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October 18, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, October 18, 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, October 17, 1971

Next Date: Tuesday, October 19, 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)
      Monday, October 18th. Staff meeting this morning, we started the discussion of the Supreme Court problem; the PR problems on our being attacked on mediocrity. And Ehrlichman said that he, his team of Dave Young and John Dean, who had been quizzing Herschel Friday in Arkansas, were concerned because he has no convictions and, therefore, could really be bad. They said he's a typical lawyer who can take either side. That Mitchell waves us off, he's not concerned about it, but they feel it could really make him an unfortunate appointment. So I raised this later with the President, and the whole question of the PR problem on the Court, and I think got him thinking about it a little more in that light. Whereas before he had been inclined to go along basically with Mitchell's recommendations, whatever they might be. He's decided that, as soon as the Court thing's settled, he wants to make the announcement at 7:30 television time, so we can get our side across on the appointees and not give the press the shot of a Q and A. He did decide he'd better meet with Mitchell this afternoon and go over it, which he did, and they sort of reopened the whole question with some new possibilities now.

      He went out to Fort Dietrich this morning to announce the turning it over to our drug, or our health operation for the war on cancer, and was not particularly pleased with the gimmicky nature of that particular exercise and doesn't think we should do those again.

      Henry is in Hawaii on his way to China, and the President raised some concerns, particularly about a George Sherman story in the Star last week that implied that Henry was dominating the making of all foreign policy. The President was quite concerned about it, first, because it's not true, particularly the China initiative, for instance, was not Henry's; second, that it would drive Rogers up the wall; third, it creates the impression that the President's doing all this for cynical reasons and that he doesn't know anything about what he's doing; and fourth, he thinks this results from the way Henry does his briefings, and that it creates a problem. In any event, he wanted me to talk to Haig and try to get that worked out...

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 14, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 17 [AC-14(B) Sel 15]
      Duration: 17 seconds

      ...as well as to lean hard on him on the fact that Henry is not to take any trip to Moscow or to Viet–, North Vietnam to try and settle the war. That the President totally disapproves of this, and that Henry's not to go to Moscow either on that or on summit preparations.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      The President also re-raised the public broadcasting thing again. He's fairly upset at the inability of our people to get control of any of it, and feels that we've got to find a way, somehow, to avoid letting them stockpile all the anti-Nixon newscasters and subsidize them. We have Malek working with Colson and Flanigan to try and get at this. The problem is, that we don't have working control of the board, and there's virtually no other way that we can take any effective action. This evening was the opening of the Eisenhower Theater at Kennedy Center. The President attended. It was a good opening, I guess, but rather a dull play—Ibsen's A Doll's House.

      End of October 18th.
    • 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. XXIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1969-1972

    Proximity Talks and the Backchannel: Separate Department of State and White House Negotiating Tricks

    Vol. XXIX, Eastern Mediterranean, 1969-1972

    Greece

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

    Nicaragua

    • 509. Intelligence Memorandum, OCI No. 2080/71, Washington, October 18, 1971., Washington, October 18, 1971

      CIA assessed the emergence of “national unity” pacts in Honduras and Nicaragua. According to the Agency, while ostensibly providing for democratic transitions, such pacts were “ploys by strongmen whose terms of office are legally terminated to disguise continuismo.”

      Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence, Job 79–T00831A. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. The intelligence memorandum was self-initiated at CIA. Three inserts included in the memorandum, are not published. They were a map with “Selected Examples of Continuismo,” “The Honduran Unity Pact,” and “Opposition Participation in Nicaragua.”

  • 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)