Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Constitutional Basis for the Decision

  • Ford asked himself this main question: Does a pardon erase a criminal act or does it only erase criminal punishment?
  • It was the deciding factor of whether he would use the pardon or not
  • He went to Benton Becker, a brilliant staff lawyer, for the answer

Controversial Decision

What would you have done and what seemed like the better road for Ford to take?

1915 Supreme Court case: United States v. Burdick

  • ruled that the president does, in fact, have the power to issue a pardon prior to a criminal indictment, and moreover it carries an admission of guilt
  • Ford was then convinced that a pardon was the right thing to do because Nixon wouldn't get punished, but he would still be held accountable

Against:

  • Ford's friend and press secretary resigned
  • Ford's staff was very angry
  • Ford's approval rating dropped from 71 to 49
  • He lost the next election (1976)
  • Protestors appeared frequently outside of the White House
  • Ford was bashed by the media and many writers of books
  • There was never justice or penalties from Nixon's actions

For:

  • Allowed the country to move on from Nixon's scandal
  • The scandal was withholding the president from directing public policy onto any other subject
  • Allowed the president to deal with economic issues and foreign policy instead of spending time with lawyers for the case
  • Prevented a president from going to jail
  • Helped his friend/ colleague from being convicted

What do you think? Should the president be allowed to erase criminal punishment? A criminal act? Should the pardon even exist at all?

Historical & Background Information

  • Ford spent most of his eight months as vice president on the road rallying the Republican faithful to Richard Nixon's cause.
  • On August 8th 1974, Richard Nixon addressed the nation for the final time that he would be resigning the presidency.
  • At the time, President Ford had been regularly described as a man who was well regarded by everyone, had a sense of purpose, and as devoted to serving his constituents.
  • Watergate was not the only event at the time that had traumatized the country, but we were also going through one of the worst economic patches in history.
  • Ford hoped that the focus would mainly be on the economy and that the attention would be drawn away from the Nixon scandal.
  • President Ford began to realize that he could not juggle so many issues at once, a major one being the decision to pardon Nixon, so he came to the conclusion that he had to bring closure to the decision as soon as possible.
  • One of Fords most legitimate points in pardoning Nixon was to move on from the past so the country could move onto more pressing issues.
  • Many people question the relationship between Richard Nixon and President Ford ,but it was commonly thought that Ford was just another political acquaintance.

Formal/Informal Powers Used

The Controversial Pardoning

  • The pardon is considered a formal power
  • It must be requested by a convict
  • It cannot be refused
  • Its usage decreased since WWII

Created By: Brian Barker, Alyse DeLuca, and Ryan Robert

Short-Term Effects

How do you think your opinion would have changed from the initial action to numerous years later?

Long-Term Effects

  • Ford later received apologies from writers who wrote years ago that Ford was wrong, shouldn't have done that and who undermined him
  • Writers now think that what he did was courageous and said sorry
  • Ford won the "Profiles in Courage Award" from the J.F.K Library Foundation in 2001
  • Some people think he changed the course of history and presidents like Reagan and Carter would not have been presidents
  • Common opinions are that his courage made us able to move on as a country, heal and leave it behind
  • The country's reactions were worse than he expected
  • He spent the rest of his entire presidency trying to rebuild his severely damaged image
  • Ford's friend and press secretary resigned
  • Ford's staff was very angry
  • Ford's approval rating dropped from 71 to 49
  • He lost the next election (1976)
  • Protestors appeared frequently outside of the white house
  • Ford was bashed by the media and many writers of books
Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi