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August 3, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, August 3, 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: Monday, August 2, 1971

Next Date: Wednesday, August 4, 1971

Schedule and Public 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.

  • 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)
      Tuesday, August 3.

      President spent the whole day holed up at the EOB getting ready for his press conference, except for a long meeting this morning with John Connally. The result of that, plus his long meeting last night with Shultz and Connally, was a decision to delay the big economic plan until September 8. The problem is, they can't really get the staff work done on it and have it ready to launch this week. There's also some other advantages to holding off and doing it next week, in any event.

      There was a major stir this morning on the Texas busing question, as a result of some phone calls late last night when Harry Dent informed the President that the Southern chairmen were going to join the Buckley move in suspending the support of the President, as a result of the decision to appeal the Austin school decision. The President was very disturbed about this last night and had them all stirring. And then this morning, Connally, Mitchell, and Shultz all met together, with Ed Morgan and others in and out, to try and figure out how to resolve it. The net result was that there wasn't anything we could do; we'd have to take our lumps now. We have to go ahead with the appeal. If we don't, the issue will keep rattling around and come back to haunt us later this year and next year, where if we get it settled once and for all, it may be gone by next year. This, at least, was the decision.

      The President had me over at midday to go over some scheduling questions. He's still debating whether to take a several-stop swing across the country on the way to California, or just do Dallas and on into LA., so we're trying to work that out. Because of the Texas school bus problem, we now don't feel we can spend much time in Dallas, or anywhere else in Texas, because there'll be some strong adverse reaction.

      End of August 3.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • 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

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)