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November 22, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, November 22, 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: Sunday, November 21, 1971

Next Date: Tuesday, November 23, 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.

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  • 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

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  • 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.

  • 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, November 22

      The main item of the day was strategy and the line on AF of L and Meany. The question being how hard to take him on and by whom. We discussed this in the staff meeting this morning. Then the President had Colson and me in first thing. He had no schedule for today because he had originally intended to be in Florida, so he just covered things on his own initiative. He felt that we need to get Rumsfeld going, to take the heat off of Grayson and Bolt, and that someone has to attack, which Rumsfeld can do, but they can't-- rather than just defend. We're getting the wrong line from our own people. We need them out leading the way. He is concerned about the line they're developing now, that the White House trumped up the whole deal regarding AF of L treatment of the President, and we can't let this get distorted. He feels the Pay Board has got to be tough with labor, but we can't break it off with them. We have to understand that the opposition is going to use the big lie technique all the time, and that they do it right in the face of our strongest positions, such as the labor thing now. We can't allow this, we've got to whack back hard. He told Colson and me to set up a meeting with Shultz, Connally and Rumsfeld this afternoon and then report back to him on this.

      He also called Connally before his press conference. Told him to hold the veto threat on campaign spending and to charge in on the other things. Then he called him again after the press conference to congratulate him on the job he had done, especially in hitting Meany as hard as he did. Apparently Connally really whacked Meany for being rude, boorish, discourteous, etcetera to the President. So we had our meeting this afternoon and came out pretty well. It was agreed that we should be very careful not to martyr Meany or to drive the union members to support him. We need to drive the wedge between them instead. Connally feels they're not about to get off the Pay Board, that Meany just can't afford to get off now, and we certainly don't want to fire him. He feels the Board should be very firm in dealing with labor but also fair and make no bones about it. We don't want Meany off the Board, but if he does get off, we have to develop a plan for dealing with it, and the view was that first, we'd send a letter to the Executive Council asking them to designate a replacement. If they turn this down, we then suspend both the labor and business members and keep the Pay Board going just on the basis of the public members. We keep the sanctions, and the whole key to this would be to avoid the appearance of the system not working and then gradually decompress it to phase off the controls as much as we can. It was fully agreed that the President must stay out of this. We should let others keep touching up the Meany thing, pricking him carefully so people don't forget the issue, but we don't want the appearance of a personal beef on the part of the President. It is, though, in our interests to keep Meany hostile, so that we keep the issue alive; and therefore, we should not deal with his office or give him any extra courtesies. It was agreed that by all means we should keep the boards in existence if for no other reason than to keep the heat off of us. Connally made the point at the end of the meeting that Colson told him that his intelligence was that Meany was furious as a result of Connally blasting him today and that he might use this as the excuse to get off the Pay Board tonight. Connally said he didn't need to jump at it now, that he'll have plenty of opportunity in the future, because Connally will hit him every time he attacks the President.

      Another major item today was the Butz confirmation problem. There was some question as to whether we're going to get it out of the committee, but that worked out all right with an 8 to 6 vote, which was just what MacGregor figured we'd have. The problem is that we've lost Young and Miller on the Republican side, which poses a problem for his effectiveness in the future and also a problem in making any partisan charge on it. He did at least get the nomination out. The President had MacGregor in this morning for a chat. Said that we may have to take Congress on and it's time to start setting them up. But the President also said he was concerned that our staff isn't adequate in the farm area, and he told MacGregor to go around our staff and do something on corn and wheat, regardless of what the staff wants. He also wants a freeze put on Jack Miller from here on out.

      Another big item today was the Political Contribution Bill, basically the Pastore amendment which provides the $1 check-off on the tax return. Another one MacGregor said it would be close, and it sure turned out to be. The Senate got everybody present, so they had 99 voting, and we lost 52-47-- although we had a 50-49 vote and could have held it, but there was no need to since we had it lost anyway. This is one where Karl Mundt caused us the difference between a win and a loss. The President's strategy now will be to veto the Tax Bill if it ends up out of conference with the check-off provision in it, which it probably will, and then he'll call Congress back into session and demand that they pass a new tax bill.

      Kissinger brought Goldwater in for a minute. The President discussed the need for a more concerted attack and also the need for some support from the conservatives who ought to be, if they won't support the President, at least attacking the liberals instead of attacking the President. We got into a general schedule discussion. The President wants to drop all our church services in December, skip the Christmas "Evening at the White House," schedule several weekends in Florida in preparation for his three foreign policy trips. Also he wants the White House Christmas parties all scheduled during the time he's going to be gone, so that he won't have to attend them.

      Henry burst in at noon to say that the radio and television reports that India has attacked Pakistan. He has no confirmation. By 9:00 tonight, he still didn't have any confirmation. Our vast intelligence network doesn't seem to be able to tell us when a couple of major nations are at war, which is a little alarming, to say the least.

      We had the report from our weekend poll, and it showed no improvement in Presidential approval, but very strong support of the President versus Meany on the whole AF of L flap; so we'll get that part of it out. The President, in trying to analyze it, feels that the drag now is the economy and, apparently, the UN China vote. He feels that we need to get the public mind off the economy. Use other events, particularly foreign policy, to distract them. We also had some discussion of why the Roper question, on people thinking things are going in the wrong direction, stays so solidly that way.

      Our Monday dinner was devoted mainly to the problem of the large number of important items on the President's agenda in the next couple of months, through December and January, and the problem of how we're going to deal with them. Ehrlichman makes the very valid point that the way to handle domestic stuff is for the President to delegate it, but he must consciously do so, and he's got to face up to what's involved before he does it. So we'll try to set some meetings to accomplish that purpose in the next few days.

      End of November 22.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

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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. II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969-1972

    The Intelligence Community and the White House

    Foreign Economic Policy

    Vol. III, Foreign Economic Policy; International Monetary Policy, 1969-1972

    International Monetary Policy, 1969-1972

    Vol. IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969-1972

    Trade and Commerce, 1969-1972

    • 258. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rogers to President Nixon, Washington, November 22, 1971

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, S/S Files: Lot 83 D 305, NSDM 45. Confidential. A copy of the memorandum was forwarded to Haig under cover of a November 23 memorandum from Davis reporting that the State Department had requested that the memorandum be staffed by the NSC and not automatically be passed to Peterson. Davis reported that Peterson was aware of the memorandum, and she recommended passing it to the CIEP for action. Haig initialed an attached memorandum to Huntsman, dated November 26, transferring action to Peterson and calling his attention to the important political implications that caused the State Department to want Kissinger’s comments on staffing the issue for the President. Both memoranda are in the National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Subject Files, Box 402, Trade, Volume IV 7-12/71.

    Vol. V, United Nations, 1969-1972

    Chinese Representation in the United Nations

    Vol. XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971

    South Asia Crisis, 1971

    • 194. Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, Washington, November 22, 1971, 2:39-3:14 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Minutes, Originals, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room. No drafting information appears on the minutes. A briefer record of this meeting, prepared by James Noyes (OASD/ISA), is in the Washington National Records Center, OSD Files, FRC 330 76 0197, Box 74, Pakistan 381 (Jan–Nov) 1971.

    • 195. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, November 22, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 570, Indo-Pak War, South Asia, Oct 25–Nov 22, 1971. Confidential. Sent for information. A handwritten note on the memorandum reads: “The President has seen.”

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

    United Kingdom

    Vol. E-13, Documents on China, 1969-1972

    • 67. Memorandum for the Record, New York, November 22, 1971, 2-2:25 p.m., New York, November 22, 1971, 2-2:25 p.m.

      NSC staff member Howe met with Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Huang Hua and agreed that Huang and President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Kissinger would meet the next evening at 10 p.m. They also discussed the visit of U.S. officials to China during the previous month.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 849, President’s File-China Trip, China Exchanges, Oct 20, 1971-Dec 31, 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. Drafted by Howe. The meeting was held at the Hotel Roosevelt. The note is attached but not published.

  • 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)