A Companion to Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter

Gerald Ford, who served less than a full term as president, and Jimmy Carter, who served only one term, have received their fair share of criticism. Yet each has also been praised for certain initiatives and legislation undertaken while in office, as well as the activities and accomplishments in which they engaged upon returning to private life. This companion brings together 30 historiographical essays by established and rising scholars to fully examine the presidencies and legacies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

The essays, which make use of the latest research as well as the growing number of recently released documents from the two Presidential Libraries and the State Department, discuss key national and international events. They highlight important themes and issues affecting one or both presidents, including Watergate and the pardon of Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, neoconservatism and the rise of the New Right, and the Iran hostage crisis. In addition to the public lives of Ford and Carter, the essays examine their personal lives before entering office, their legacies, and the lives of their wives and families. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive picture of these men and the complex time during which they governed.

Scott Kaufman is Professor of History at Francis Marion University. He is the author of Rosalynn Carter: Equal Partner in the White House (2007), Plans Unraveled: The Foreign Policy of the Carter Administration (2008), and Project Plowshare: The Peaceful Use of Nuclear Explosives in Cold War America (2013).