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September 19, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, September 19, 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: Saturday, September 18, 1971

Next Date: Monday, September 20, 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 Camp David, Maryland

  • 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.

  • 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

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.

    • Annotated and Unmarked News Summaries [Note: Although there was no News Summary on this date, due to the way News Summary products were compiled, you should also consult nearby days for potentially relevant materials.]

  • 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)
      Sunday, September 19.

      At Camp David: President called me over at noon. He was in his study with the fire going in the fireplace. There was a thick fog or low cloud outside. Had been very heavy rain this morning. He had a lot of schedule things he wanted to talk about. We went over, in considerable detail, the schedule plans and options for the rest of September and all of October. Mainly he was trying to figure out the balance of doing more press conferences, both in office and televised.

      We then got into a discussion of Peterson and Connally, and I told the President about Peterson's concerns in the way things were set up and going. And he made the point that I should talk to Connally and make it clear to him that he can totally trust Peterson, and that Peterson's in his pocket, and therefore, he should work closely with him. The question really is, can he trust his own people? He got back onto the OEO [Office of Economic Opportunity] question again a little bit and feels that we shouldn't push too hard to save it, that we should let the Republicans vote their consciences, and we should be in a position to veto. He thinks we're now in a good position to squeeze on those things where the bureaucrats are against us, such as HEW, OEO, and Action, and of course, apply less squeeze in those areas where they're with us.

      He thinks it was-- would be to our advantage to do a lot more in the way of contact programs, such as: getting Peterson out on the college circuit; expanding the idea of the Blair House dinner series with businessmen to a series of seminars with Congressmen and Senators, to get their ideas on what you think we ought to do. He sees this as something to do with White House staff and Cabinet people, making it clear that the President would not participate.

      He talked a little about Vietnam and the point that he was sorry that we hadn't been able to actually end the war directly, but made the point that there really was no way to end it. It was doomed always just to trickle out the way it is, and that's now become clear.

      He told me to talk to the AG about the Agnew issue again and said that we really need to decide now, that regardless of what we do, he thinks that instead of dodging it on Thursday night, it would be good to indicate his confidence in Agnew and say that if Agnew so desires, he intends to keep him on the ticket. He recalled the damage that was done to Eisenhower in '56 by his hesitation on keeping Nixon. It raised hell with the Nixon friends and the conservatives, made Eisenhower look bad, as these people pounded on him. The President’s view is that Agnew is a liability. Although we can't prove it, and the only way we could check this is to run a tandem trial heat process, but he thinks still he should indicate his support, whether or not he intends to drop him later, and he thinks also, it's a good way to get the President out of the black VP question, which is sure to arise. The advantages of backing Agnew now would be that it totally mutes the press on the question and it pulls the rug out of the extreme right-- out from under the extreme right. He also wanted me to talk to Connally, Monday, on the Agnew point and see what he-- whether he thought it was a good idea to cover this Thursday night in his Q&A. He wants me to get Mitchell and Harlow together on the whole VP question. Also discussed Secretary of Agriculture, although the President basically has decided on Louie Nunn. He feels strongly we don't need a farmer, we need a politician, and that Nunn will meet the other qualifications.

      End of September 19.
    • <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.

    • No President's Daily Brief delivered on this date

  • 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)