During his 20 years in Congress, Ford obtained ample federal funds for his district through his membership on the House Ways and Means Committee.

[3] He advocated for increased government assistance for lower income constituents including job training, health care, and supplemental unemployment benefits with welfare as a safety net.

His grandfather Lewie Ford (1889-1931) started the family funeral business and became allied with E. H. Crump, an influential white politician in Memphis and the state in the early 20th century.

He received a mortuary science degree from John A. Gupton College of Nashville in 1969, and worked in the family business as a mortician from 1969 until 1974.

[citation needed] He was made majority whip in his first term, and chaired a state house committee on utility rates and practices.

[2] In 1974, after two terms in the Tennessee legislature, he ran for the Democratic nomination for the Memphis-based 8th U.S. Congressional district, easily beating three opponents.

At that time, the district still had a white majority, though the 1970 round of redistricting by the Tennessee legislature had redrawn the 8th to include more African-American voters.

[3] He waged a large and well organized get-out-the-vote campaign using paid workers, volunteers and his own considerable energy, and received support from black churches and celebrities.

He advocated for increased federal government assistance for job training, health care, and unemployment supplemental benefits with welfare as a safety net.

[3] The legislation had a high start up cost due to the education and job training aspects, and was opposed by the Reagan administration.[3][relevant?]

John Ford was accused, but never criminally convicted, of driving between Memphis and Nashville at high speeds while in possession of a legal firearm.

The indictment was based on testimony from two bankers, both partners of Jake Butcher, who pled guilty to bank fraud under a plea bargain.

[6] Ford was charged in 18 counts of conspiracy and fraud accusing him of receiving nearly $1.5 million in loans from 1976 to 1983, that prosecutors alleged were actually bribes.

He ordered that the jury for the retrial be selected for a pool of jurors living 80 miles from Memphis in 17 heavily Republican and predominantly white rural counties.

[7][8] During the seven year pendentcy of the criminal charges, Ford remained a U.S. Representative, but was stripped by Congress of his committee leadership roles.

[citation needed] Ford married Dorothy Bowles in 1969 and the couple had three children: Harold Jr., Newton Jake and Sir Isaac.