Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

COLLECTION FINDING AID

PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS: READING COPIES, 1974-77

Office of Editorial Staff

CONTENTS

Summary Description | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

View digital copies of the documents

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Reading copies, usually on cards and often annotated by President Ford, of over one thousand speeches, veto messages press conference statements and other prepared remarks. Supporting material (background and drafts) appear in only a few folders.

QUANTITY
16.8 linear feet (ca. 33,600 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-103)

ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Leesa Tobin, January 1982
[s:\bin\findaid\president's speeches and statements - reading copies.doc]

INTRODUCTION

This file consists almost entirely of the reading copies of President Ford's 1,051 public messages. They are arranged chronologically. Related and supporting materials appear occasionally and include preliminary drafts and, less frequently, background material.

In addition to speeches there are veto messages, legislative messages to Congress, statements accompanying bill signing, presidential proclamations, miscellaneous messages and greetings to private organizations, press conference statements and numerous, less formal "drop-in" remarks and talking points prepared for convenience in delivery, most public messages were prepared in large type face on large index cards. They are very often heavily annotated in his hand, especially underlining for speaking emphasis.

For the most part, however, drafts and background material on presidential speeches before November 1, 1975 are in the White House Central Files Subject File for presidential speeches (SP). Material produced after November 1, 1975 is more likely in the files of Robert Orben, Special Assistant to the President. Related material in a particular speech or remark may be found in many locations, such as the files of White House staffers with a scheduling or policy interest.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Reading Copies of Speeches, 1974-77. (Boxes 1-42, 16.8 linear feet)
A chronologically arranged set of case files containing reading copies of presidential speeches, along with occasional speech drafts and Ford notes.

CONTAINER LIST

The collection is available in digital form. Please click on the folder titles to view PDF files of the documents.

Box 1 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 2 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 3 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 4 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 5 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 6 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 7 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 8 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 9 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 10 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 11 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 12 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 13 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 14 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 15 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 16 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 17 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 18 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 19 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 20 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 21 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 22 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 23 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 24 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 25 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 26 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 27 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 28 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 29 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 30 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 31 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 32 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 33 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 34 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 35 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 36 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 37 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 38 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 39 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 40 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 41 - Reading Copies of Speeches

Box 42 - Reading Copies of Speeches