When the Center Held

Gerald R. Ford was in public service his whole life. 

Gerald R. Ford reported for duty daily in the course of his long, varied public service career. He served in the US Navy on the USS Morrissey, an aircraft carrier, in World War II. He spent more than 20 years representing Michigan in the House of Representatives. When Ford stepped into the role of vice president following the 1973 resignation of Spiro Agnew – the result of allegations of bribery and kickbacks during his time as Maryland’s governor – Ford had never held an executive position.

On August 9, 1974, after Ford spent eight months as vice president, President Richard M. Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Ford became the 38th president of the United States. He’d never been on a national ballot as a vice presidential or presidential nominee. Now he had the duty of leading America as it teetered on the cusp of political and civil troubles. His 895 days in office became a time when the center held. 

Ford played center on the University of Michigan’s varsity football team from 1932 to 1934. The center is the...