December 8, 1969

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 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.

Addresses and Remarks

• American Farm Bureau Federation (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1718, December 8, 1969)
  The President's Remarks at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Federation.

Announcements

• Disaster Assistance for Iowa (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1718, December 8, 1969)
  Announcement of Allocation of Additional Funds for Repair of Damage Caused by Storms and Floods.

News Conferences

• The President's News Conference of December 8, 1969 (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1720, December 8, 1969)
  No. 8.

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.

• The President has designated Dr. Daniel Patrick Moynihan as a member of the Council for Urban Affairs. Dr. Moynihan was Executive Secretary of the Council until his recent appointment as Counsellor to the President.

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.

• Remarks at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
• The President's News Conference

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

The Congressional Record is the official daily record of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

• Senate: December 8, 1969
• House of Representatives: December 8, 1969
• Extensions of Remarks: December 8, 1969

Argued

• Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
• Boddie v. Connecticut
• Sanks v. Georgia
• Simmons v. West Haven Housing Authority

Decided

• Anderson's Black Rock, Inc. v. Pavement Salvage Company, Inc.
• Bryson v. United States
• Carlos v. New York
• Conway v. California Adult Authority
• Minor v. United States
• Morales v. New York
• United States v. Knox

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 Handwriting, Box 4, President's Handwriting, December 1 thru 15, 1969 [2 of 5]
  • Memo; Bob Haldeman to The President re: Press Conference Material. December 8, 1969. 1 pg.
  • Memo; John Ehrlichman to Leonard Garment re: Extension of the voting rights bill. December 8, 1969. 10 pgs.
  • Memo; Harry S. Dent to The President re: Report on Southern GOP Conference at New Orleans. December 8, 1969. 6 pgs.
  • Schedule, Remarks; to The President re: Drop By at American Bureau Federation. December 8, 1969. 4 pgs.
  • Memo; Brad Patterson to John Ehrlichman re: Supplemental memo from Len Garment to you about voting rights. December 8, 1969. 3 pgs.
  • Memo; John Ehrlichman to The President re: Harlow's proposed answer is much better than this. December 8, 1969. 1 pg.
  • Memo; Bob Haldeman to The President re: Harlow recommends a quick phone call. December 8, 1969. 4 pgs.
• Annotated News Summaries, Box 28, News Summaries - December 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 with this date, you should also consult the full folder for the month.]
• President's Daily Schedule, Box 99, [President's Daily Schedule, Nov.-Dec. 1969] [2 of 2]
  • The President's Schedule, Monday - December 8, 1969

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.

• President's Speech File
  • Box 53, December 8, 1969, Press Conference

Among Pat Buchanan’s duties was the compilation and coordination of background briefing materials for Presidential and a few Vice Presidential press conferences. The briefings—for both the larger, announced press conferences and the smaller, informal ones held in the Oval Office—related to a widespread number of topics and were in the form of probable questions which the White House staff members anticipated news reporters would address to the President. Along with the questions, were answers recommended by Buchanan, other members of the White House staff, and the heads of major departments of the government.

The briefing books are primarily in the form of potential questions and suggested answers (often with heavy annotation by President Nixon), along with associated memos. A listing of briefing books is below, with indication of whether President Nixon annotated the book or not. Each book has an index to the potential questions with direct links to the National Archives Catalog. You should consult the full digital folder for suggested responses, President Nixon's annotations, and other documents and topics not covered by the index.

[December 8, 1969, Press Conference] (Annotated)

Citation: President's Handwriting, December 1 thru 15, 1969 [1 of 5]; box 4; White House Special Files: Staff Member and Office Files: President's Office Files; Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, CA

Consult the full digital folder for other briefing materials not in the form of prepared questions and answers.

• EXPORT CONTROL ACT
  • On East-West trade, the Administration testified in favor of straight renewal of the Export Control Act. Instead, Senators Muskie and Mondale have pushed a bill through the Senate and the Conference which would liberalize export controls. It is scheduled to come up on the House floor for final approval this week. Is the Administration still attempting to fight this new bill?
• MY LAI
  • Can you tell us when you learned of the alleged atrocity at My Lai; and what your reaction was?
• CIVILIAN PROSECUTION/MY LAI
  • What does the government plan to do about prosecution of civilians involved in the My Lai case?

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)
  Monday, December 8.
  
  Press Conference Day. President stayed at Camp David until 1:00. Called quite a few times regarding specifics, questions and arrangements for Farm Bureau. Went right to EOB on arrival at White House, and stayed there until 8:00 - except for the run to Hilton at 3:00. Was only gone from office thirty minutes total, but made a darn good ten minute speech to four thousand farmers and got a lot of mileage. Had Harlow work up remarks but didn't use any of his stuff. Obviously spent a little time preparing for it somewhere along the way.
  
  Had some comments regarding the briefing material. Feels they all prepare answers for the writing press and ignore the basic point that all that really matters is an answer the TV viewer will understand. Must use their vernacular, and remember we're doing this for our benefit, not the press.
  
  Called to have Buchanan dig out a Churchill quote - which he used - regarding always profited from criticism and has never been short of it. Also wanted the final AP and UPI football polls, because of flap over whether Texas is number one, big crisis at Penn State.
  
  Said we need a new procedure for press conference preparation, to get things boiled down better. Need to avoid the great last day flood from everybody and to avoid the long background-type briefing papers. Feels Buchanan can do the boiling down but lacks the judgment as to what basic answer to give, so should use Harlow for judgment part.
  
  Called me at home about 11:30 to recap. Said he'd had to do much more work on this one - because had so many answers, too much material. Was feeling very good, all reaction highly favorable. Even John Chancellor said it was good. President called him and asked him to get together with Sevareid about how often President should have press conference; Chancellor said he disagreed with Edward P. Morgan's question on this point. President took twenty-seven questions, which is a new record, and had no fluffs except regarding 250,000 pagodas Marines had built in Vietnam.
  
  Another darn good performance, with no problems.
• 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

• Text search for December 8, 1969
• Date search for December 8, 1969

All National Archives Units

• Text search for December 8, 1969
• Date search for December 8, 1969

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 08 December 1969

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. II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969-1972

The NSC System

• 90. Memorandum From the Director of the Program Analysis Staff, National Security Council (Lynn) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) , Washington, December 8, 1969

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Agency Files, Box 223, Department of Defense—01 Dec–31 Jan 70, Vol. V. Secret; Eyes Only. Sent for action.

Vol. XXXII, SALT I, 1969-1972

Opening Round at Helsinki and Preparations for Vienna, November 17, 1969-April 15, 1970

• 43. Memorandum From the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Packard) to the Under Secretary of State (Richardson) and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) , Washington, December 8, 1969

  Source: Ford Library, Laird Papers, Box 24, SALT, Chronological. Secret. On December 11 Sonnenfeldt forwarded this memorandum to Kissinger under a covering memorandum that noted: “I think you should be aware that not only on the ABM issues, but on some other questions, the delegation seems to go beyond its instructions. We just learned that without formally asking for instructions they submitted to the Soviets a new version of a final communiqué without having discussed the first version in any detail. This first version had been cleared in Washington, and the delegation had been told we wanted to defer considering any fallback positions.” Kissinger drew an arrow to that paragraph and wrote: “How could this happen?” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 875, SALT, Volume VI, December 1–30, 1969)

Vol. XXXIV, National Security Policy, 1969-1972

Chemical and Biological Warfare, Safeguard Phase II, the Draft

• 106. Memorandum for the Record by the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Packard) , Washington, December 8, 1969

  Source: Washington National Records Center, OSD Files: FRC 330–75–103, 373.24, Safeguard. Top Secret. The memorandum was included in Kissinger’s preparatory materials for the DPRC meeting held on December 9. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–99, DPRC Meeting, December 9, 1969)

Vol. XXXVI, Energy Crisis, 1969-1974

February 20, 1969-February 19, 1970

• 24. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, December 8, 1969

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1241, Saunders Files, Middle East Oil. Secret; Nodis. Sent for information.

Vol. E-1, Documents on Global Issues, 1969-1972

International Cooperation in Space, 1969-1972

• 233. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Paine) , Washington, December 8, 1969

  Kissinger passed on a personal suggestion, received from an ambassador, that NASA should implement President Nixon’s “all-mankind” theme by including representatives of various races in the space program.
  
  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 249, Agency Files, NASA Vol. I. No classification marking.

Vol. E-4, Documents on Iran and Iraq, 1969-1972

Iraq 1969-1971

• 263. Telegram 10069 From the Embassy in Lebanon to the Department of State, Beirut, December 8, 1969, 1749Z

  The Embassy reported that an Iraqi émigré, hoping to overthrow the Baghdad government, was asking for a U.S. commitment to aid his proposed new regime.
  
  Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 23–9 IRAQ. Secret; Exdis. Repeated to Tehran. J. Thomas McAndrew was the Political Officer in the Embassy in Lebanon.

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

American Republics Regional

• 19. Intelligence Memorandum, OCI No. 2622/69, Washington, December 8, 1969. , Washington, December 8, 1969

  In this 5 page intelligence memorandum titled “The Military and Nationalism in Latin America,” the CIA analyzed the influence of nationalism on the behavior of Latin American militaries and implications for U.S. policy.
  
  Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence, Job 79–T00829A. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. This memorandum was produced solely by CIA. NSSM 68 is Document 7. The JCS response to NSSM 68 has not been found.

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 Photo Office collection consists of photographic coverage of President Richard Nixon meeting with prominent social, political, and cultural personalities; speaking engagements and news conferences of the President and various high-ranking members of the White House staff and Cabinet; Presidential domestic and foreign travel, including Presidential vacations; social events and entertainment involving the First Family, including entertainers present; official portraits of the President, First Family, and high-ranking members of the Nixon administration; the 1969 and 1973 Inaugurals; the President’s 1972 Presidential election campaign appearances (including speeches) and other official activities of the White House staff and the President’s Cabinet from January 20, 1969 until August 9, 1974 at the White House and the Old Executive Office Building; other locations in Washington, DC, such as The Mall; and the Presidential retreats in Camp David, Maryland, Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente, California. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

Roll WHPO-2565 Photographer: Schumacher, Karl | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-2565-03, Unidentified carved bust of a man at the White House. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House.
• Frame(s): WHPO-2565-04-06, Construction in the swimming pool area of the White House. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, swimming pool area.
• Frame(s): WHPO-2565-09-11, President Nixon returning by helicopter to the White House helipad, from a trip to Camp David. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, helipad. President Nixon, aides.

Roll WHPO-2566 Photographer: Schumacher, Karl | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-2566-, Vice President Agnew with Greek Orthodox Archbishop iakavos and an unidentified man. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. Vice Presidential Office, Executive Office Building. Spiro Agnew, Archbishop iakavos, unidentified persons.

Roll WHPO-2567 Photographer: Kightlinger, Jack | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-2567-03-06, President Nixon at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. Washington Hilton Hotel. President Nixon, aides, convention attendees.
• Frame(s): WHPO-2567-07-27, President Nixon holding a televised news conference. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, East Room. President Nixon, members of the media.

Roll WHPO-2568 Photographer: Kightlinger, Jack | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-2568-02A/03-04A/05, President Nixon addressing the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. Washington Hilton Hotel. President Nixon, convention attendees.
• Frame(s): WHPO-2568-06A/07-21A/22, President Nixon holding a televised news conference. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, East Room. President Nixon, members of the media.

Roll WHPO-2569 Photographer: Kightlinger, Jack | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-2569-02A-04A, President Nixon addressing the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. Washington Hilton Hotel. President Nixon.
• Frame(s): WHPO-2569-06A-17A, President Nixon holding a televised news conference. 12/8/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, East Room. President Nixon, Ziegler.

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.

P - Formal Presidential Remarks

• WHCA-SR-P-691212
  Remarks by President Nixon at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation. (12/8/1969, Washington Hilton Hotel)
  
  Runtime: 13:30
  
  Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.
• WHCA-SR-P-691213
  Remarks by President Nixon in a televised press conference. (12/8/1969)
  
  Runtime: 29:17:00
  
  Keywords: Presidential press conferences, presidential news conferences, interviews, media
  
  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-3559
  President Nixon's News Conference and commentary. President Richard Nixon.
  CBS, NBC
  Runtime: 1:05:28
• WHCA-3560
  President Nixon's News Conference and commentary; NBC Commentary. Clement Haynsworth, nominee for the Supreme Court.
  CBS
  Runtime: 01:02:39
• WHCA-3564
  Weekly News Summary. Richard Nixon, familes of Vietnam Prisoner's of War, (Vietnam Prisoner of War and POW families), Secretary of State William Rogers.
  All networks
  Runtime: 00:31:49
  
  1. President Nixon holds 1st News Conference in 2 1/2 months,. Time Code Start: 00:30. Keywords: Presidents, speeches, statements, media, press conferences, news conferences, interviews. Network: CBS.

• New York Times of December 8, 1969

• AP Images photos from December 8, 1969
• Getty Images photos from December 8, 1969

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 1969 Broadcast Index

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

• December 8, 1969