[3] The campaign made a deliberate effort, ahead of the 1976 Republican National Convention, of sending Ford to liberal and moderate-leaning states and not more conservative states in the western and southern United States. She continued to strongly advocate and lobby politicians and state legislatures for passage of the ERA. Hortense and William married on November 9, 1904, in Chicago. [98] On October 12, 1981, Ford spoke in support of the ERA on a rally held at the National Mall. "[59] Her openness about her cancer and treatment raised the visibility of a disease that Americans had previously been reluctant to talk about. [7][34][37] However, polling would show that her comments were accepted by many Americans. Betty Ford was good at doing the things that every first lady does: accompanying her husband on tours and public ceremonies and holding dinners and parties. [3][19] Ford also posed for newspaper publicity photographs and was a clothing model for charity fashion shows, after a Republican had urged her to do so since they felt that Democratic Party spouses had far outnumbered Republican spouses in such publicity-generating activity. [5] After he recovered, they were divorced on September 22, 1947. Ford assisted in fundraising for the little-known Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, D.C., whose patients were predominantly African American. Betty and Candy met each other at the church and were friends. "But the fact that I was the wife of the President put it in headlines and brought before the public this particular experience I was going through. They took away my tension and my pain". Betty Ford will be remembered for her support of ERA and her frank admission about being hooked on tranquilizers and alcohol. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a local department store. [3], The heavy campaigning placed a strain on Ford's health.

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Later that day, President Ford was caught momentarily patting Betty's buttocks before the press gathered outside of their Virginia residence. She further taught ballroom dancing lessons for children with visual impairment and hearing loss and gave weekly dance lessons to African American children. [47] She placed first in 1975. She was the youngest child and the only girl in a family of three children. [3], Ford filmed an interview with the television news program 60 Minutes which was broadcast on August 10, 1975. Although she left the dcor as it was, she could not resist a bit of deviltry. She said nothing about the Republican platform that called for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. There have been gays and lesbians serving our country for many years. Betty Ford is awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President George H. W. Bush, 1991. Susan, their only daughter, came along the next year. And I loved pills. [3][21] Her candor on this trip received a positive reception by the news media. ET) Tuesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, according to a statement from his office. As The New York Times notes, Ford had campaigned himself hoarse in the days before the election, so when the time came to admit defeat it fell to Betty to get up in front of the cameras and concede the election she and Jerry had worked so hard towardssmiling graciously the whole time. Mr. Ford had been vice president for less than 10 months, named by Nixon to succeed Spiro T. Agnew, who had resigned in disgrace over accusations of bribery and tax evasion. Despite her advanced age and own frail physical condition, Ford traveled across the country and took part in the funeral events in California, Washington, D.C., and Michigan. ", McClellan, Michelle L. "Fame through Shame: Women Alcoholics, Celebrity, and Disclosure. ", Hummer, Jill Abraham. After this, Betty Ford was transparent with the news media that she had received psychiatric care. Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, the third child and only daughter of Hortense (ne Neahr; 1884 1948) and William Stephenson Bloomer Sr. (18741934), who was a traveling salesman for Royal Rubber Co.[3] She was called Betty as a child. [19] Ford lobbied state legislatures to ratify the amendment, and took on opponents of the amendment. [107] In 2000, the Lasker Foundation awarded Ford its annual Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award. This set a contrast with First Lady Pat Nixon, who routinely rejected invitations to give formal speeches. [3][24] Ford was the only individual in attendance at the funeral not directly ingrained in the civil rights movement, with the exception of Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. In her spare time, she taught dance to underprivileged and disabled children. Ford made campaign appearances and delivered speeches across the United States. Ford made the decision that year to erect a tent in the White House Rose Garden to host dinners outside. He later worked for the Continental Can Company, and after that for the Widdicomb Furniture Company. [74] A Ford family friend said that President Ford "about fell off his chair" when he saw the photo for the first time. The campaigns of the previous three presidents that sought election to an additional term (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon) had needed to manufacture campaign publicity involving their first ladies (Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon). Mr. Ford won the election. The first lady helped the nation restore its faith in the presidency following the Watergate scandal, once saying she wanted the White House to sing again.

This is the only time that a major United States presidential candidate's spouse has delivered their concession on their behalf. Nevertheless, she said, she believed it cost her husband the election. "[60], Adding to heightened public awareness of breast cancer were reports that several weeks after Ford's cancer surgery, Happy Rockefeller, the wife of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, also had a mastectomy. She later thought that some of the resentment stemmed from the fact that she could no longer be perceived as a victim of cancer, drugs and drink. [48] After her tenure as first lady ended, she would top the poll for a second time in 1978, the year she had established herself as an advocate for people with drug and alcohol dependence. [25][26] At the first state dinner that she arranged as first lady, Ford revived dancing as an activity of White House state dinners. Her drinking, which became troublesome as she was faced with her husbands frequent absences on political business, grew increasingly serious as Mr. Fords Congressional career advanced. [33], Ford was also unapologetically pro-abortion rights. [5] With her father's passing, her family lost its primary breadwinner, and her mother began working as a real estate agent to support the family. This experience has been credited with further cementing Ford's understanding of gender-based income inequalities between individuals doing the same work. [54], Ford successfully lobbied her husband to, in 1975, sign an executive order to establish the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. Murray Close/SHOWTIME. She drew boos from demonstrators against the Equal Rights Amendment in stating, "This exhibit about neglected Americans should give us strength and courage to seek equal rights for women today."[57]. As was the case during Gerald Ford's vice presidential swearing-in, Betty Ford held the Bible upon which he placed his hand while taking his oath of office. Ford did indirectly indicate her willingness to step into the role of first lady by affirming that she would make any sacrifices required for her husband to carry out his constitutional obligations, but also opined that it would be traumatic if the nation had to endure a president being forced from office. White House Photograph courtesy of Gerald R. Ford Library. 1976, during the presidential transition, Ford and others applaud in the gallery during the 1977 State of the Union Address on January 19, 1977, the Fords final full-day in the White House, The incoming and outgoing first and second couples pose for a photograph at the White House on the day of the inauguration of Jimmy Carter. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title.

", Gould, Lewis L. "Modern first ladies in historical perspective. It made a lot of women realize that it could happen to them. For state dinners held using this tent, the receptions, entertainment, and dancing portions of the evenings were still held inside of the White House. She also, ultimately agreed to attend rehab at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Long Beach, California. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ford to the second National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year (the first had been appointed by President Ford). This response proved effective in killing the speculation that she was covering-up her past, and earned her some admiration in the media. [36] As first lady, remarking on her honest candor and the sometimes-controversial remarks it resulted in, Ford declared, "I am not very good at making up stories." [71][72][73] Gerald Ford did not know about or see the photo until 1994. [25], Ford dancing with comedian Marty Allen in the Entrance Hall of the White House of the White House during a September 21, 1976 state dinner in honor Liberian President William Tolbert, Ford reviews the table settings while preparing for the September 21, 1976 state dinner in honor of Liberian President William Tolbert, Ford and Social Secretary Maria Downs give the media a tour of the tent erected in the South Lawn for the July 1976 state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain, Ford and Social Secretary Maria Downs inspect centerpiece sculptures designed by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell ahead of an October 1975 state dinner honoring Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, The Fords escort Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kjun down the Cross Hall towards the East Room during an October 1975 state dinner honoring the Japanese royals, Ford accompanied her husband abroad on several diplomatic trips. It was just that they were accustomed to the more formal atmosphere prevailing under the Nixons. On July 8, 2011, Betty died of natural causes at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

This large number of state dinners was, in part, due to great interest from foreign dignitaries in visiting the United States for a state dinner amid the United States bicentennial celebrations. "Early on, she went to the head usher and asked why the staff didn't return her good morning greetings," Smith told ABC News. Mrs. Ford was once asked if she felt sorry for herself during the trauma of losing her breast. Nevertheless, by 1962, she was seeing a psychiatrist twice a week because, as she put it, Id lost my feeling of self-worth., I think a lot of women go through this, she said. She always wanted to be called Elizabeth but ended up with Betty, Bet or Bets. Ford also became famous as a pioneer in the battle against substance abuse. Bush. She died of natural causes. On Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon stepped down following the Watergate scandal. She was Jerry Fords strength through some very difficult days in our countrys history, Mrs. Reagan said, and I admired her courage in facing and sharing her personal struggles with all of us.. Kalb shares a few Ford would ultimately develop an addiction to prescription medication (and would ultimately confront and recover from this addiction in 1978). July 8, 2011 — -- Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93. [54] Her active political role prompted Time to call her the country's "Fighting First Lady" and was the reason they profiled her, among several others, to represent the "American Women" as the magazine's 1975 Person of the Year. Rumour suggests Candy was having an affair with Betty's husband, Allan Gore. There haven't been any more problems than there have been in situations like Tailhook with heterosexuals. Of course, the show dramatizes the incident a little and has Betty Fords character initially look a little put off by the living situation in the center. "Ford. The march was led by prominent feminist leaders, including Ford, Bella Abzug, Elizabeth Chittick, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. [36], During her time as first lady, Ford was an outspoken advocate of women's rights and was a prominent force in the Women's Movement of the 1970s. Ford succeeded in getting sober. Ford reads her husband's 1976 presidential concession speech to the press. And when Mr. Ford died in December 2006, it was Mrs. Ford who announced his death. Mrs. Ford brought a relaxed touch to the White House within days of moving in. Ford's failure to conduct a solo trip is not all that extraordinary, however. This phenomenon became known as the Betty Ford blip. What was her prognosis? [5] At the age of 14, she began modeling clothes and teaching children popular dances, such as the foxtrot, waltz, and big apple, to earn money in the wake of the Great Depression. [3], Despite the brevity of her husband's presidency (roughly two and a half years), he hosted 33 state dinners, the fifth most state dinners of any United States president. In this statement, Ford disclosed, "I have found I am not only addicted to the medication I have been taking for my arthritis but also to alcohol". Although she said she believed men and women should give two years of service to the country, she confessed she was very relieved when her sons drew high draft-lottery numbers. [119], Ford's life is the focus of the 1987 ABC biographical television film The Betty Ford Story, which has a story adapted from her memoir The Times of My Life. [25][62] Once she became first lady, it fell to Ford to arrange this already-scheduled dinner. Reagan had contrasting views on issues such as drug experimentation by teenagers and the Equal Rights Amendment (which she opposed passing). But the main point was, it was best for the country.". He just told me hed like to marry me I took him up on it immediately..