An Ordinary Man audiobook cover - The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford

An Ordinary Man

The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford

Richard Norton Smith

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HistoryPoliticsBiography & Memoir

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An Ordinary Man
Character & Values+
Early Life & Influences+
The Unexpected President+
Safeguarding Institutions+
Civil Rights Advocate+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 6
Why did Richard Nixon appoint Gerald Ford as his vice president?
  • A. He believed Ford's cutthroat political skills would help him fight impeachment.
  • B. He wanted an 'insurance policy,' assuming Congress wouldn't impeach him if it meant making the unassuming Ford president.
  • C. He needed a strong foreign policy expert to handle the escalating crisis in Vietnam.
  • D. He hoped Ford's popularity with the Democratic majority would bridge partisan divides.
Question 2 of 6
What political position did Gerald Ford originally dream of holding, rather than the presidency?
  • A. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
  • B. Secretary of State
  • C. Speaker of the House
  • D. Governor of Michigan
Question 3 of 6
How did Ford's early family history influence his later legislative actions?
  • A. His family's bankruptcy led him to champion banking reform laws.
  • B. Growing up in a heavily segregated town made him an early sponsor of the Civil Rights Act.
  • C. His adoptive father's struggles as a small business owner inspired him to pass sweeping tax cuts.
  • D. His mother's experience with an abusive ex-husband who evaded child support led him to support federalizing child support payments.
Question 4 of 6
According to the text, what was Ford's primary motivation for pardoning Richard Nixon?
  • A. He wanted to halt the erosion of public trust in American institutions by ending the prolonged national scandal.
  • B. He had struck a secret deal with Nixon prior to his resignation to ensure his own appointment.
  • C. He believed Nixon was entirely innocent of the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up.
  • D. He was pressured by the Republican party leadership to protect the party's image ahead of the next election.
Question 5 of 6
How did President Ford respond to the fall of Saigon in 1975?
  • A. He ordered a massive redeployment of American ground troops to retake the city.
  • B. He shamed Congress into funding the resettlement of thousands of Vietnamese refugees in America.
  • C. He refused to accept refugees, arguing that the struggling US economy couldn't support them.
  • D. He negotiated a treaty with North Vietnam to allow South Vietnamese collaborators to retain their government posts.
Question 6 of 6
What motivated Gerald Ford to publicly defend affirmative action in a 1999 New York Times op-ed?
  • A. He wanted to publicly support President Bill Clinton's 'mend it, don't end it' civil rights platform.
  • B. He was preparing for a late-career return to politics and needed to win over liberal voters.
  • C. He felt guilty for not passing significant civil rights legislation during his own time in the Oval Office.
  • D. He was inspired by his college experience with his Black teammate, Willis Ward, who faced severe racial discrimination.

An Ordinary Man — Full Chapter Overview

An Ordinary Man Summary & Overview

An Ordinary Man (2023) is the complete biography of Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the United States. Under his leadership, America navigated its gravest constitutional crisis since the Civil War and confronted its most profound economic slump since the Great Depression. While Ford can be seen as an “accidental president,” historian Richard Norton Smith argues that his accomplishments were numerous and significant.

Who Should Listen to An Ordinary Man?

  • History buffs 
  • Politicos interested post-Watergate America
  • Fans of in-depth biographical works 

About the Author: Richard Norton Smith

Richard Norton Smith is an American historian and author. He is the former director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and a regular guest on C-Span and PBS NewsHour. He has written numerous critically acclaimed studies of American political figures and presidents, including the Pulitzer-shortlisted Thomas E. Dewey and His Times and Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Smith was a close friend of Gerald R. Ford. 

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