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November 2, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, November 2, 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: Monday, November 1, 1971

Next Date: Wednesday, November 3, 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.

    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)
      Tuesday, November 2nd. The President called me in early this morning. He is concerned about the whole Phase II setup and particularly the question of whether we've reached, or when we reach, the point of no return with labor. He, for instance, is just thinking of dropping the Florida trip this weekend, because he feels we can't have labor blow while he's gone. He definitely is going to come back Monday night because of that, and the foreign aid thing, and he's not sure he can go at all. He said he would concentrate today and the rest of this week on the labor leaders; he might see some of them today, but it is vital that we keep them in line. Shultz had said this morning that he didn't think there was any really great problem as yet, but that it's inevitable at some point that they will blow. Shultz feels that's not bad. That if they blow sometime next year, it'll help us to get out of the control program, and give us someone to blame for pulling out.

      The other big thing today was the Kissinger-Rogers problem again, which the President was brooding about from last night, as was he on the labor things, since both Colson and Shultz had raised labor with him last night. Kissinger had gotten into the Rogers question also. Henry told the President that Scali had told him that Rogers said his biggest success that he's had in foreign policy is his success in turning the President around on China. This, of course, makes Henry furious, and it didn't please the President much either. The President raised the thought with me that maybe we should let Henry start doing some interviews, for example, with the New York Times, as a way to get rid of him as an irritant. Henry apparently is bugging him enough that it's bothering him, and he's to the point where he's willing to give in on some of the things just to get Henry off his back. I think that would be a mistake. I think we ought to hang tight on no contact with the Times for the time being. We certainly shouldn't give them Kissinger, who is the biggest asset we've got. The President keeps coming back to the question of whether we can actually bite the bullet on Rogers. That is, I think, what he'd like to do, but he can't figure out how to do it, nor can I. He did say to tell Henry to hold some time open between China and Russia for major TV appearances, and all, and he thinks maybe that'll help to cool him off. He keeps coming back to the point that we've got to keep Henry on an even keel through this period. As a side note...

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 15, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 2 [AC-15(B) Sel 1]
      Duration: 18 seconds

      ...the President said Prime Minister McMahon of Australia, who was here today, told him that the New York Times people said to him that they have to find a way to develop a better relationship with the President...
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      ...which is kind of an interesting straw in the wind that would indicate maybe they are getting our message. The President had a dinner tonight for McMahon, after a long, late afternoon session with Ford and Arends on Congressional strategy.

      End of November 2nd.
    • 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. III, Foreign Economic Policy; International Monetary Policy, 1969-1972

    International Monetary Policy, 1969-1972

    • 189. Memorandum From President Nixon, Washington, November 2, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Agency Files, Box 268, Office of Management and Budget. Secret. Attached to a November 3 note from Shultz to Kissinger that reads, “I know you will be interested in the attached.”

    Vol. V, United Nations, 1969-1972

    Secretary-General Succession

    Chinese Representation in the United Nations

    Vol. VII, Vietnam, July 1970-January 1972

    Military and Diplomatic Stalemate, October 11, 1971-January 26, 1972

    Vol. XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971

    South Asia Crisis, 1971

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

    Haiti

    • 404. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rogers to President Nixon, Washington, November 2, 1971., Washington, November 2, 1971

      Secretary of State Rogers reported on the recommendations of the September 15 Interdepartmental Group for Inter-American Affairs (IG/ARA), which included modifying U.S. posture toward the Haitian Government to adopt a more normal stance and normalization of bilateral assistance.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 785, Country Files, Latin America, Haiti, Vol. I. Secret. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. In a January 10 memorandum to William D. Broderick, Director of ARA/CAR, David A. Ross of ARA/CAR observed that Knox favored the “the re-establishment of a military mission to Haiti” as part of a more normal relationship with that country. Ross cautioned that U.S. interests in Haiti did not “warrant such close involvement with Haitian politics or such intimate association with the new Duvalier regime.” (Ibid., RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 1 HAI–US)

  • 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)