In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, then Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the first person to succeed a president who had resigned from office. Although Ford's presidency lasted only three years, he worked diligently to heal a country from war, inflation, and controversy. In 1948 Gerald Ford had been elected to the U. S. Congress, where he served with distinction for twenty-five years. In 1973 Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign, and Ford was appointed to that office. When President Richard Nixon resigned a short time later, Ford became the first president who was not officially elected to the office. Ford is largely credited with restoring the country's faith in the presidency after a tumultuous decade. Book jacket.