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May 7, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, May 7, 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: Saturday, May 6, 1972

Next Date: Monday, May 8, 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 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.

  • 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

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.

    • Annotated and Unmarked News Summaries [Note: Although there was no News Summary on this date, due to the way News Summary products were compiled, you should also consult nearby days for potentially relevant materials.]

  • 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)
      Sunday, May 7th. I went on up to Camp David from Williamsburg by chopper this morning, met with the President and Henry at 4:00 over at Birch. Henry was analyzing things, says he thinks the Soviets will definitely cancel the Summit...

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 21, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 5 [AC-21(B) Sel 4]
      Duration: 10 seconds

      …or else take some major adverse action and such as in Cuba or the Middle East….
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      …and that there's no question, but that they will launch a venomous attack on Nixon on the basis that he sabotaged the last chance for peace in the world. The President agreed that this was the line they would undoubtedly take.

      We had considerable discussion about follow-up and planning on the speech. The President wanted me to expend a lot of time on the use of Kissinger and his time. He feels that Henry should have a press conference on Tuesday, and then Laird should have one on Wednesday. He raised the point of the need for a better PIO in Saigon. Maybe we should make a change there, and have the Pentagon take the initiative on it.

      They're calling Rogers home tonight. They want him to stay here and meet with the Foreign Relations committees, and so on. The President decided there'd be no press briefing, no advanced text on the speech, and that we should not announce it until after the NSC meeting on Monday, so that we could make the case that the NSC had made the decision, or at least reviewed it. Then he agreed to do the leaders, he wanted to do just the big five, went back and forth on whether to do more, in a briefing at 8:00, and then go on the air at 9:00.

      The President had me over again at 6:00 to Aspen. Said he thought we ought to do a poll, and have it ready to put out so that we could show support. Discussed the NSC meeting, and questioned whether Helms would stand up. He agreed with my idea of getting Hughes back immediately to get the POW wives organized. Wants to be sure that I really discipline the bureaucracy, and take all the steps necessary to do that. Wants Alex to alert the Cabinet that there's a major decision.

      In the midst of all that discussion he told me that he wanted to have Walter Annenberg donate a swimming pool to Blair House, so the President would have a place there to go swimming.

      He decided to have his Scott-Mansfield China follow-up breakfast on Tuesday morning. He said that I'd have to handle Kissinger. Make him stay here, clear his calendar, and go to work. He says he'll go to Florida next weekend and that Henry's got to go with him. He wants to be sure the line is that there's no wavering, no concessions, nothing about that we might lift the blockade or anything like that.

      I spent all afternoon working on the basic PR plan, the objectives and implementation, came up with pretty good rundown, which I reviewed in some detail with him, and he seemed to feel that that was pretty well set up. He emphasized that it was my responsibility to make sure that all of that follow-up and PR was carried out without fail.

      End of May 7th.
    • 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

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-5341
      "Deena Clark's Moment With...".
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 00:29:33
    • WHCA-5342
      "Face the Nation", "Meet the Press" AND "Issues and Answers".
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 1:30
    • WHCA-5343
      "60 Minutes". 'Point-Counterpoint' on the legacy of J. Edgar Hoover Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe.
      Group W Productions, Inc.
      Runtime: 01:02:54
    • WHCA-5344
      "Firing Line".
      WETA Public Affairs, NBC
      Runtime: 01:00:20
    • WHCA-5361
      Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 1:30

      29. Utley/Paxton/Troute: Vietnam. Time Code Start: 71:11. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: NBC.

      30. Utley/Levine/Valeriani: Secretary of State Rogers; Andrews Air Force Base (AFB). Time Code Start: 77:50. Keywords: leaders, military, air bases, airfields, airports, cabinet, advisors. Network: NBC.

      31. Utley/Delaney: North Carolina primary (Governor George Wallace, Sanford). Time Code Start: 80:16. Keywords: Senators, Governors, Presidential elections, campaigns, campaigning, candidates, primaries, voting. Network: NBC.

      32. Utley/Oliver: California trying to legalize pot. Time Code Start: 84:20. Keywords: bills, laws, legalization, drugs, cannabis, marijuana, pot, smoking. Network: NBC.

Context (External Sources)