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April 4, 1969

Introduction

This almanac page for Friday, April 4, 1969, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Thursday, April 3, 1969

Next Date: Saturday, April 5, 1969

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at Key Biscayne, Florida

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

    Announcements

    Appointments and Nominations

    Executive Orders

    • Interest Equalization Tax (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 510, April 4, 1969)
      Executive Order 11464. Dated April 3, 1969. Released April 4, 1969.

    Statements by the President

    Digest of Other White House Announcements

    Following is a listing of items of general interest which were announced in the press but not made public as formal White House press releases during the period covered by this issue. Appointments requiring Senate approval are not included since they appear in the list of nominations submitted to the Senate, below.

    • At the request of the President, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Robert H. Finch called on Mrs. Coretta Scott King to deliver the President's letter expressing condolences on the anniversary of the death of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King.

  • Each Public Papers of the Presidents volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary during the time period specified by the volume. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the text note.

    To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against audio recordings (when available) and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors have provided text notes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Annotated News Summaries, Box 28, News Summaries - April 1969 [During this period, the Staff Secretary only removed pages from the News Summaries which contained President Nixon's handwriting, often leaving the document with no date. Although there are no specific documents dated April 4, 1969, you should also consult the full folder for the month.]

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Wednesday through Sunday, April 2-6.

      Palm Springs and Key Biscayne. No contact with President for the entire period. Ehrlichman covered through Friday night, Harlow through the weekend. Good break. President had whole family down for the weekend. Big domestic policy meeting Friday - apparently quite successful.
    • Handwritten diary entry (JPG)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

    All National Archives Units

National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969-1972

    East-West Trade, 1969-1972

    Commodities and Strategic Materials, 1969-1972

    Vol. XII, Soviet Union, January 1969-October 1970

    Initial Contacts, January-April 22, 1969

    Vol. XX, Southeast Asia, 1969-1972

    Philippines

    Vol. XXXIX, European Security

    "Bureaucratic Steamroller," January 1969-November 1970

    • 1. Memorandum of Conversation , Washington, April 4, 1969, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 725, Country Files, Europe, USSR–Memcon’s, Dobrynin/Richardson, April 1969. Confidential. Part I of II. Drafted by Dubs. The meeting was held in the Under Secretary’s office. The day before, Dobrynin initially raised the issue of a European security conference in a meeting with Kissinger at 3:30 p.m. Kissinger wrote in a memorandum to the President on April 3: “Dobrynin began the conversation by saying that he had been instructed by the highest level of the politburo to give me an advance indication of a note that was going to be presented at the State Department tomorrow morning. This note in effect presents the Budapest Declaration of the Warsaw Pact nations, and asks for a European Security Conference. (I am sending you a separate memorandum on this.) Dobrynin asked me for my views. I told him a European Security Conference which excluded the United States would meet with strong opposition. Dobrynin said that Moscow has no intention of prescribing the membership; if one of our allies proposed United States participation, Moscow would agree. (This represents a major change in Soviet policy.)”

      The full text of the memorandum is in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XII, Document 32. For Kissinger’s memorandum to the President, see Document 2.Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 725, Country Files, Europe, USSR–Memcon’s, Dobrynin/Richardson, April 1969. Confidential. Part I of II. Drafted by Dubs. The meeting was held in the Under Secretary’s office. The day before, Dobrynin initially raised the issue of a European security conference in a meeting with Kissinger at 3:30 p.m. Kissinger wrote in a memorandum to the President on April 3: “Dobrynin began the conversation by saying that he had been instructed by the highest level of the politburo to give me an advance indication of a note that was going to be presented at the State Department tomorrow morning. This note in effect presents the Budapest Declaration of the Warsaw Pact nations, and asks for a European Security Conference. (I am sending you a separate memorandum on this.) Dobrynin asked me for my views. I told him a European Security Conference which excluded the United States would meet with strong opposition. Dobrynin said that Moscow has no intention of prescribing the membership; if one of our allies proposed United States participation, Moscow would agree. (This represents a major change in Soviet policy.)”

      The full text of the memorandum is in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XII, Document 32. For Kissinger’s memorandum to the President, see Document 2.

    • 2. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, April 4, 1969

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 392, Subject Files, Soviet Affairs. Secret. Sent for information.

    Vol. E-10, Documents on American Republics, 1969-1972

    Cuba

    • 198. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, April 4, 1969. , Washington, April 4, 1969

      President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Kissinger informed President Nixon that Secretary of State Rogers had requested authorization to determine the meaning of a message from Castro, indicating a desire for détente with the United States.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 780, Country Files, Latin America, Cuba, Vol. I. Secret; Nodis. Sent for action. A notation in the upper right corner of the memorandum reads, “OBE.” An unsigned message in President Nixon’s handwriting, at the bottom of the memorandum below Kissinger’s recommendation, reads, “A very, very cautious probe only, which I will be.” Attached but not published at Tab A is an April 3 memorandum from Rogers to Nixon. Attached to the memorandum is a typewritten note, which reads, “Back from the President. Please note that Presidential note does not seem to be completed.” An attached note in Haig’s handwriting reads, “Means keep me posted!”

    Venezuela

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Context (External Sources)