Betty Ford

Former first lady of the United States

• Born: April 8, 1918
• Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
• Died: July 8, 2011

Ford was a popular, outspoken first lady of the United States. In the White House, she was an advocate for a number of women’s issues. She was diagnosed with breast cancer soon after becoming first lady, which led her to join the emerging women’s health movement. After leaving the White House, she founded and chaired the Betty Ford Center, an internationally known institution for the treatment of substance abuse.

Early Life

Betty Ford was born Elizabeth Ann Bloomer in Chicago on April 8, 1918, the third child and only daughter of William and Hortense (Neahr) Bloomer. When Ford was two years old, the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she had a comfortable upbringing. Ford’s early years were full of friends, family, and social activities. Tragedy, however, touched her family when she was sixteen: her father died. At his funeral, she learned that her father had been an alcoholic.

A lifelong love of dance began when Ford started taking lessons at the age of eight. For two years during high school, she attended the well-respected Bennington School of Dance in Vermont, where she became acquainted with modern dance innovator Martha Graham. Ford aspired to dance in Graham’s regular company and, at the age of twenty, she moved to New York to pursue that goal. Though talented, she was not invited to join Graham’s main group. Her mother, who was uncomfortable with the idea of her daughter living alone in New York, encouraged Ford to return to Grand Rapids, and she did.

Life’s Work

Ford worked at a local department store as a fashion coordinator and also taught dance. In 1942, she was married to William Warren, a man she had known for years. Like her father, Warren struggled with alcoholism. The marriage ended in divorce five years later.

In 1947, Betty met Gerald Ford, a lawyer who also was from Grand Rapids. Their romance progressed and they were married on October 15, 1948. Ford was elected to the US House of Representatives less than one month later. The couple set up house near the capitol and Ford became active in political and social causes. She was active in the Congressional Club, gave tours to visiting constituents, and campaigned when her husband was running for reelection.

The Ford family grew quickly: Between 1950 and 1957, the couple had four children. Her husband was away from home for as many as 258 days a year doing congressional business or supporting fellow Republicans. The burden of raising the family fell almost exclusively on Ford, and it took a toll. Recurring physical problems from a pinched nerve in her neck as well as low self-esteem led her to consult a psychiatrist, whom she saw for a number of years.

In 1973, the Fords had decided that they would retire to Grand Rapids after one more term in the House. Then, President Richard M. Nixon named Gerald Ford to succeed the disgraced Spiro Agnew as vice president of the United States in October 1973. Less than one year later, on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford became president after Nixon left office following his impeachment. Betty Ford became first lady of the United States.

After five years of First Lady Pat Nixon’s formality, Ford was a breath of fresh air. She wanted to be an active first lady, and it was apparent that she intended to speak her mind frequently, to the displeasure of her husband’s West Wing staff.

Ford’s abbreviated tenure in the White House kept her from developing an ongoing White House program or project. Building on a lifetime as a homemaker and political partner, she became an advocate for women’s issues. At least part of her activity was unintentional. Shortly after becoming first lady she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, Americans were reluctant to discuss breast cancer and other women's health issues. Ford made the conscious decision to tell the public about her cancer and subsequent radical mastectomy. She said, “My feeling was if I had it, others had it, and if I said nothing, their lives would be gone.” The announcement came at a time when breast cancer was rarely discussed in public. After leaving the hospital and completing chemotherapy, Ford continued to be an advocate for regular mammography exams and for health education. Her advocacy was a part of the emerging women’s health movement in the 1970s.

The first lady became a vocal supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as well. The ERA had already been passed by thirty-four state legislatures, but four others were needed for passage at the federal level as an amendment to the US Constitution. Ford made telephone calls and wrote notes to members of the state legislatures where votes were pending. She aroused the ire of anti-ERA forces that were annoyed with her lobbying efforts. She asserted that she was only expressing her opinion, but she finally backed away from active support when it seemed that her efforts might affect her husband politically.

Ford encouraged her husband to appoint more women to government positions. Taking her views into consideration, President Ford named Carla Hills to serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Anne Armstrong was appointed US ambassador to the Court of St. James. Ford was also hopeful that her husband would nominate the first woman to the US Supreme Court, but when he had the opportunity, he named John Paul Stevens instead.

A defining moment for Ford occurred in August 1975, when she appeared on the CBS television program 60 Minutes. The program coincided with the anniversary of the Ford administration’s first year in office. The first lady startled interviewer Morley Safer with her enthusiastic support for Roe v. Wade (1973). She also told Safer that she would not be surprised if her children tried marijuana, and she would not be shocked if her daughter had an affair. The public reaction was immediate, and much of it was negative. Over time, however, public opinion reversed and Ford saw her popularity rise for her candor.

Ford’s popularity rose so much that a campaign button from the 1976 presidential election read “I’m Voting for Betty’s Husband.” However, her husband was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 elections.

After leaving the White House, the family grew increasingly concerned with Ford’s drinking and dependence on prescription drugs. They conducted an intervention to help her face her problems. She entered a rehabilitation program in California and was so grateful for the help she received there that she founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, also in California, for the treatment of substance abuse. Over the years, the center became one of the most well-known treatment centers in the world. Ford stepped down as the chair of the board of trustees in 2005 and was succeeded by her daughter, Susan Ford. Ford also remained a vocal advocate of women's rights, speaking at numerous engagements and fund-raising events. In 1991, she was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush, and she received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

Gerald and Betty Ford became the first US president and first lady to live into their nineties. Gerald Ford died at age ninety-three in 2006, and Betty Ford traveled cross-country to take part in memorial services for her husband in California, Michigan, and Washington, DC. She underwent operations in 2006 and 2007 for blood clots in her legs, after which she curtailed her public appearances. Ford died at age ninety-three on July 8, 2011, at the Eisenhower Medical Center near her home and the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage.

Significance

As one scholar observed, Ford’s legacy was more in her example than in the success or failure of the causes she supported. Well liked by Americans who admired her candid and unpretentious style, she was an active first lady who was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Her public policy forays achieved mixed but well-publicized results.

Perhaps Ford’s greatest achievement in the White House was that she brought breast cancer out of the closet. Her openness about breast cancer most likely saved lives and is credited with contributing to what was a burgeoning women’s health movement in the 1970s. After leaving the White House, she confronted her own demons and faced the realities of her substance abuse. Her status as a public figure helped the nation talk openly about two previously taboo subjects, breast cancer and substance abuse, bringing awareness and encouraging countless Americans to seek treatment.

One of the most popular and well-respected first ladies, Ford’s candor and resilience in the face of personal tragedies and challenges have enlightened and improved the lives of Americans. One scholar referred to her as “an American hero,” a well-deserved title.

Bibliography

Ford, Betty, and Chris Chase. The Times of My Life. New York: Harper, 1978. Print.

Greene, John Robert. Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 2004. Print.

Gutin, Myra G. “Betty Ford.” The President’s Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century. Westport: Greenwood, 1989. Print.

Gutin, Myra G., and Leesa E. Tobin. “’You’ve Come a Long Way Mr. President’: Betty Ford as First Lady.” Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America. Ed. Bernard J. Firestone and Alexej Ugrinksy. Vol. 2. Westport: Greenwood, 1993. Print.

Joslyn, Heather. "Betty Ford, Outspoken Health Advocate." Chronicle of Philanthropy 23.16 (2011): 18. Print.

Marion, Nancy E., and Willard M. Oliver, eds. Drugs in American Society. 3 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2014. Print.

Nemy, Enid. "Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93." New York Times. New York Times, 8 July 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.

Radcliffe, Donnie. "Betty Ford Dies at 93: Former First Lady Founded Iconic Clinic." Washington Post. Washington Post, 8 July 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.

Tobin, Leesa E. “Betty Ford as First Lady: A Woman for Women.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 20 (1990): 761–67. Print.

Weidenfeld, Sheila. First Lady’s Lady: With the Fords at the White House. New York: Putnam’s, 1979. Print.