On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon. Ford considered the act one of compassion and a step in moving the country beyond Watergate. Ford would recount in his memoir, A Time to Heal, “…[W]hat I had failed to anticipate was the vehemence of the hostile reaction to my decision. …I knew when I became President that hard decisions would produce some bitter reactions.”
A0627-09 / NAID: 7140608
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Fifty years later, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, still preserves the letters sent to the White House after Ford made his decision known to the nation. A mail summary memo1 at the time reported: “…[T]he pardon of former President Nixon drew heavy comment with 75,837 expressing support and 197,494 individuals writing to express dissatisfaction with the action.” Here are just a few:
White House Central Files Subject Files on Judicial and Legal Matters.
NAID: 16637725
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
NAID: 7720078
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
- Robert T. Hartmann Files, Box 15, “President – Mail Summaries.” ↩︎
NAID: 16637619
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
NAID: 16637654
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Okay, one more….
NAID: 595452
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
In 2001, President Ford received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. At that time, Senator Ted Kennedy remarked:
“At a time of national turmoil, America was fortunate that it was Gerald Ford who took the helm of the storm-tossed ship of state. Unlike many of us at the time, President Ford recognized that the nation had to move forward, and could not do so if there was a continuing effort to prosecute President Nixon. So President Ford made a courageous decision, one that historians now say cost him his office, and he pardoned Richard Nixon. I was one of those who spoke against his action then. But time has a way of clarifying past events, and now we see that President Ford was right. His courage and dedication to our country made it possible for us to begin the process of healing and put the tragedy of Watergate behind us. He eminently deserves this award, and we are proud of his achievement.”
This award is now displayed in the core galleries at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids and you can view it here on our newly launched Digital Artifact Collection’s website!
Author: Brooke Clement