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March 20, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, March 20, 1972, 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: Sunday, March 19, 1972

Next Date: Tuesday, March 21, 1972

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 The White House - Washington, D. C.

  • 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.

  • Argued

    Decided

Archival Holdings

  • 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.

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

    Preparing for Moscow and Nixon's Trip to China, January 1-March 29, 1972

    Vol. XVII, China, 1969-1972

    China, March-December 1972

    Vol. E-5, Part 1, Documents on Sub-Saharan Africa, 1969-1972

    The Horn

    • 328. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, March 20, 1972

      Kissinger informed the President that Selassie had called in Ambassador Adair and expressed deep distress at the Military Assistance Program (MAP) cut, stating that it came “as a great blow to him.” He said he had felt for some time that it was desirable that he meet with President Nixon to discuss U.S. assistance to Ethiopia.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 751, Presidential Correspondence, 1969–1974, Ethiopia, Selassie Corres. Confidential. Sent for information. The memorandum is stamped, “The President Has Seen.”

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

    Afghanistan, 1969-1972

    • 357. Airgram Toaid A-71 From the Embassy in Afghanistan to the Agency for International Development, Kabul, March 20, 1972

      The AID mission within the Embassy assessed U.S. efforts to help the Afghan Government deal with the impact of drought and concluded that continuing U.S support would help Afghanistan with the aftermath of the crisis.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, SOC 10 AFG. Unclassified. Drafted in the AID mission by Charles L. Husick, cleared in the mission by Albert R. Baron, John R. Wilson, Alfonso D. Dominquez, and Cecil H. Uyehara; also cleared in the Embassy by David H. Cohn and Louis L. Mitchell, Jr., and approved by mission director Bartlett Harvey. A notation on the airgram indicates it was received on March 27.

    Vol. E-13, Documents on China, 1969-1972

    • 115. Telegram 5316 From the Embassy in France to the Department of State, March 20, 1972, 1612Z, March 20, 1972, 1612Z

      Ambassador to France Watson recounted his March 20 meeting with Chinese Ambassador to France Huang Chen. The two officials discussed the upcoming visit of the PRC Table Tennis team to the United States. Huang requested that the U.S. Government refuse entry to a Taiwanese table tennis group.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970-73, POL CHICOM-US. Secret; Nodis; Homer; Immediate. Received in the Department of State at 12:49 p.m. Telegrams 46040, 47029, and 42369 to Paris are ibid.

  • 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

Context (External Sources)