Gerald Ford is the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without ever being elected to either. He was serving as House Minority Leader on October 10th, 1973, when the elected Vice President, Spiro Agnew, resigned in the face of corruption charges. Ford was named Agnew's successor as Vice President. Ten months later, when President Nixon resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment, Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States. He was the first Vice President to assume the Presidency after the passage of the 25th Amendment, which made the established practice of vice presidential succession part of the Constitution. Ford inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, and was unable to turn that around. He was criticized for pardoning Richard Nixon. He announced that decision to the country with characteristic candor, saying "May our former president, who brought peace to millions, find it for himself." In spite of the economy and controversy over the pardon, President Ford won the Republican nomination for the 1976 election. He lost the general election.
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