December 31, 1973

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

• Original typewritten diary (PDF)

The President's day began at San Clemente, California

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.

• Statement on Signing the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973.
• Statement About Signing Six Bills Authorizing Disposal of National Stockpile Materials

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

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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

• Text search for December 31, 1973
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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.

• President's Daily Brief of 31 December 1973

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. XVIII, China, 1973-1976

Political Turmoil in the United States, June 1973-September 1974

• 65. Memorandum From Richard H. Solomon of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger, Washington, December 31, 1973

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 527, Country Files, Far East. People’s Republic of China, Vol. 8, July 10, 1973–Dec 31, 1973. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. Scowcroft sent this memorandum to Kissinger at the Western White House in San Clemente. At the top of the memorandum, Kissinger wrote, “Excellent paper.” A handwritten note on the memorandum reads, “Comments are HAK’s.”

Vol. E-12, Documents on East and Southeast Asia, 1973-1976

Korean Peninsula

• 248. National Security Study Memorandum 190, Washington, December 31, 1973., Washington, December 31, 1973

  Kissinger asked the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Central Intelligence Agency to study potential diplomatic initiatives regarding security arrangements on the Korean peninsula.
  
  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–201, NSSMs, NSSM 190 (1 of 3). Top Secret; Nodis. Coped to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On December 20, Kissinger received a memorandum from Solomon and Froebe recommending that he sign a NSSM on diplomatic initiatives in Korea. On the first page of this memorandum, Kissinger wrote, “I want NSSM sent.” (Ibid.) The NSSM 190 issues were eventually referred to the President for decision without a prior meeting of the SRG.

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.

The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

S - White House Press Office Briefings (continuation of the L-series)

• WHCA-SR-S-429
  Press briefing by Fred Malek. (12/31/1973, White House Press Lobby)
  
  Runtime: 16:15
  
  Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media
  
  Production credits: Audio feed supplied by WHCA; Recorded by __ (initials of WHCA engineer)
  
  Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.
• WHCA-SR-S-430
  Press briefing by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development James T. Lynn. (12/31/1973, White House Press Lobby)
  
  Runtime: 31:45:00
  
  Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media
  
  Production credits: Audio feed supplied by WHCA; Recorded by __ (initials of WHCA engineer)
  
  Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

The White House Communications Agency Videotape Collection contains “off-the-air” recordings of televised programs produced between 1968 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

• WHCA-6725
  Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
  ALL NETWORKS
  
  1. Smith/Donaldson: Oil prices going up Smith/Donaldson: oil prices going up. Time Code Start: 00:00. Keywords: energy, petroleum, drilling, oil supply, oil supplies, imports, shortages, sales, costs, increases. Network: ABC.
  
  2. Smith/Medina: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) price gouging investigation. Time Code Start: 01:45. Keywords: wage and price controls, freezes, prices, costs, increases, decreases, economy, economics, budgets, finances, recession, inflation, money, investigations, fuel, gasoline, taxes, tax returns. Network: ABC.
  
  3. Smith/Young: Oil tankers sitting on Atlantic Coast. Time Code Start: 03:50. Keywords: petroleum, ships, transportation. Network: ABC.
  
  4. Smith: President Nixon signs two bills in San Clemente, California. Time Code Start: 05:43. Keywords: Presidents, bills, laws, signings, Western White House, La Casa Pacifica. Network: ABC.
  
  5. Smith/Miller: Unemployment in Britain and the U (possibly the UK). Time Code Start: 06:14. Keywords: jobs, unemployment, statistics , England, British, Ireland, Scotland, United Kingdom. Network: ABC.
  
  6. Smith/Cioffi: Israel elections. Time Code Start: 09:01. Keywords: Middle East, Mideast, Israeli, elections. Network: ABC.
  
  7. Smith/Brown: Arab interest in Israel vote. Time Code Start: 11:42. Keywords: Arabian, Arabs, Middle East, Mideast, Israeli, elections, voting. Network: ABC.
  
  8. Smith: Commentary on energy and 1974. Time Code Start: 13:17. Keywords: petroleum, oil, gasoline, fuel, shortages, rationing, natural resources, yearly, reports, summaries, history, retrospectives, reviews. Network: ABC.
  
  9. Chancellor/Levine: Gas prices going up. Time Code Start: 14:58. Keywords: energy, petroleum, oil supply, gasoline, fuel, shortages, rationing, natural resources. Network: NBC.
  
  10. Chancellor: Crude oil prices going up. Time Code Start: 17:22. Keywords: energy, petroleum, drilling, oil supply, oil supplies, imports, shortages, sales, costs, increases. Network: NBC.
  
  11. Chancellor/Burrington: Israel elections. Time Code Start: 17:59. Keywords: Middle East, Mideast, Israeli, elections. Network: NBC.
  
  12. Chancellor/Brokaw: President Nixon confers with Secretary of State Kissinger and signs two bills; a review of President Nixon's year in office. Time Code Start: 21:17. Keywords: bills, laws, signings, signing ceremony, cabinet, advisors. Network: NBC.
  
  13. Chancellor: Review of 1973. Time Code Start: 22:54. Keywords: yearly, reports, summaries, history, retrospectives, reviews. Network: NBC.
  
  14. Mudd/Pierpoint: How President Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger feel on Israel's elections. Time Code Start: 24:09. Keywords: Presidents, Middle East, Mideast, Israeli, elections. Network: CBS.
  
  15. Mudd/Shaw: Oil prices up. Time Code Start: 25:35. Keywords: energy, petroleum, drilling, oil supply, oil supplies, imports, shortages, sales, costs, increases. Network: CBS.
  
  16. Mudd/Schieffer/Davis/Bradley: More than 1200 MIAs still missing in Southeast Asia; in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand relatives like Mrs. Robert Thomas believes many still alive; VIVA representative John FRANCHI, Lieutenant General Daniel JAMES. Time Code Start: 27:22. Keywords: Vietnam Missing in Action, Indochina War, military, troops, missing persons, mysteries, investigations, families. Network: CBS.
  
  17. Mudd/Graham: Watergate case Special Prosecutor Jaworski says a number of people will be indicted. Time Code Start: 33:19. Keywords: law officials, attorneys, lawyers, appointments, Watergate, Senate committee hearings, investigations, testimony, testify, cover-ups, break-in, burglary, theft, plumbers, scandals. Network: CBS.
  
  18. Sevareid: Analysis of 1973. Time Code Start: 34:58. Keywords: yearly, reports, summaries, history, retrospectives, reviews. Network: CBS.

• TIME magazine of December 31, 1973

• New York Times of December 31, 1973

• AP Images photos from December 31, 1973
• Getty Images photos from December 31, 1973

The Vanderbilt Television News Archive is the world's most extensive and complete archive of television news. They have been recording, preserving and providing access to television news broadcasts of the national networks since August 5, 1968.

• December 1973 Broadcast Index

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• December 31, 1973