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October 26, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, October 26, 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, October 25, 1971

Next Date: Wednesday, October 27, 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.

    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.

  • 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

    Vol. V, United Nations, 1969-1972

    Chinese Representation in the United Nations

    Vol. E-1, Documents on Global Issues, 1969-1972

    Oceans Policy

    • 415. Telegram 3859 From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State, New York, October 26, 1971, 2230Z

      U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bush reported continued Spanish opposition to the U.S. position on international straits.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970-73, POL 33-8. Limited Official Use. Repeated to Madrid and Defense. Sent with a request to pass to the Office of Ocean Affairs in the Department of Defense.

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

    • 55. Memorandum of Conversation, Beijing, October 26, 1971, 5:30-8:10 p.m., Beijing, October 26, 1971, 5:30-8:10 p.m.

      During the final meeting between Chinese and American officials, President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Kissinger cautioned that he was out in front of official U.S. policy on Taiwan and could not guarantee that President Nixon would agree to the entire formulation. He agreed that the U.S. would not challenge the reality of one China and that Taiwan was a province of China. Chinese Premier Chou En-lai maintained that where there were fundamental differences, especially in the interpretation of words such as “peaceful competition” and “individual freedom,” the differences should remain in the communiqué.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1035, Files for the President-China Material, HAK visit to PRC, October 1971, Memcons-originals. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. No drafting information appears on the memorandum. The meeting was held at the Government Guest House, Attached at Tab A is the third Chinese draft of the communiqué. See Document 56 for text of the draft. At Tab B is the final agreed tentative draft, which is printed in Foreign Relations, 1969-1972, volume XVII, China, 1969-1972, as an attachment to Document 165. The final version of the draft is in ibid., Document 203.

    • 56. American and Chinese Drafts of the Joint Communiqué, Beijing, October 22-26, 1971, Beijing, October 26, 1971

      Each nation submitted three drafts of the joint communiqué for President Nixon’s visit to China.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1035, Files for the President-China Material, China-HAK October 1971 Visit. No classification marking. All brackets in the source text. See Documents 165 and 203, Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, volume XVII, China, 1969-1972, for the final agreed tentative draft and final version of the communiqué

  • 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 of many of these transcripts can be found on the Yale University Library website.

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)