Gerald R. Ford Library 1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114 www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov

COMPOSITE ORAL HISTORY ACCESSIONS

1974-Present

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Transcripts and/or recordings of research interviews with former President Ford and others. The interviews were conducted and donated by various individuals. Interviews are arranged in order of receipt, and new interviews are added as they are received.

The Ford Library also holds many additional, separate collections of oral histories, and some collections of papers include occasional oral history material.

QUANTITY

Less than one linear foot (ca. 350 pages)

DONOR

Various donors (various accession numbers). Unless otherwise noted, the donor is the interviewer.

ACCESS

See notation for each interview.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright status varies. Consult with Library staff for further information about particular interviews.

Prepared by Helmi Raaska, February 1996; Revised by William McNitt, December 2002

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Container List

Box 1

Accession Number 86-NLF-027

FORD, GERALD R.: Interviewed by Jerrold Schechter, 1986

photocopy from Composite General Accessions

Transcript of an interview with former President Ford concerning American policy toward South Vietnam during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Schecter is co-author of The Palace File (Harper & Row, 1986).

(1 audiocassette and 21 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 91-NLF-049

HARTMANN, ROBERT and RUSTAND, WARREN: Interviewed by Chase Haddix, 1991

These former White House officials wrote, developed or scheduled speeches for Ford as Vice President and later as President. In these interviews, Hartmann and Rustand recalled the development of particular speeches and the strengths and weaknesses of President Ford's speechwriting process. Also, they compared the speech styles of different presidents, including Presidents Reagan and Bush. In the interviews Hartmann and Rustand specifically analyzed speeches involving legislative initiatives or political campaigning: the 1974 address to the Joint Session of Congress on the economy, Ford's address at the Yale Law School sesquicentennial in 1975, the 1976 State of the Union address, and Ford's remarks on accepting the Republican nomination in 1976. The Joint Session address launched Ford's Whip Inflation Now (WIN) program and the Yale Law School speech introduced his anti-crime program.

(29 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 93-NLF-035

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS PROJECT: Interviews, 1974 and 1988

Transcripts of selected "exit" interviews conducted with departing Nixon White House staff in 1974 and oral history interviews conducted in 1988 by the Nixon Presidential Materials staff. The interviews are a portion of a much larger collection belonging to the Nixon Project. They were reproduced for the Ford Library in the expectation that they overlapped the Ford administration in topics covered.

ASH, ROY L.: oral history interview, January 13, 1988. Mr. Ash was Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 1973 to February 1975. Interview covers organization and staffing of the Nixon White House, especially OMB and the Domestic Council.

(81 pages) OPEN

ASH, ROY L.: oral history interview, August 4, 1988. Basically a continuation of the earlier interview, with references to the Nixon-Ford transition and President Ford's exceptional grasp of the federal budget.

(62 pages) OPEN

KING, GWENDOLYN B.: oral history interview, May 24, 1988. Mrs. King was on the White House staff for twenty years, serving in five administrations. She started in the scheduling and advance office and then was director of correspondence on the First Lady's staff. The transcript at the Ford Library is the continuation of an earlier interview with Mrs. King, and contains reminiscences of events from the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidencies. She also shares her memories of the First Ladies. There is only a passing reference to the Fords, as Mrs. King retired in October 1974.

(45 pages) OPEN

PATTERSON, BRADLEY H.: exit interview, September 10, 1974. Bradley Patterson held various positions in the Nixon and Ford administrations: executive assistant to Leonard Garment, who was a special consultant to President Nixon; assistant for staff coordination for the First Lady's staff; assistant director for operations of the Presidential Personnel Office; and special assistant to the President for Native American programs. The interview deals primarily with Patterson's role as an assistant to Leonard Garment during the Nixon administration, especially in the areas of civil rights, planning for the bicentennial, and concerns of Native Americans.

(52 pages) OPEN

SHEPARD, GEOFFREY C.: exit interview, September 11, 1974. Geoffrey Shepard was on the Domestic Council staff from 1970- 75. The interview concerns Shepard's Domestic Council assignments dealing with the Department of Justice, especially regarding the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, drug abuse policy, and criminal justice legislation.

(29 pages) OPEN

WARREN, GERALD L.: exit interview, October 24, 1974. Warren was Deputy Press Secretary from 1969-75. He discusses the operation of the White House Press Office and his role in it during the Nixon administration.

(22 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 94-NLF-009

FORD, GERALD R.: Interviewed by Andrew Moran, 1993

Audio recording and abridged transcript of telephone interview with former President Ford about economic policy. Interview was conducted as part of research for forthcoming dissertation (London Guildhall University), "The American Political Economy in the Age of Limits: The Ford Administration, the Democrats and the Great Recession of 1974-75."

(1 audiocassette and 7 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 94-NLF-054

FORD, GERALD R.: Interviewed by Jeffrey King, 1994

Audio recording and transcript of telephone interview conducted with former President Ford concerning the Ford administration's anti-crime legislative proposals. Interview was done as part of research for history honor's thesis (The University of Michigan), "Gerald R. Ford and the Problem of Street Crime."

(1 audiocassette and 7 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 95-NLF-024

FORD, GERALD R.: Interviewed by Jack Lessenberry, 1995

Interview conducted with former President Ford for the purpose of writing an article for the July-August 1995 issue of Michigan Alumnus. Interview is a brief retrospective of the Ford administration with references to American involvement in Vietnam, the Nixon pardon, and the 1976 presidential campaign. President Ford also discusses the current political situation and federal budget deficit.

(1 audiocassette and 12 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 95-NLF-032

LEVI, EDWARD: Interviewed by Victor Kramer, 1989

Notes of two telephone conversations between Kramer and Levi concerning the appointments of Levi to be Attorney General and John Paul Stevens to be a justice of the Supreme Court. Conversations were part of research for and reaction to a draft of an article written by Kramer, "The Case of Justice Stevens: How to Select, Nominate and Confirm a Justice of the United States Supreme Court," (Constitutional Commentary, Summer 1990).

(4 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 96-NLF-011

JONES, SIDNEY L.: Interviewed by Office of Presidential Papers and Archives Staff, 1971

photocopy from Sidney Jones Papers

Transcript of a debriefing interview conducted on Jones's last day on the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) staff. Jones was a special assistant to Chairman Paul McCracken and a senior staff economist from August 1969 to August 1971. In the interview Jones discusses the role and operation of the CEA, and his responsibilities as a staff member. He also talks about the preparation of the Economic Report of the President.

(22 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 96-NLF-025

FORD, GERALD R. and BUCHEN, PHILIP: Interviewed by Jay Foonberg and Walter Russell, 1995

Foonberg and Russell conducted the interview for American Bar Association’s Special Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners. Interviews with Ford and Buchen concerning their experiences in starting a law practice right out of law school. Included are initial transcriptions, the final edited transcripts, and an article by James Podger about the interviews. Also included is a letter from an attorney who was practicing in Grand Rapids at this time, recalling his contacts with Gerald Ford.

(100 pages) OPEN

Accession Number 98-NLF-011

FORD, GERALD R.: Interviewed by Paul Goldstein, 1998

A recording of a telephone interview conducted as part of Mr. Goldsteins’ research for his University of Michigan history honors thesis on “School Integration and Busing Policy During the Ford Administration.” A copy of the thesis is available in the Library’s student papers collection. The Library does not have a transcript of the interview.

(1 audiocassette)