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May 31, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, May 31, 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, May 30, 1971

Next Date: Tuesday, June 1, 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

  • 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

    The Consequences of Operation Lan Som 719 and the Search for a Settlement, April 8-October 6, 1971

    • 207. Memorandum of Conversation, Paris, May 31, 1971, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1039, Files for the President, Vietnam Negotiations, C.D., HAK II 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place at the North Vietnamese Residence in Paris, 11 Rue Darthe. Haig forwarded an edited version to Bunker under a June 9 covering memorandum. (Ibid., Box 853, For the President’s Files—Lord, Vietnam Negotiations, Camp David Vol. VII) According to his Record of Schedule, Kissinger left his office in Washington at 11:05 a.m., May 31, and returned at 8:15 a.m., June 1. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76)

    • 208. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, May 31, 1971

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 154, Vietnam Country Files, Viet 1 May–31 May 71. Confidential. Haig drafted this memorandum on May 25 using information in a May 25 memorandum to him from Houdek. (Ibid., Box 1043, Staff Files, Houdek Chron, Bob Houdek’s Chron May 3–July 71, 2 of 2) Nixon wrote the following across the top of the page: “K—Perhaps we can move up the date for ‘end of ground combat’ and announce it as Dec. 1. Would be interpreted as a change from this. The problem, of course, is not to do anything that will create a constant query as to the nature of our continuing activities (à la Laos). Perhaps the term, ‘No ground combat except in defense of our remaining forces.’”

    Vol. XXXIV, National Security Policy, 1969-1972

    The Defense Budget and U.S. National Security Policy

    Vol. XLII, Vietnam: The Kissinger-Le Duc Tho Negotiations

    Discovering the Possible, May 1971-September 1971

    • 8. Memorandum of Conversation, Paris, May 31, 1971, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1039, Files for the President, Vietnam Negotiations, C.D., HAK II 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place at the North Vietnamese Residence at 11 Rue Darthé. Kissinger reported to Nixon on the meeting in a May 31 memorandum. (Ibid.)

      Although skeptical about progress in the negotiations, Nixon approved a new major proposal drafted by Kissinger and his staff to present at this meeting. Nixon later called it “our most far-reaching proposal yet.” (Nixon, RN, p. 511) In his memoirs, Kissinger characterized the proposal he presented to the North Vietnamese in these terms: “We offered, as our first point, to set a date for total withdrawal. We gave up the demand for mutual withdrawal, provided Hanoi agreed to end all additional infiltration into the countries of Indochina. The proposal sought to get us off the treadmill of demanding mutual withdrawal while we in fact carried ours out unilaterally: we would, in effect, trade our residual force for an end of infiltration. Theoretically, North Vietnamese forces would wither away if they could not be reinforced.” (Kissinger, White House Years, p. 1018) According to Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Xuan Thuy told Le Duc Tho, who was in Hanoi, that Kissinger’s proposal represented a “major breakthrough” for several reasons, most importantly because the United States no longer insisted on mutual withdrawal of troops from South Vietnam. (Nguyen, Hanoi’s War, p. 209) Consequently, Hanoi decided that Le Duc Tho would return to the negotiations after an absence of over a year. (Luu and Nguyen, Le Duc Tho-Kissinger Negotiations in Paris, p. 173)

  • 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)