Gerald Ford led the United States during the 1976 Bicentennial, the predecessor to America250.
Ford became president in August 1974 after President Richard Nixon resigned. He was president throughout the Bicentennial’s culminating year, when the country marked the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Ford attended major commemorative events and delivered addresses connected with the anniversary.
The 1976 celebrations included parades, fireworks, tall-ship gatherings, exhibitions, and a nationwide atmosphere of historical remembrance. Ford presided over the major Independence Day display in Washington, D.C., while international and regional events took place across the country.
Ford was not elected president or vice president in a national election. He became vice president under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment after Spiro Agnew resigned, then succeeded Nixon. His presidency therefore coincided with a major national anniversary but ended after the 1976 election.