8G History Lesson 140 Assignment

In this week’s assignment, I will be summarizing the lives of three different presidents. They are Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, and they were all president during the 1970s.

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in California. He received an education from Duke University, and decided to pursue law. He met Thelma Ryan and married her in 1940. Nixon also served a short term in the Navy during World War I. After the Navy, he became a member of the House of Representatives. Nixon’s popularity was boosted after his role in the investigation of Alger Hiss.

In the 1952 election, Nixon became Eisenhower’s vice president. Nixon didn’t do much while vice president, but he gained a large amount of popularity.

As president, Nixon was involved in overseas relations, like helping to improve relations between the U.S, China, and the U.S.S.R. But the main thing he is remembered for is the Watergate Scandal. The scandal involved a break-in of the Democratic Party Headquarters. 5 men broke in and stole important government documents. The men were on the Republican Committee to re-elect the president. Nixon tried to cover up this, and it led to an investigation.

Nixon decided to resign to avoid becoming impeached. This was the end of his political career, and he died on April 22, 1994.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was born on July 14, 1913 in Nebraska. His parents divorced while he was a baby, and he went with his mom to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford was a good football player when he was at the University of Michigan.

Ford served in Congress for 25 years, and was very popular and well-liked. He was thrust into the vice presidency when Nixon’s VP resigned, then when Nixon himself resigned, Ford became president. One of Ford’s first acts was to completely pardon Nixon. This was very controversial. Ford tried to limit inflation and helped to end the Vietnam war. Ford was almost assassinated twice!

During Ford’s reelection, he ran mostly behind Jimmy Carter, and eventually lost. Ford retired after leaving the White House, and enjoyed golfing and skiing. On December 26, 2006 Ford passed away.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter (full name James Earl Carter Jr.) was born on October 1, 1924 in Georgia. Carter, like both Nixon and Ford, went to college before serving in the Navy for a few years. Carter left the army after he heard the news that his father had passed away. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate, and then became governor of Georgia.

After his term as governor ended, he decided to run for president in the Democrat party. He was not very well known at the time, but he won the main election by a margin of 57 electoral votes.

Carter helped to form peace between Israel and Egypt and formed the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. The presidency was also marked by a few small scandals, but they were not very large in comparison to the Watergate Scandal when Nixon was in office.

Carter was defeated in the 1980 re-election by a large margin. After leaving the White House, Carter became a humanitarian and a diplomat. He is the longest lived former president, and he passed away at the age of 100 in 2024.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Nixon

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gerald-Ford

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jimmy-Carter/Life-after-the-presidency