The accusations of Nixon's Watergate misdeeds "hang like a sword over our former president's head, threatening his health," Ford said. But his primary concern was for the nation.
"My conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed," he said. "My conscience tells me that only I, as president, have the constitutional power to firmly shut and seal this book.
"My conscience tells me it is my duty, not merely to proclaim domestic tranquility but to use every means that I have to insure it."
Ford revisited the pardon is his autobiography.
"I simply was not convinced that the country wanted to see an ex-president behind bars," he wrote. "We are not a vengeful people; forgiveness is one of the roots of the American tradition. And Nixon, in my opinion, had already suffered enormously."
And, Ford said, so had the nation.
"It was the state of the country's health at home and around the world that worried me," he said.
Still, he accepted the statement and made his way to the Oval Office. Ford turned to face the cameras, and the nation.
"Finally, it was done," Ford wrote in his book. "It was an unbelievable lifting of a burden from my shoulders. I felt very certain that I had made the right decision, and I was confident that I could now proceed without being harassed by Nixon or his problems any more."
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