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January 2, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Saturday, January 2, 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: Friday, January 1, 1971

Next Date: Sunday, January 3, 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

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

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)
      Saturday, January 2.

      At Camp David. The President had me over to Aspen at 2:45, and I was there for three hours for just a general discussion in his study. He spent all the time inside. He hasn't been out in the snow at all, although it is beautiful here at Aspen. He's obviously been doing a lot of reading, but also some general homework. There's no apparent progress on getting ready for the Monday night TV. He did want to have the material for the program ready by noon tomorrow. He had several general items in mind, apparently, no voluminous notes, as there often is. He wanted to be very sure we got the statistics on Presidential activity really worked up well and out to Congressional leaders and our own people, so as to keep that story going. He thinks Ziegler ought to do a once a month recap on a slow news day, to build up a cumulative effect and eventually get through on this point, and also the graciousness to our enemies story.

      He discussed the general PR question. He's concerned about the memos that we’re doing, getting out and also the danger that in getting all those memos in to him, he will overreact and try to change himself as Johnson did. Also, by writing the memos there's a tendency on the part of the staff to shift responsibility to what the President should do, rather than what the staff should or is doing. He made one interesting point, which is the need to really get to work on our foreign policy PR; because this is our strongest point, and, especially since the death of de Gaulle, we have a real opportunity to build the President as the world leader. Muskies and all the rest of them will try to move in on this field, but we must continue to dominate. He also wants to be sure that we are developing some PR activities for Tricia and Julie, particularly on television. Among other ideas, he thought we might try having an hour press interview with the top ten or twelve foreign correspondents that are here from primarily the European countries. This is the kind of thing he wants us to explore to assert leadership in world affairs.

      Back to Tricia and Julie. He wants to look at the big TV personalities in the key states and see if we can't get them into some things there; either have those people come to the White House for interviews, or get Tricia and Julie out into the states.

      Also, we need to do more in building up Cabinet and staff activity on a public basis. Try to get some of the Moynihan type thrust into their appearances. For Cabinet meetings, he wants to be sure there's one guy set to pump things up at each meeting. And he also applies this to staff meetings. He's obviously been giving some thought to the need to build up staff morale and to keep our people cranked up. He wants MacGregor, for instance, to take the responsibility for firing up the Congressmen. He thinks he ought to meet with the staff at the top level and second level more frequently. He wants to be sure we follow up on the Tkach deal on the hardworking President.

      He also got into a discussion of the need for a staff intellectual. He had in mind Robert Nisbitt in California. But he thinks he needs one highly regarded academic around as a house intellectual to stimulate thinking, give the President someone to talk to from time to time, and to work with the rest of the staff on generating ideas.

      He got into the speech writing problem again, the need to get lift into a speech, and to do that, you have to have emotion. And referred to a letter from Charles Malek two years ago which emphasized the need for the pithy, memorable phrase. This led him into the need for getting into reading the mail and working up better plans for television, and again, pursuing the intellectual group.

      He then got into some general schedule planning for 1971. He's thinking about having three or four breakfasts for the Republicans in Congress to try and cover all of them, 50 at a time, right at the beginning of the session and, hopefully, do this as a way to avoid having to have individual or small groups of Congressmen in for talks as we go along. He's inclined against that because it always turns into a gripe session and, invariably, something that he says gets misinterpreted. If we do these breakfasts, he also thinks that will preclude the necessity of doing SOS, Chowder, and Marching and those other groups.

      He's decided to keep Romney, but figures the price is that he gives up the Voluntary Action Center. He wants to use him more as an advocate out making speeches also. He discussed the Klein removal and wants that now done on the basis of keeping Herb with his title, but eliminating his administrative responsibility. He wants to be sure I should not do this in a brutal way. He says if we're going to keep these people, like Romney and Klein, we should make it as happy an arrangement as we can.

      I raised the question of trip plans. And he still hadn't decided what to do next week. But after I had gone back to Laurel, he called a little later to say he had talked with Mrs. Nixon, and they decided to go to California and we're to go ahead and set up those plans.

      End of January 2.
    • 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

  • 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.

  • 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. IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969-1972

    Trade and Commerce, 1969-1972

    • 250. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, January 2, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Agency Files, Box 196, Agriculture, Volume II 1971-. No classification marking. A stamped notation on the memorandum reads: “The President has seen.” The memorandum was forwarded to Kissinger under cover of a December 18, 1970, memorandum from Bergsten, which indicated a memorandum similar to Hardin’s (at Tab A below) had been provided to the President in preparation for his meeting with Prime Minister Heath on December 17. (Ibid., Volume I 1969-1970)

    Vol. XXI, Chile, 1969-1973

    Cool and Correct: The U.S. Response to the Allende Administration, November 5, 1970-December 31, 1972

    Vol. XLI, Western Europe; NATO, 1969-1972

    Ireland

    Vol. E-2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969-1972

    Chemical and Biological Warfare; Geneva Protocol; Biological Weapons Convention

  • 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

  • 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-4076
      Weekly News Summary Week, Tape I.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 1:00

      1. Chancellor/Stern: 91st Congress adjournment. Time Code Start: 00:00. Keywords: House of Representatives. Network: NBC.

      2. Wallace/Morton: 91st Congress adjournment. Time Code Start: 02:25. Keywords: House of Representatives, ending, discontinued. Network: CBS.

      3. Wallace: President Nixon bill signing. Time Code Start: 05:24. Keywords: bills, laws, signings, signing ceremony,environment, pollution, anti-pollution, smog. Network: CBS.

Context (External Sources)