Timeline of the Gerald Ford presidency (1975)

The following is a timeline of the Presidency of Gerald Ford from January 1, 1975, to December 31, 1975.

January
President Gerald Ford with Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and House Speaker Carl Albert during the 1975 State of the Union address.
  • January 1 – Ford signs the Privacy Act of 1974.
  • January 4 – Ford signs the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974.[1] Among other changes, the law permanently implements a national 55-mph speed limit (which had already been a temporary limit) for the Interstate Highway System.
  • January 4 – Ford names a Blue Ribbon panel, chaired by Vice President Rockefeller, to review CIA Activities within the United States in response to allegations made in a December New York Times article by Seymour Hersh.
  • January 13 – Ford delivers a "fireside chat" to the nation, outlining his proposals to fight inflation, the economic recession, and energy dependence.
  • January 15 – In his first State of the Union Address, Ford announces bluntly that "the state of the Union is not good. Millions of Americans are out of work. Recession and inflation are eroding the money of millions more. Prices are too high, and sales are too slow." To remedy these problems, Ford proposes tax cuts for American families and businesses, and strongly advocates for the reduction of government spending.

February
  • February 7 – Edward H. Levi is sworn in as the new Attorney General of the United States replacing William B. Saxbe, whom Ford appoints as U.S. Ambassador to India.

March

April
  • April 3 – President Ford announces Operation Babylift, which would evacuate about 2,000 orphans from south Vietnam.
  • April 8 – President Ford signs Executive Order 11850, a renunciation of certain uses in war of chemical herbicides and riot control agents.[3] The executive order restricts the use of herbicides, and riot control agents, including tear gas. Each and every use would require explicit approval.
  • April 10 – As divisions of the North Vietnamese Army approach Saigon; Ford addresses a joint session of Congress to request, unsuccessfully, financial assistance for South Vietnam and Cambodia. (Vietnam Humanitarian Assistance and Evacuation Act of 1975) During the speech two freshman Democrats, Toby Moffett of Connecticut and George Miller of California walk out in protest.
  • April 12 – Ford orders the evacuation of U.S. personnel (military and civilian) and allied Cambodians from Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge advance on the capital Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge take over the country on April 17, 1975.
  • April 23 – In a speech at Tulane University, President Ford declares that the Vietnam War "is finished as far as America is concerned."
Evacuees from Saigon, South Vietnam are offloaded onto the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Midway, during "Operation Frequent Wind", April 29, 1975.
  • April 28 – With the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army immanent, President Ford orders the emergency evacuation of all remaining American military personnel and civilians and at-risk South Vietnamese nationals from the city.
  • April 29–30 – Operation Frequent Wind, the final phase in the American evacuation from South Vietnam, is carried out. More than 1,400 U.S. citizens and 5,500 third country nationals and South Vietnamese are evacuated by helicopter from landing zones in and around the United States Embassy and Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport in Saigon. It is the largest helicopter evacuation in history.[4] By the afternoon of April 30, North Vietnamese troops are in control of the important points of the city (subsequently renamed Hồ Chí Minh City) and have raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace.

May
Ford with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Salzburg, Austria, June 1975
President Ford speaks to the Soviet and American Apollo–Soyuz Test Project crews, July 18, 1975
  • May 28 – June 3 – Ford makes the fourth international trip of his presidency:[7]
    • May 28–31 – Travels to Brussels, Belgium; attends the NATO Summit Meeting, addresses the North Atlantic Council and meets separately with NATO heads of state and government.
    • May 31 – June 1 – Travels to Madrid, Spain; meets with Generalissimo Francisco Franco, and receives the keys to the city of Madrid from mayor Miguel Angel García-Lomas Mata.

June

July
  • July 8 – Ford formally announces his candidacy for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination.
  • July 15 – Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft launch within seven-and-a-half hours of each other, and dock together two days later. Known as the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, it is the first joint U.S.–Soviet space flight. It would also be the last manned U.S. space mission until the first Space Shuttle flight in April 1981.
  • July 26 – August 4, 1975 – Ford makes the fifth international trip of his presidency:[7]

August

September
Reaction immediately after the second assassination attempt
  • September 5 – Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, attempts to assassinate President Ford in Sacramento, California.[8] She is later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and sentenced to life in prison. (She was paroled on August 14, 2009.)[9]
  • September 22 – Sara Jane Moore, a Patty Hearst fanatic,[10] with ties to leftwing radical groups, attempts to assassinate President Ford as he left the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, California. She is later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and sentenced to life in prison. (She was paroled on December 31, 2007.)[11]

October
  • October 2–3 – Ford hosts Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako for a state visit. This is the first state visit for an Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United States.
  • October 29 – Ford urges financial restraint and a financial review for New York City during its fiscal crisis. Ford refuses to support Federal help for New York at this time. He proposes bankruptcy legislation to ensure the City undergoes an orderly default process.

November

December

See also
U.S. presidential administration timelines
Preceded by
Ford presidency (1974)		 Ford presidency (1975) Succeeded by
Ford presidency (1976)

References
  1. "A Chronology of Dates Significant in the Background, History and Development of the Department of Transportation". U.S. Department of Transportation. October 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  2. Uchitelle, Louis (June 10, 1990). "A Crowbar for Carla Hills". New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  3. "Executive Order 11850--Renunciation of certain uses in war of chemical herbicides and riot control agents". National Archives. April 8, 1975. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  4. Dunham, George R.; Quinlan, David A. (1990). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 202.
  5. Wetterhahn, Ralph (2002). The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the end of the Vietnam War. Plume. ISBN 0-452-28333-7.
  6. Haines, David (1996). Refugees in America in the 1990s: a reference handbook. New York: Greenwood Press.
  7. "Travels of President Gerald R. Ford". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
  8. "1975 Year in Review: Ford Assassinations Attempts". Upi.com. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  9. "Charles Manson follower Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme released from prison after more than 30 years". Daily News. New York. Associated Press. August 14, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  10. "Timeline: Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst". American Experience. Public Broadcasting Service. 2005-02-16. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  11. Lee, Vic (January 2, 2007). "Interview: Woman Who Tried To Assassinate Ford". San Francisco: KGO-TV. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  12. Federal Judicial Center page on John Paul Stevens Archived 2009-01-18 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes - Nomination of John Paul Stevens, senate.gov
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