1. Home
  2. Research
  3. Almanac

October 13, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Wednesday, October 13, 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: Tuesday, October 12, 1971

Next Date: Thursday, October 14, 1971

Schedule and Public 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.

  • 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)
      Wednesday, October 13.

      As he reviewed the schedule for this morning, he looked with considerable disfavor on the discovery that he had to do a diplomatic credential ceremony this afternoon and said he wanted to skip those from now on, and as much other stuff of that kind as possible. Later in the day-- so we cut the ceremonies down to eliminate the five minute talk. The President simply received the credentials and ushered the Ambassador to the door. That gave him a little guilty feeling, and later in the day, he came up with the plan of having each Ambassador bring his family to watch the ceremony, but still eliminate the five minute talk. So, we'll try that in the future. He was very anxious to try and work out the opportunity to go to Dean Acheson's funeral, but we can't do it because it's at 2:00 on Friday, when he's scheduled to be in North Carolina. He did call Mrs. Acheson and gave her a military aide, etcetera, but was very disappointed we couldn't make the funeral, even to the point of having me call to see if they could change it to 11:00 in the morning, which they were unable to do.

      We had quite a long discussion this morning about China plans, going back on some of the things Henry had discussed with him. He's now decided that he won't go to more than one other city beyond Peking, and maybe not even any others. He said that Henry's book, that he went over with him last night, was-- is brilliant; but the President now wants a brief memo that tells first, what do we want to have come out of this visit, what are our goals in other words; and second, what will the Chinese want to have come out of it that we have to resist. In other words, he wants to get down to the basics of what we're going to say and what our minimum goals are. He wants the book boiled down to its essentials: come directly to the point and cut out the BS on historical processes and everything, and get it buttoned down. I covered this with Haig, who immediately called Henry, who was in Chicago today. Henry called me back for clarification, being somewhat upset by the critique.

      End of October 13.
    • 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. XLI, Western Europe; NATO, 1969-1972

    Malta

    • 237. National Security Decision Memorandum 138, Washington, October 13, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 622, Country Files—Middle East, Malta, Vol. I. Secret. Copies were sent to the Director of Central Intelligence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of the Treasury.

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

  • 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)