Proclamation 4311 was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. In particular, the pardon covered Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."
President Gerald Ford announcing his decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon
Pen used by President Gerald R. Ford to pardon Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974, in the collection of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
President Ford appears at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing regarding his pardon of Richard Nixon.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973, and as the 40th vice president under President Richard Nixon from 1973 to 1974. Ford succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned in 1974, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976. Ford is the only person to serve as president and vice president without being elected to either office.
Official portrait, 1974
Ford in 1916
Ford during practice as a center on the University of Michigan Wolverines football team, 1933
The Gunnery officers of USS Monterey, 1943. Ford is second from the right, in the front row.