My article explores the stance of 'principled pragmatism' adopted by the Gerald R. Ford presidential administration in its relations with apartheid era South Africa during the mid 1970s. This policy was shaped by the values of equality, fairness and justice that stemmed from the political and private persona of Ford himself. Moderated by a practical realpolitik, however, Ford recognised the necessity of avoiding measures that, while carrying an important moral symbolism, would in fact prove to be counterproductive to the aim of ending apartheid. Ford further identified the geopolitical necessity of engaging with rather than isolating South Africa in order to advance broader US strategic and moral objectives in the southern African region.