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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
Counsellors to the President
ANNE
ARMSTRONG
Counsellor
to the President:
Files,
1973‑74
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Fragmentary
office files of speeches and memoranda of Armstrong and her administrative
assistant Beth Gordon, August‑December 1974; and routine personal
correspondence, 1973‑74.
QUANTITY
0.8 linear feet
(ca. 1600 pages)
DONOR
Gerald R. Ford
(accession number 77-107)
ACCESS
Open.
COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford
has donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his
unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other
individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees
as part of their official duties are in the public domain.
Prepared by William McNitt, Nancy Evaldson, June 1988
[s:\bin\findaid\armstrong, anne - files.doc]
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Anne Legendre Armstrong
Dec. 27, 1927 Born, New Orleans, LA
1949 Graduated Phi
Beta Kappa from Vassar College
1966‑68 Vice Chairman,
Texas Republican Party
1968‑73 Republican
National Committeewoman from Texas
1968‑74 Trustee, Kennedy
County (Texas) School Board
1971‑73 Co‑Chairman,
Republican National Committee
1972 Secretary and
keynote speaker, Republican National Convention
1973‑74 Counsellor to the President; founder, Office for
Women's
Programs; Chairman, Federal Property Council; Chairman, Domestic Council
Committee on Bicentennial and the Federal Agency Bicentennial Task Force;
member, Council on Wage and Price Stability
1975‑76 Member, Advisory
Council to the American
Revolution
Bicentennial Administration; member, Commission on the Observance of
International Women's Year
1976‑1977 U.S. Ambassador to the
Court of St. James (United Kingdom)
1977‑1983 Member, board of
directors of several major corporations, institutes and universities
1980 Co‑Chairman,
Reagan‑Bush campaign
1981 Chairman,
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory
Board
INTRODUCTION
Anne Armstrong
was named Counsellor to the President with Cabinet
rank by Richard Nixon in 1973, becoming the first woman to hold that
position. She remained as Counsellor when Ford took office, providing assistance in established
areas of responsibility as well as assuming new roles in the Ford White
House. She resigned in December, 1974
because of family health problems which entailed a return to Texas, but she
continued to serve in several posts during the following year. In 1976, Ford appointed her Ambassador to
Great Britain and considered her a possible vice‑presidential running
mate.
Counsellor Armstrong
established the first White House Office of Women's Programs in 1973 to provide
a liaison between President Nixon and women and women's groups. It sought to recruit women appointees to high
level government positions and to assist in gaining greater employment
opportunity for women in the federal sector through regulation and
legislation. Assisted by Patricia Lindh and Director Karen Keesling,
Armstrong continued to address these concerns in the Ford administration. After her resignation, she joined Lindh and Keesling as a member of
the U.S. delegation to the United Nations' International Women's Conference in
Mexico City.
As Chairman of
the Federal Property Council in 1973‑1974, she urged President Ford to
continue its threatened existence with White House appropriated funds. The Council was responsible for review and
reform of current policy toward federal real property and resolution of conflicting land use
claims. She oversaw these functions and administered the Legacy
of the Parks program which disposed of surplus federal land. On her departure, she advised Ford of alternate
ways to provide these services within the federal government.
President Ford
appointed Armstrong to the eight‑member Council on Wage and Price
Stability which he created soon after he became President to identify and
expose the causes of inflation. In his
administration, she also chaired two Cabinet‑level committees on the Bicentennial
which addressed federal agency participation in the observance. She continued to work in these areas after
her resignation as Counsellor.
The Armstrong
collection is very weak in documenting her various responsibilities. Materials are limited to some speeches and
routine correspon-dence representing only fragments
of her activities. Some areas of responsi- bility are
undocumented, e.g. the Council on Wage and Price Control, liaison
with Hispanics and
coordination of youth programs. In some
instances, Armstrong's
successors in the White House inherited her files as well as her
duties.
Related
Materials (May 1988):
Additional files
may be found in the White House Central Files (FG 6‑11‑1, 6‑24,
6‑27). Related materials may be
found in the files of John Marsh (Bicentennial), Milt Mitler
(Bicentennial) and Patricia Lindh/Jeanne Holm (Office
of Women's Programs). Other related
materials in currently unprocessed collections include the files of Pamela
Powell (youth liaison), Thomas Aranda (Hispanic
liaison), and Katherine Suttles (job applications
from women recruits).
Series
Descriptions
1 Office Files, Aug.‑Dec.
1974. (0.1 linear feet)
Armstrong speeches;
and letters and White House memoranda
written by Armstrong and her administrative assistant, Beth Gordon, mostly
entailing routine announcements, thank you notes, transmittals of job
applications, brief elaborations of policy and acknowledgement of public
opinion.
Arranged
by subject.
1‑2 Personal Correspondence, 1973‑74 (0.7 linear feet)
Letters,
invitations, thank you notes and photo/autograph requests exchanged between
Armstrong and friends and associates, many of them members of the Republican
National Committee.
Arranged
alphabetically by correspondent.
Container
List
Armstrong, Anne ‑
Speeches (1)‑(2)
Armstrong, Anne ‑
Correspondence and Memoranda
Gordon, Beth ‑
Correspondence and Memoranda
Personal
Correspondence
A‑F
G‑Z
