December 5, 1971

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 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.

Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

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

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 and Unmarked News Summaries [Note: Although there was no News Summary on this date, due to the way News Summary products were compiled, you should also consult nearby days for potentially relevant materials.]

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, December 5.
  
  The President still in Key Biscayne. He called around a little after noon to say he wanted to make some changes in the schedule for the TV special tomorrow, mainly because of the India-Pakistan war. He wants to have a meeting at 1:30 in the EOB with Rogers, Kissinger, Connally, Moorer, Helms, and Laird, or Packard if Laird is not here. This meeting he would allow them to cover, at least partially, for the television. He also thought we ought to try and build up Pat Nixon more; that we shouldn't bring the dog into the office during the day, but rather take him for a walk at the end of the day; and that he doesn't want to have any staff member's relatives drop by, but rather someone from outside, as well as a few human interest-type phone calls to someone outside.
  
  Bill Rogers called this morning in something of a stir, because he hadn't talked with the President all weekend and felt he should with the India-Pakistan war going on, and asked that the President call him when he could during the day. So I called Alex and had him set up the call. Apparently it was a misunderstanding yesterday in that the State Department was going to put out that they had been directed by the President to do what they were doing and now Haig told them to take it out, and then later Ziegler said that the President had ordered State to do it. So Rogers is complaining that if he knows what the President wants, he can see that it's carried out. He doesn't want to argue with him, and all, but he does need to do it, and we have some close decisions to make before they go to the Security Council at the UN this afternoon.
  
  End of December 5.
• 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

• Text search for December 5, 1971
• Date search for December 5, 1971

All National Archives Units

• Text search for December 5, 1971
• Date search for December 5, 1971

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 05 December 1971

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. XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971

South Asia Crisis, 1971

• 226. Letter From Indian Prime Minister Gandhi to President Nixon, New Delhi, December 5, 1971

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 755, Presidential Correspondence File, India, (1971). No classification marking. Sent to the White House on December 6 under cover of a letter of transmittal from Ambassador Jha, who noted that the message “originated from New Delhi in the forenoon of December 5, 1971, Indian time.” (Ibid.)

• 227. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rogers and the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, December 5, 1971

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 397, Telephone Conversations, Home File, Dec 1971. No classification marking. The conversation was tape-recorded at Kissingerʼs residence and subsequently transcribed at the White House. No time appears on the transcript.

• 228. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and His Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 397, Telephone Conversations, Home File, Dec 1971. No classification marking. The President was in Key Biscayne, Florida; Kissinger was in Washington. The conversation was tape-recorded at Kissingerʼs residence and subsequently transcribed at the White House. No time appears on the transcript.

• 229. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and His Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 397, Telephone Conversations, Home File, Dec 1971. No classification marking. The President was in Key Biscayne, Florida; Kissinger was in Washington. The conversation was tape-recorded at Kissingerʼs residence and subsequently transcribed at the White House.

• 230. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and His Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 397, Telephone Conversations, Home File, Dec 1971. No classification marking. The President was in Key Biscayne, Florida; Kissinger was in Washington. The conversation was tape-recorded at Kissingerʼs residence and subsequently transcribed at the White House. No time appears on the transcript.

• 231. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, December 5, 1971, 4 p.m.

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 492, Presidentʼs Trip Files, Dobrynin/Kissinger, 1971, Vol. 8. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. Drafted by Kissinger. The meeting was held in the Map Room at the White House. In his memoirs Kissinger notes that Ambassador Dobrynin was in Moscow during much of the culminating phase of the crisis, and he had to deal with Vorontsov, who had authority to receive and transmit messages, but not to negotiate. (White House Years, p. 900)

Vol. XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972

Announcement of Summit Through the South Asia Crisis, October 12-December 1971

• 18. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and his Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, December 5, 1971, 11 a.m.

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 396, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File. No classification marking.

Vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

India and Pakistan: Crisis and War, March-December 1971

• 159. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of the Treasury Connally and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, December 5, 1971

  Kissinger and Connally agreed that the fighting between India and Pakistan had developed as a result of collusion between India and the Soviet Union. They further agreed that it was necessary to oppose India in the conflict.
  
  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 397, Telephone Conversations, Home File, December 1971. No classification marking.

• 160. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) and the Minister of the Soviet Embassy (Vorontsov), Washington, December 5, 1971, 4:55 p.m.

  Kissinger called Vorontsov to confirm that President Nixon felt that the crisis in South Asia had created a watershed in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
  
  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 370, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File, 1–5 December 1971. No classification marking.

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.

Visit the White House Tapes finding aid to learn about the taping system's operation and archival processing.

White House Telephone

• 16-1; Unknown between 7:09 p.m. & 7:31 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-2; 7:31 p.m. - 7:39 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; [Unknown person(s)]
• 16-3; Unknown between 7:39 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-4; 7:50 p.m. - 7:52 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Thurmond, Strom
• 16-5; Unknown between 7:52 p.m. & 7:56 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-6; 7:56 p.m. - 8:03 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Rogers, William P.
• 16-7; Unknown between 8:03 p.m. & 8:12 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-8; Unknown between 8:03 p.m. & 8:12 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-9; Unknown between 8:03 p.m. & 8:12 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator
• 16-10; 8:12 p.m. - 8:28 p.m.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.

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-4857
  "Face the Nation"; "Meet the Press" AND "Issues And Answers".
  Eastern Educational Network
  Runtime: 01:28:26
• WHCA-4858
  "Agronsky & Company". Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States.
  NBC
  Runtime: 00:30:26
• WHCA-4859
  "Firing Line". The Conservatives and Mr. Nixon Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States.
  NBC
  Runtime: 01:05:12
• WHCA-4872
  Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
  ALL NETWORKS
  Runtime: 01:27:45
  
  16. Utley/Oliver: Youth vote; Chicago, Illinois conference. Time Code Start: 34:23. Keywords: Vote, voters, voting, Presidents, travel, trips, conferences, young people, issues, voting age, registrations. Network: NBC.

• New York Times of December 5, 1971

• AP Images photos from December 5, 1971
• Getty Images photos from December 5, 1971

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 1971 Broadcast Index

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

• December 5, 1971