2006-03
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/28/2006
NIXON, Richard(1913-1994). Congressman, Senator, Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961), Thirty-seventh President of the United States (1969-1974), and Author. FORD, Gerald (b. 1913). Congressman, Vice-President under Richard Nixon , and President of the United States (1974-1977). Extraordinarily rare Document Signed, "Richard Nixon" and "Gerald Ford" being a typed transcript copy of Presidential Proclamation 4311 of September 8, 1974, by President Gerald R. Ford granting a pardon to Richard M. Nixon, 09/08/1974, two separate pages, large octavo, no place or date, but signed in the late 1980s. Boldly signed by each as viewed. The original Presidential Proclamation 4311 of September 8, 1974, as issued and read by President Ford was a two-page typed transcript, singularly signed by Ford. It is housed in Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government, 1778 - 1992, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, DC. (ARC #194597) Although his pardon of Richard Nixon was very controversial and probably was one of the prime factors leading to his loss in the 1976 presidential election, Gerald Ford never second-guessed his decision to grant it. Acting as his conscience dictated, he did not worry about political consequences. Although the initial reaction to the pardon was overwhelmingly negative, in recent years many original opponents of the pardon have reconsidered Ford's decision. On May 21, 2001, President Ford received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the Kennedy Library. Speaking on this occasion, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg said of President Ford, "As President, he made a controversial decision of conscience to pardon former President Nixon and end the trauma of Watergate. In doing so, he placed his love of country ahead of his own political future."
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