Post-presidency of Gerald Ford Post-presidency of Gerald Ford Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. After his tenure's end, Ford was active in the public sphere, traveling, writing a memoir, and voicing his opinion about contemporary issues within the United States and abroad. The Nixon pardon controversy eventually subsided. Ford's successor, Jimmy Carter, opened his 1977 inaugural address by praising the outgoing President, saying, "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." After leaving the White House, the Fords moved to Denver, Colorado.
Vice President of the United States voted to acknowledge him as President, setting a momentous precedent for an orderly transfer of presidential power following a president's death, one made explicit by Section 1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967. In total, nine vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency intra-term. In addition to Tyler, they are Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald Ford. Even after the precedent regarding presidential succession following a president's death was set, there remained ambiguity in the Article II succession clause regarding a disabled president. What constituted an "inability"?