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Introduction to the Brock-Ford Letters

Margaret Martin Brock’s compilation of her correspondence with President Gerald Ford is one of Pepperdine University’s most prized and historically significant collections. It illustrates in a personal way many of the important historical events of the middle and end of the 1970s and connects Pepperdine to those events and to the Republican party in that decade. The letters between Brock and Ford reveal the challenges faced by and extraordinary capabilities of Ford and provide insight into the inner workings of the Republican Party at that time. The historical events during the mid to late 1970s reveal the extraordinary capabilities of President Ford, which gives insight into his dedication to the campaigns of himself and other Republicans highlighted in the Brock-Ford letters.

Ford is perhaps best known and remembered for his role in one of the most prominent historical events of the time, the Watergate scandal and its aftermath. In 1973, it was first publicly revealed that President Richard Nixon had illegally “taped all Oval Office conversations” (Kruse and Zelizer, 8), and the forced publication of these tapes and the information they provided about Nixon’s role in the cover up of that scandal led Nixon to resign as president the following year. Because Nixon was the first U.S. president to resign his position, his vice president, Ford, inherited the drama and stigma of the Watergate scandal when he assumed the presidency that same year, which, despite his upstanding reputation, caused the American people initially to distrust Ford as the successor to a disgraced prior administration.  This distrust was precisely the issue that Ford dedicated the first months of his presidency to mending, as he yearned to “bind up the...wounds of Watergate” (Kruse and Zelizer, 11). He reached the difficult and controversial decision to pardon Nixon from any and all crimes in order to promote peace within the country. However, this decision had the opposite effect and led to conspiracy theories and protests against Ford.

Another important historical event that took place during Ford’s presidency was the end of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a 20-year conflict between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, with the United States aiding South Vietnam. While Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 which ended “direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War” (History.com Editors), Ford completed the discontinuation of American involvement in Vietnam in 1975. Ford also sent the U.S. Marines and Air Force to Vietnam to rescue American citizens and South Vietnamese refugees from the fall of Saigon, where North Vietnam conquered all of the country and occupied the capital of South Vietnam. While Nixon ended the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, Ford ensured that this decision was final. Despite the distrust and turmoil that surrounded Ford’s presidency, Ford’s correspondence with Brock demonstrates the sincerity of his efforts to provide effective and calming leadership to the country in the face of the formidable challenges.

The Brock-Ford collection is a series of friendly letters from 1973 through 1996 primarily between Margaret Brock, Gerald and Betty Ford, and Ron Phillips, the dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Law. One of the recurring themes throughout these letters is Ford’s gratefulness and praise for Brock’s contributions to various Republican Party organizations and events. During the years in which these letters were written, Brock served on a number of committees in the Reublican Party, one example including the Executive Committee of the President Ford Finance Committee. As a member of that committee, she and Ford loosely worked together. They would also cross paths at various conferences held by the Republican Party, dinner parties following these conferences and meetings to promote Ford’s presidential campaign in 1975. Brock often played a role in the organization and success of these events, and, as a result, Ford would never fail to praise her work ethic and dedication to the Republican Party.

Brock’s passionate dedication to the Republican Party deepened her already existing friendship with Ford. Brock always supported Ford’s ambitions and efforts, especially during his nomination for Vice President and 1975-1976 campaign for presidential reelection. Brock’s backing of Ford, combined with her prominent influence in the Republican Party, also led to a great deal of mutual respect between Brock and Ford. This amity and esteem between Brock and Ford is continually reflected in their letters. A majority of Brock and Ford’s letters are thank you notes for various gifts Brock sent to the Fords and for Brock’s efforts in organizing Republican Party events. These letters are filled with praise by the writer for the other, which conveys the close and warm relationship between the Brock and Ford families. Additionally, a substantial number of the letters include Christmas cards, anniversary cards and photographs from the Fords. 

A final key theme of the Brock-Ford letters is that their shared love for Pepperdine intensified and improved their friendship, respect for one another and experiences working together. Brock’s love for and role in the cultivation of Pepperdine’s campus was invaluable. She helped create and donate to scholarship funds at the School of Law and greatly influenced the construction of the Drescher Graduate campus. Brock’s hand in the development of Pepperdine led the principal’s house to be dedicated in her name as the “Margaret Brock House”. Brock’s connection to Pepperdine led Ford to be involved with the school as well, as he served on the Board of Regents Committee at Pepperdine for six years and was present at the dedications of the Margaret Brock house and the Firestone Fieldhouse. Brock and Ford were also both honored with the title of “Life Regent” at Pepperdine University for their services to the school. Brock’s considerable and crucial contributions to Pepperdine’s development incentivized Ford to deepen his connection with the university, which resulted in a closer relationship between Brock and Ford and Ford’s priceless contributions to Pepperdine.

Bibliography

History.com Editors. “Vietnam War Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-timeline. 

Koba, Mark. “Recession: CNBC Explains.” CNBC, NBC Universal, 30 Apr. 2013, www.cnbc.com/id/43563081. 

Kruse, Kevin M., and Julian E. Zelizer. “A Crisis of Legitimacy.” Fault Lines, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2019, pp. 7–25.