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March 5, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Friday, March 5, 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: Thursday, March 4, 1971

Next Date: Saturday, March 6, 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 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.

  • 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)
      Friday, March 5.

      No regular schedule today because of the plan for going to Camp David-- or going to Rochester, which was canceled yesterday. A lot of aftermath from the press conference. The President called a mini-NSC meeting this morning on short notice, and that took up a good chunk of the morning. He also invited Rockefeller to come down and met with him from 3:00 to 4:00 this afternoon. The rest of the day was pretty much taken up with phone calls, checking reaction to the press conference. He also added the Quadriad today, so that he won't have to do them on Monday. All-in-all it worked out to a darn good day of activity and gave him a chance to get some follow-up on last night. He was obviously very tired today and took some new pills from Tkach to try and help him sleep better. He apparently didn't sleep very well last night.

      He was particularly charged up about a reaction to CBS's counterattack on war coverage. They want us to really get moving and cite the examples of all the bad stuff they have been doing as a follow-up on their reaction to his press conference last night. It upset them. We should now, he thinks, pick an enemy and go with him, and that the networks should be it. He thinks we've got a lot to gain from doing this at this point, particularly on Cambodia and Laos coverage, and then really write this up, give it to the columnists to use to take off on the network. There's a lot to be done here productively as a follow-up on the President's press conference last night.

      End of March 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

    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. V, United Nations, 1969-1972

    Chinese Representation in the United Nations

    • 334. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom, Washington, March 5, 1971, 2121Z

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, UN 6 CHICOM. Secret; Priority; Exdis. Drafted by Long; cleared by Armitage, James A. Williams, Robert T. Curran, Shoesmith, McNutt, Robert T. Burns, and Winthrop G. Brown; and approved by Assistant Secretary Mr. De Palma. Repeated to USUN, Geneva for Herz, Taipei for Brown, and Hong Kong.

    Vol. VII, Vietnam, July 1970-January 1972

    Operational Lam Son 719, February 8-April 7, 1971

    Vol. XIII, Soviet Union, October 1970-October 1971

    "A Key Point in Our Relationship": Backchannel Talks on SALT, Berlin, and the Summit

    • 133. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, March 5, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 490, President’s Trip Files, Dobrynin/Kissinger, 1971, Vol. 4 [part 1]. No classification marking. Kissinger forwarded this memorandum of conversation and a memorandum summarizing it (as well as the memorandum of his conversation with Dobrynin on February 26) to Nixon on March 16. A note on the summary memorandum indicates that the President saw it. The meeting was held in the Map Room at the White House. According to Kissinger’s Record of Schedule, the meeting lasted from 5:38 to 6:12 p.m. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76)

    Vol. XVII, China, 1969-1972

    China,January-September 1971

    Vol. XXI, Chile, 1969-1973

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

    Vol. XXIX, Eastern Mediterranean, 1969-1972

    Greece

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

    United Kingdom

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

    American Republics Regional

    Guyana

    Panama

    • 546. Memorandum From Ashley C. Hewitt of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, March 5, 1971., Washington, March 5, 1971

      National Security Council staff member Hewitt summarized five studies and reports about the Panamanian Government leadership as well as the Canal negotiations. Hewitt predicted that President Torrijos would demand major concessions in the areas of legal jurisdiction in the Canal Zone and a greater share of the economic benefits.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 792, Country Files, Latin America, Panama, Atlantic-Pacific International Ocean Canal Study Commission, Vol. 1, 1971. Secret. Sent for information. Kissinger initialed the first page of the document. Attached but not published at Tab A is a January 29 CIA Working Paper, “Panama Canal Negotiations: Torrijos vs. the US.” Tab B is published as Document 545. Attached but not published at Tab C is a report on Torrijos and at Tab D, telegram 1473, February 26, from the Canal Zone. Tab E, telegram 1020 from Panama, March 4, is not attached.

  • 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)