Final answer:
During Ford's presidency, domestic opposition limited U.S. support to South Vietnam, leading to its fall in 1975. While Ford faced challenges in Vietnam, he achieved foreign policy successes such as advancing détente with the Soviet Union and signing the Helsinki Accords.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the administration of President Gerald Ford, events in Vietnam were marked by significant changes and a culmination of the long-standing conflict. Despite efforts to continue supporting South Vietnam, Ford's economic policies faced opposition from a Democratic Congress, which refused the President's request for funds to assist the South Vietnamese government against North Vietnamese forces. Consequently, this lack of support contributed to South Vietnam's eventual surrender to the North in April 1975, effectively ending the Vietnam War.
In contrast to his limited success in Vietnam, President Ford achieved more notable foreign policy accomplishments elsewhere. He continued Nixon's policy of détente with the Soviet Union and made progress in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). In 1975, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords with Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev, agreeing to acknowledge the territorial boundaries established post-World War II, despite some criticism from immigrants and observers who felt that the U.S. was accepting the status quo of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe.