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November 10, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Friday, November 10, 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: Thursday, November 9, 1972

Next Date: Saturday, November 11, 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 Key Biscayne, Florida

  • 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.

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)
      Friday, November 10.

      The President had me over at 11:30 again for a couple of hours for another general discussion. He had talked to John Connally and said he wants to see him in the early part of when we get up to Camp David. He talked with MacGregor and asked him to send him recommendations on the people for the National Committee and other jobs. Wants to be sure that we get Malek's recommendations on political people.

      We had talked yesterday and earlier about the Colson role, and he said he's still not sure on that. But the proposals I raised are either that we move him to Congressional relations in the White House, or move him outside and set him up in a new law firm, and let him build a new establishment and work on new majority projects, which I think probably is the best, and that seems to be what the President is leaning to. I don't know if we'll be able to persuade Colson on that.

      He wants Chuck to get going on interpretation of results -- as the officer in charge, using Buchanan -- make the simple points of a dirty campaign against Nixon; the clean campaign that Nixon waged; interpret the Congressional results in a proper way; interpret the election, as not just a plague on both houses, but actually approval for Nixon. He wants to get the point that he made in the Horner interview, but Ziegler cut out, about the political elements that some of the media were misinterpreting about McGovern, and were unfair to him, in blaming him rather than his positions. They shouldn't blame the man, this was a straight up and down vote on Vietnam, amnesty, welfare, pot and so forth, and the people just rejected his positions. Also, go back to the "come back" theme, over enormous odds, also the point that the President has less support among the working press, than any President, because their views are different and that's what the country was speaking to. He said we shouldn't get away with the whole "ho-hum" attitude that McGovern lost and Nixon didn't win, or that he didn't help the Party as much as he should have. He wants a manifesto on the dirtiest campaign in history against a President, the shouting down, violent disruption and so on. Wants to build the point of the Democrats dumping McGovern and his policies, and then concentrating on the balance of the ticket by splitting. Also that the low turnout was due to the knowledge that Nixon had already won according to all the polls, so there was no need to vote. He wants a totally orchestrated operation on this to really sell the case. Wanted to check the California turnout versus national to find out what was the Republican vote turnout and what was the [unclear]. Wants to really hit the failure of the Republican Party.

      Wants to be sure Rogers puts a freeze on the Post and Times and CBS. No conversation at all, until the Vietnam negotiations are over. That it's unconscionable that they would leak the letter to Thieu and so on, we're doing this at the White House and you must do it at State too. Wants Ehrlichman to have the New York law firm work out giving the San Clemente house to the government, he wants to do it now and rub the noses at the critics that have said he's making money on it. At least check this out. Ehrlichman thinks that it's a bad idea because it's the one major asset that the President's got.

      On the Secret Service, he says the family doesn't want them, and since the law doesn't require it, they will only have full coverage when they are on public events, but they’re not to follow them when they are out on personal errands or with friends. They are to work this out individually as to what Julie, and Tricia and the President want, for everything except in public places. He emphasized the need to find a Pole or an Italian Catholic for the Court, preferably a Democrat. Also for other courts, concentrate on Democrats, Catholics, South, ethnics. Wants to be sure Colson stays on the project of running down the Democratic money sources. We then got into the whole personnel thing again, and he seemed quite pleased with the approach we're taking on the Cabinet. I went through the results of the Kissinger discussion last night, and some of the other ideas that we have, such as the Schlesinger thing at CIA. He thought that was very good idea. And he likes Walter Washington for the UN. He thinks we should go outside for the ethnic types for HUD, Transportation, HEW, and get the new majority types in there, also at Commerce and Labor and Transportation. He was delighted because Colson told him that his margin now was 61.01, so he's over 61 and thinks maybe he can get to 61.2, which would beat Johnson by the time all the absentees are in.

      He called later this evening furious by the Navy episode where Zumwalt and the Navy officers had failed to act on the blacks that refused to sail on the Constellation. He's told Henry to have Laird order all the men court-martialed and give them dishonorable discharges. Zumwalt, instead, gave them active shore stations with Coca-Colas and ice cream. You can't have a service without discipline, and he wanted Ehrlichman to let Zumwalt know that the President was terribly displeased. He said, you know he's a McNamara man. He had dinner with Kay Graham five times in the last month. We wanted to let him know fast and hard that the President's distressed. Also that none of us called him on this -- no one thought to call him -- which is, I guess, what I have to do-- is find out these things for myself. He obviously was substantially displeased. He then got onto the election interpretation again, and the need to get across the positive as well as the negative win. The triple play of China, Moscow, and May 8, plus the social issues. Then he says we can't just coast in the next four years, we can't just go with the same old team. Our goals have to be a new world of peace, a new party, and a new reform of domestic policy. And that we've got to concentrate on building those goals and first of all now putting a team together that can.

      End of November 10.
    • 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

  • Visit the White House Tapes finding aid to learn about the taping system's operation and archival processing.

    Cabinet Room

  • The White House Photo Office collection consists of photographic coverage of President Richard Nixon meeting with prominent social, political, and cultural personalities; speaking engagements and news conferences of the President and various high-ranking members of the White House staff and Cabinet; Presidential domestic and foreign travel, including Presidential vacations; social events and entertainment involving the First Family, including entertainers present; official portraits of the President, First Family, and high-ranking members of the Nixon administration; the 1969 and 1973 Inaugurals; the President’s 1972 Presidential election campaign appearances (including speeches) and other official activities of the White House staff and the President’s Cabinet from January 20, 1969 until August 9, 1974 at the White House and the Old Executive Office Building; other locations in Washington, DC, such as The Mall; and the Presidential retreats in Camp David, Maryland, Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente, California. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    Roll WHPO-D0976 Photographer: Royer | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-D0976-, Jerry Warren's son and his classmates seated at the table, with three women in the background. 11/10/1972, Washington, D.C. White House, Cabinet Room. Jerry Warren's son, classmates, unidentified women.

  • The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    L - White House Press Office Briefings

    • WHCA-SR-L-056
      Press briefing by Gerald Warren. (11/10/1972, 4 Ambassadors Presss Center, Miami, Florida)

      Runtime: 15:00

      Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media

      Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

  • 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-5927
      Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 01:31:30

      1. Reasoner/Mariano: Chou En Lai will support ceasefire with an international third party as mediator; General Haig in Saigon, Vietnam. Time Code Start: 00:00. Keywords: People's Republic of China, leaders, Vietnam War, ceasefires, military, officials, travel, trips. Network: ABC.

      2. Smith/Peterson/Henry: Racial discrimination problem aboard U.S.S. Constellation. Time Code Start: 04:05. Keywords: Armed Forces, Navy, Marines, ships, America's Flagship, aircraft carriers, CV-64, Kitty Hawk–class supercarrier, racial, racism, African Americans, civil rights, abortive mutiny, sit-ins, protestss, demonstrations, discharges, confrontations. Network: ABC.

      3. Reasoner: Shakeup in government by President Nixon. Time Code Start: 08:01. Keywords: Presidents, administrations, changes, firings, advisors. Network: ABC.

      4. Smith: Commentary on racial equality: Progress toward equality come to a halt; Zumwalt speech shows power is against racism, African Americans elected to local positions, Congress and Edward Brooke may seek presidency; African Americans on television. Time Code Start: 08:50. Keywords: African Americans, civil rights. Network: ABC.

      5. Chancellor/Jones: Paris Peace Talks; some progress; U.S. still giving South Vietnam massive supplies. Time Code Start: 10:20. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: NBC.

      6. Chancellor/Kiker: More on President Nixon's cabinet shakeup; Jean Westwood may be forced to leave Democratic National Committee. Time Code Start: 14:20. Keywords: Presidents, administrations, changes, firings, advisors, political parties, Demomcrats. Network: NBC.

      7. Cronkite/Quint: More on Paris Peace Talks (France); General Haig's arrival in Saigon, Vietnam. Time Code Start: 17:18. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations, military, officials, leaders, travel, trips. Network: CBS.

      8. Kalb: Hanoi says it wants South Vietnam's President Thieu out before a peace settlement. Time Code Start: 19:40. Keywords: South Vietnam, Presidents, speeches, statements, Vietnam War. Network: CBS.

      9. Davis: War report of communist advance in South Vietnam. Time Code Start: 21:00. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: CBS.

      10. Cronkite: Government shakeup by inner circle three. Time Code Start: 22:44. Keywords: elections, voting, results. Network: CBS.

      11. Sevareid: Commentary on President Nixon trying to increase Presidential powers. Time Code Start: 23:18. Keywords: Presidents, administrations, changes. Network: CBS.

Context (External Sources)