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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

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.

    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.

  • 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, March 20.

      We got into some political follow-up. The President wanted to assure Ehrlichman gets moving on the Pentagon Papers, getting some attacks started now. He thinks we ought to get a column following up on Church's attack on Ambassador Watson, saying that the State Department has the files on lots of Congressmen and Senators who are guilty of disgraceful conduct abroad and if the Senate wants to investigate, we'll open the whole pot for them. He feels our only hope is attack, not defense, and that we should be moving on that basis.

      He's concerned about the Life article out today, and that he can't figure out how they found out some of the things they’ve got. Our general analysis is that Gleason must be the leak on it. He's concerned that we've let China dissipate as an issue because we didn't exploit it, that we have to be blatant about these and we need something to build them up, our strong suit is foreign affairs, and we need to figure out how to play it.

      Also, got to thinking that we should move all the political operations, primarily Colson, out of the White House, and into Mitchell's operation. The White House has the aspect of appearing to use the superpower of government unfairly; he sees a campaign building up on this, as evidenced by Ziegler's problem on it, and that we've got to get Colson less visible because he offends people and rides too hard.

      On the plane going up to New York for the drug trip, he came up with the idea of a club for the group that made the trip called the "New China Hands", in contrasts to the "Old China Hands" with the idea of the symbol being the handshake, and the point being made that the old hands knew everything but-- about China, but yet knew nothing, whereas the new China hands know nothing about China, yet know everything. With Nixon as President, Pat Nixon as the Chairman. Wants to have a party for the press, adding the members of the Kitchen Cabinet and all of the press we'll be taking to Moscow.

      Gridiron was a big issue again today, because Ziegler raised the point that the women are up in arms, and also Pat and Julie both hit him on the fact that he should not go, it would be a very bad thing for him to do. So he was getting the feeling again that he should back off of it, and started doing some checking on that, and he decided he shouldn't go that we should try to get the VP to do it, on the basis that it would be very helpful if the Administration. He's getting good press now, and it would help his press, and that we'll play into the hands of the radicals if we're not represented. The President thinks he ought to do it.

      I tried that on the Vice President, he played back to me the point that the President had told him in writing he didn't have to do it this year, and he argued that neither of them should do it that we shouldn't play into the press's hands at all or try to cultivate them, that there's no hope anyway. He then told me to call Bill Rogers and get his view, and Rogers said that he felt the President definitely should not go, and he really thinks the [Vice] President should, but if neither of them goes, then either Connally or Rogers should, and it ought to be Connally. Thinks we should be careful not to have an Administration boycott. Thinks it would be especially vicious this year, probably heavy on ITT. He emphasizes that you won't lose a damn thing by not going, and then suggested that the Chief Justice could respond for the President that he doesn't mind the Gridiron and would be good at doing it. I played that back to the President, he liked the idea, and made the decision he won't go, he won't make the VP go, he will have Burger do the response, and so that's where that was left. It was interesting the way everybody I discussed it with copped out for himself and passed the buck to someone else.

      The drug trip to New York went pretty well, but the President felt that we were reaching too far. That we have a problem of finding the right things to do that aren't too obvious, which he felt this really was. On the drug penalties question, he called on the trip for the stiffest penalties. And Ron was concerned that it might be interpreted as death penalty, but he made the point that his idea was there should be no reduction of penalty for drug pushers, the prosecutors should ask for the highest penalty under the law. Too many are getting off with a slap on the wrist. He told Ron to use exactly that line.

      He had some discussion with Colson on the ITT thing, not much developing today, except that the FBI has now partially refuted at least the typewriter expert's testimony.

      Rogers raised with me the question of his memo on Moscow, said he wanted to simply avoid the thought that State can't be advised because they can't be trusted, that he doesn't think the Staff realizes that under the law that State has the re-- State Department has the responsibility, the Secretary does. The other Departments can't start exploration with other governments without going through the Secretary of State, therefore he wants to be informed, and he says "I'm going to find out all that's possible about whatever one is doing, I'll be goddamned if I'll operate in the dark". For instance, the Commerce Department's last negotiations with the Soviets, we had to back out on because they done them illegally. He said he was sending a memo to the President on this, and we need to get the word out. For example, he's heard the Secretary of Agriculture's going to Moscow, and he thinks he should be in touch with him. So on. Still worrying about his own position rather than how to be of assistance to the President.

      End of March 20.
    • 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

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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)