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March 19, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Friday, March 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: Thursday, March 18, 1971

Next Date: Saturday, March 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 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.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • Each Public Papers of the Presidents volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary during the time period specified by the volume. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the text note.

    To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against audio recordings (when available) and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors have provided text notes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity.

  • 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.

  • The Congressional Record is the official daily record of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

Archival Holdings

  • 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. VII, Vietnam, July 1970-January 1972

    Operational Lam Son 719, February 8-April 7, 1971

    Vol. XIII, Soviet Union, October 1970-October 1971

    "A Key Point in Our Relationship": Backchannel Talks on SALT, Berlin, and the Summit

    Vol. XIX, Part 2, Japan, 1969-1972

    December 1969-March 1971: Relations After the First Nixon-Sato Summit

    Vol. XXIII, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1969-1972

    • 217. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, March 19, 1971, 12:50 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 656, Country Files, Middle East, Middle East Nodis/Cedar/Plus, Vol. I. Secret; Nodis; Cedar Plus. Drafted by Saunders on March 22. The meeting took place in Kissinger’s office. All brackets are in the original.

    Vol. XXIX, Eastern Mediterranean, 1969-1972

    Greece

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

    U.S. Policy Towards International Production and Trafficking in Illegal Drugs

    • 184. Telegram 47398 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Burma, Washington, March 19, 1971, 0434Z

      The Department instructed the Embassy to underline the U.S. commitment to containing international narcotics trafficking through periodic conversations with the Burmese Government.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970-73, INCO-DRUGS BURMA. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by William F. Beachner (EA/TB); cleared in EA, in substance with BNDD, S/NM, and Defense; and approved by Wilson. Repeated to Bangkok, Phnom Phen, Saigon, Vientiane, Hong Kong, and CINCPAC.

    Vol. E-2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969-1972

    Chemical and Biological Warfare; Geneva Protocol; Biological Weapons Convention

    • 218. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Nutter) to Senator J. William Fulbright, Washington, March 19, 1971

      Nutter explained the rescheduling of his appearance before Senator Fulbright’s Foreign Relations Committee to testify on the Geneva Protocol.

      Source: Washington National Records Center, OSD Files: FRC 330–76–197, 370.64 CBR (Feb–Mar). No classification marking. Written at the bottom is, “Dick, “Capen has talked to Sen. Sparkman and Sen Aiken. They were not upset in the first place. This is a ‘non-issue’ contrived by Sen. Fulbright’s staff. REP [Robert E. Pursley].” A stamped notation on the memorandum indicated the Secretary of Defense saw it March 22.

    • 219. Memorandum From Richard Kennedy of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, March 19, 1971

      Kennedy highlighted the problems associated with the appointment of Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Nutter to testify in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Geneva Protocol. Scheduling conflicts had prevented Nutter from testifying certain days and gave the Committee the impression that the Defense Department did not support ratification. If the Administration truly wanted ratification, the President needed to appoint a higher level DOD representative.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 312, Subject Files, Chemical, Biological Warfare (Toxins, etc.), Vol. IV [Part 1]. No classification marking. The attachments are not published. Kissinger wrote on the memorandum, “Talk to Pursley—that we want higher level representative.” In a March 20 note, Kennedy wrote at the bottom of the memorandum, “Dave—Adm Murphy advised that both Secretary Laird & Mr. Packard were already committed to appearances with the Hill on the 22nd. I informed Ted Curran that DOD had been urged to provide higher level representation but was unable to do so—for the delay in appearing would affront the Committee. Curran noted that he would make a note for the file to this effect and assume the matter was put to rest.” A note adjacent to “(Tab A)” in line one of the memorandum reads, “—destroyed—telcon of 3/17/71, jlj.”

    Vol. E-4, Documents on Iran and Iraq, 1969-1972

    Iran 1971

    • 119. Telegram 2491 From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State, London, March 19, 1971, 1532Z

      Ambassador MacArthur informally proposed to Foreign Secretary Douglas-Home the introduction of an Iranian civilian presence on the disputed Gulf islands prior to the British withdrawal.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 33 PERSIAN GULF. Secret; Exdis. Repeated to Tehran, Kuwait, Jidda, and Dharan. In Telegram 376 from Dhahran, March 27, Dinsmore reported that Murphy when in the Gulf Sheikdoms had heard repeatedly that Iranian seizure of the islands would present an opportunity for dissidents to rise up against the rule of the sheiks and that the “United States would be tarred with same brush because area’s people aware of close U.S.-Iranian ties and there is assumption that what Iran does is in line with US desires…” Under normal circumstances, after the UK’s withdrawal, “at least Sharja’s and Dubai’s rulers would probably turn to Iran for help in time of trouble. Seizure of islands would render this kind of relationship with Iran out of question … Iran is setting course toward seriously weakening its ties with Arabs.” (Ibid.)

  • 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)