Gerald Ford was America's thirty-eighth president from 1974 to 1977. Gerald Ford’s rise to the presidency was historic. Appointed vice president by Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace in 1973, Ford was then sworn in as president on August 9, 1974, after Nixon resigned. He became the first president to hold office without ever having been elected by the people. Ford announced: “Our long national nightmareis over,” and then he immediately set about restoring credibility to the position.