was at the farewell. The oath was administered to Ford by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the White House

. Chief Justice Burger was traveling in the Netherlands at the time, and was flown back to Washington, D.C., on an Air Force plane. The first phone call that Ford, a former center on the

University of Michigan football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

team, made after his inauguration was on Saturday, August 10, 1974, to

Ohio State University football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium in ...

coach Woody Hayes, who had just recently suffered a heart attack.

Remarks upon swearing-in

Immediately after taking the presidential oath, Ford gave a speech (authored by Counselor to the President

Robert T. Hartmann Robert Trowbridge Hartmann (April 8, 1917 – April 11, 2008) was an American political advisor, speechwriter and reporter, who served as Chief of Staff for Vice President Gerald Ford and Counselor to the President when Ford was elevated to the p ...

) alluding in his remarks to the unique and "extraordinary circumstances" that led to his ascension to the presidency: Immediately after the 850-word address was over, Ford introduced his new press secretary, Jerald terHorst, to the press corps, and met with the Cabinet. Ford asked Henry Kissinger to stay on as Secretary of State in the new administration. Later that day, Ford met with ambassadors of the NATO nations.

References in popular culture

The May 20, 2015,

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

of the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' was introduced by archival footage of Ford's speech, and prerecorded cameos of former presidents

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then-incumbent Barack Obama all saying, "our long national nightmare is over."

References

External links