|
|
Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
|
|
Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
White House
Operations Office
ALEXANDER
M. HAIG
Assistant
to the President:
Files,
1973-74
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Memoranda,
schedule proposals and briefing papers documenting Alexander Haig's duties as President Ford's chief of staff. Topics include various aspects of the
transition: personnel, the selection of a new vice president, arrangements for
Nixon's post‑presidential life, and arrangements concerning the new
president's schedule. Also included is
the collection is a file of routine personal correspondence.
QUANTITY
3.0 linear feet
(ca. 6,000 pages)
DONOR
Gerald R. Ford
(accession numbers 77-102 and 77-107)
ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under
terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or
under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR
1256).
COPYRIGHT
Gerald 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unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 Leesa
Tobin, April 1983
[s:\bin\findaid\haig, alexander - files.doc]
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Alexander
M. Haig
1924 Born, Bala‑Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
1942‑44 Attended the
University of Notre Dame
1944‑47 B.S., United
States Military Academy
1948‑60 Army service in
the U.S., Far East, and Europe
1960‑66 Aide to Joseph Califano, general counsel of the Army, and courier to Cyrus
Vance, general counsel of the Department of Defense
1961 M.A. in
international affairs, Georgetown University
1966‑67 Commander of the
First Battalion of the 26th Infantry in Vietnam
1967‑68 Deputy Commander
of Cadets, U.S. Military Academy
1968‑69 Military aide on
the National Security Council staff
1970‑73 Deputy Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs
1972‑73 Diplomatic courier
for negotiations between President Nixon and President Nguyen Thieu of South Vietnam
Jan.-May 1973 Army Vice Chief of Staff
May 1973‑Sept.
1974 White House Chief of Staff
Dec. 1974‑June
1979 Supreme Commander, U.S. and
NATO forces in Europe
1979‑80 President
& CEO, United Technologies Corporation
Jan. 1981‑June
1982 Secretary of State
INTRODUCTION
Alexander Haig
first joined the White House staff in 1968 as an aide on the National Security
Council staff to incoming national security assistant Henry Kissinger. He continued on the White House staff as an
assistant to the president and chief of staff under Richard Nixon and Gerald
Ford until 1974, absent January‑May 1973 when he served as Army Vice Chief of Staff at the Pentagon. In the spring of 1973 when revelations about
the Watergate cover‑up forced the resignations of two of President
Nixon's closest aides, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Haig was brought back
to the White House as chief of staff.
Although originally intended to be on temporary appointment, Haig remained through the end of the Nixon administration
and the transition period that followed.
In September 1974 Haig left the White House
for West Germany when President Ford appointed him Supreme Allied Commander of
NATO forces in Europe and Commander in Chief of American Forces in Europe. He remained as commander of NATO forces until
1979 when he retired from the Army to become president of United Technologies
Corporation. Haig
returned to Washington as Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, 1981‑1982.
Haig's duties as chief
of staff in the Ford administration primarily involved directing the flow of
paperwork and people to and from the President.
He met with the President daily to plan his schedule and discuss
incoming staff memoranda and briefing papers.
Haig also handled occasional administrative
questions and often accompanied the President on trips. Donald Rumsfeld was
appointed as Haig's replacement as chief of staff.
The Haig files are from two sources. One series is Haig's
office file, which documents his duties as Ford's chief of staff from August 9,
1974 until he left in late September of that year. These memoranda, briefing papers, and
schedule proposals are organized by name of the originating White House staff
person, and many were annotated by Haig or the
President. They are often photocopies of
original items which had been returned to staff after annotation. Many of these staffers came to the White
House during the Nixon Administration and left soon after Ford became
President. Much of this series relates
directly to various aspects of the transition: personnel, the selection of a
new vice president, arrangements for Nixon's post‑presidential life, and
arrangements concerning the new president's schedule.
The second
series is a file of routine personal correspondence which had been maintained
by Central Files as a courtesy to General Haig, but
which he left behind on his departure.
The material dates from May 1973, when Haig
became Nixon's chief of staff, to September 1974. Virtually all of this series is of a personal
nature and includes requests for autographs, letters of congratulations and
thanks for Haig's White House service and letters
from personal friends. Occasionally, Haig's hand‑drafted response is attached.
Related
Materials (August 1985):
The files of
Richard Cheney concern his work as Deputy Assistant and Assistant to the
President for White House Operations.
The Library has no collection of Donald Rumsfeld
files covering his work in this position.
Series
Descriptions
1‑3 White House Staff Memoranda,
1974. (1.2
linear feet)
Memoranda,
schedule proposals and briefing papers.
This file was maintained by Haig's secretary
in his White House office and includes copies of many staff documents that
passed through Haig's office on their way to or from
the President. Occasional items are
annotated by Haig or the President. The last folder in the series contains
several letters from congressmen and individuals outside government. Topics include: the President's schedule,
arrangements for Nixon's transitional benefits, personnel matters, Ford's
amnesty program and the Nixon papers.
Arranged
alphabetically by staff member.
4‑8 Personal Correspondence File,
1973-74. (2.0 linear feet)
Correspondence
primarily with the public, acquaintances, and occasionally administration
officials, maintained for Haig by the White House
Central Files unit. Included are
requests for autographs, invitations, Christmas cards, newspaper articles and
letters of congratulation on becoming a member of the President's staff and
later being named commander of NATO forces.
Some of the attached draft responses are handwritten by Haig.
Organized
alphabetically by the name of correspondent and thereunder
chronologically.
Container List
Armstrong, Anne
Ash, Roy
Atkins, Ollie
Baroody, William
Buchanan,
Patrick
Buchen, Philip
Burch, Dean
Bush, George
Casselman, William E.
Clawson, Kenneth
Cole, Kenneth (1)‑(3)
Eberle, William D.
Garment, Len
Elliott, Roland
Gergen, David
Guthrie, John
Hartmann, Robert
Henkel, William (1)‑(2)
Hoornstra, Jon
Jones, Jerry
Joulwan, George
Lawson, Richard
Lukash, William
Marrs, Ted
Marsh, John
McLaughlin, John
O'Donnell,
Terrence
Pagnotta, Frank
Parker, David (1)‑(2)
Porter, Susan
Rumsfeld, Donald
Rush, Kenneth
Rustand, Warren (1)‑(2)
Sawhill, John
Scott, Stanley
Scowcroft, Brent
Seidman, L. William
Stiles, Jack
terHorst, Jerry
Theis, Paul
Timmons, William
Wimer, David (1)‑(12)
Winchester, Lucy
Ziegler, Ronald
Miscellaneous ‑
Personal Correspondence
A ‑ D
E ‑ I
K ‑ O
P ‑ V
W ‑ Z
