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August 15, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, August 15, 1971, 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: Saturday, August 14, 1971

Next Date: Monday, August 16, 1971

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 Camp David, Maryland

  • 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.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • 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.

    No Federal Register published on this date

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.

    President's Personal File

    The President's Personal File is essentially a President's secretary's file, kept by Rose Mary Woods, personal secretary to the President, for two purposes: (1) preserving for posterity a collection of documents particularly close to the President, whether because he dictated or annotated them, or because of the importance of the correspondent or the event concerned and (2) giving appropriate attention–letters of gratitude, invitations to White House social events, and the like–to members and important friends and supporters of the Nixon administration. This generalization does not describe all the varied materials of a file group which is essentially a miscellany, but it does identify the reason for the existence of the file group's core. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • 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)
      Sunday, August 15.

      The working group started again at breakfast this morning. Got things wrapped up pretty well, and then went over to Laurel for posed pictures with the President. He was in pretty bouncy shape and set up the various shots that he wanted. He decided not to go back with the group. He wants them to go on ahead. He got into considerable discussion on various arrangements and details regarding the speech and the follow-up. He has decided not to release a text until after it's delivered. He wanted them to call the automakers today and see if they would agree to reduce their price $100 per car, in addition to the excise tax reduction. That later proved not to be successful. Connally tried, and they refused to do it. I told him we were setting up a staff briefing this afternoon down at the White House after we got back. Regarding Wilbur Mills, he said to tell him that the President is going to make a statement, that you'll like what he says about taxes, and that he would like to talk to you tomorrow-- that we would like to talk to you tomorrow, that this incorporates some of your ideas. He doesn't want us to brief any Congressmen in advance, wants to really make the Republicans stand up.

      He said that on the follow-up stuff, we ought to build a mythology, restrain Safire and let that come out later. On the question of who won, give Connally great credit: he was the quarterback, the President was the coach. Connally developed the plan. Only Nixon and Connally knew the whole thing. He also wants to build Burns up. He had been extremely helpful all along in developing this as an advisor. He decided not to try the TelePrompTer. He still wants to move on Peterson as the head of OEP. We all then came down. The President called from Camp David and said, in addition to the calls Arthur Burns is planning to make to the bankers, it's more important in the immediate sense that he talk to the people in the writing press that have great influence, like Hobart Rowan and Ed Dale. He should take these as a first priority and put his enormous influence into them. I talked to Arthur about this, and he agreed to do it if they called him.

      We had staff meetings this afternoon, a good briefing and then I––by Connally––and then I went over the logistic plan, both with my operating unit and then with a full staff unit. I think we have everybody tracking extremely well. The President stayed out of touch until time to go on the air. He called me right after he went off. Seemed to feel pretty good about it. He said he was trying to get some emotional lift into it. He especially liked his line regarding what the guy had written in 1775 about America having seen its better-- best days. He liked the line telling the people everything depends on you, but he had the real question of whether he'd made the impact he should have, considering all the work he had done on it. We got a lot of phone calls in, and all of the initial reaction was very strongly positive. So it would appear that we're in good shape.

      End of August 15.
    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF) Addendum
      Going back to August 15, one other thing worth recording was, at our general briefing at 4:00 Sunday afternoon, Arthur Burns made a very good statement. He started out by saying the future looks better today than it has for a long time. A proposal of this scope has not been put forward by an American President since Franklin Roosevelt and even then, he put out a series of programs, not such a sweeping, overall proposal. We have the problems of unemployment, rising prices and inflation––which we needed to administer a shock treatment––a balance of trade problem to restore, a balance of payments to restore equilibrium. Not a small step-- not small steps at the margin, but major action. Productivity, new and faster path of economic growth. Proliferation of government, the President called a halt to the expansion of bureaucracy and actually is pulling it back. The new economic policy has been evolved over a period of time. This is a program for the first time that's been thought through, thoroughly integrated so that the pieces fit together. There's been a lot of talk about gold. Very few people understand it. Any questions on this should be referred to the Treasury and the Fed. There's been talk about devaluation. This is a word that's used loosely, especially by laymen. The answer is, the President has stabilized the dollar. Regarding the freeze, it'll be followed by another stage. We have not embarked on a policy of controls. This is not the policy. We're trying to speed the transition from inflation to price stability. We continue to believe in free markets and will return to free markets. There's a lot of foolish talk in the press about differences between Burns and the President. You can quote me as saying I support this program fully.

      End of Burns notes on August 15.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)
    • Original audio recording (MP3) Addendum

  • 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.

    • No President's Daily Brief delivered on this date

  • 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. XL, Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

    Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

  • 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.

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)