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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
Staff
Secretary's Office
WHITE
HOUSE SPECIAL FILES UNIT
Presidential
Files, 1974-77
SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
Materials
accumulated by the Special Files Unit on President Ford's preparations for his debates
with Jimmy Carter, his review of federal agency budget requests, and selected
issues considered sensitive.
QUANTITY
4.8 linear feet
(ca. 9,600 pages)
DONOR
Gerald R. Ford
(accession numbers 77-102 and 78-69)
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
Prepared by Paul Conway, May 1984
[s:\bin\findaid\white
house special files unit.doc]
INTRODUCTION
These files of the Special Files Unit
consist of miscellaneous items accumulated by Gertrude B. Fry on President
Ford's preparations for his debates with Jimmy Carter, his review of federal
agency budget requests, and selected issues considered sensitive by Fry. Also included is a small file on the
administration of the Special Files Unit.
The Presidential Handwriting File and other files of the Office of Staff
Secretary, originally maintained in the Special Files, are separate collections
and not included here.
Functions of the
Special Files Unit
Nixon assistant John Dean established the
Special Files Unit in September 1972 and appointed Trudy Fry as
supervisor. Dean expected the Special
Files to be secure storage area for politically and administratively sensitive
files, including retired files of senior level staff, the core of an eventual
presidential library, and an aide to President Nixon in writing his memoirs.
While the Nixon
administration Special Files Unit functioned as a high level storage facility,
it fell far short of this goal in the Ford administration. Instead of retaining senior staff files and
the most significant papers handled by President Ford, Fry and her assistant
Hazel Fulton spent much of the fall 1974 reviewing the files of departing Nixon
staff, providing secure storage for Nixon papers and tapes, and searching Nixon
files in response to subpoenas.
Throughout the Ford administration, Fry logged material from the
President's outbox, retaining many items containing presidential handwriting or
initials (the Presidential Handwriting File) or items considered by Fry to be
sensitive. Until June 1975, she also
maintained the staff secretary office files, presidential confidential
chronological files, and the appointment forms of the Executive Protective
Service, the gatekeepers of the White House.
In mid‑1975,
the White House Central Files (WHCF) was given greater authority for storing
presidential papers, limiting Fry's duties to the President's outbox and the
Presidential Handwriting File. This
reorganization did not result in a more concentrated file of presidential
handwriting.
Strengths and
Weaknesses of the Files
The files of the
Special Files Unit consist of bulky or detained files on selected issues that
Trudy Fry considered sensitive or wanted to "keep together" for
possible quick retrieval. Sensitive
information, vaguely defined and subjectively interpreted by Fry, may have
included briefing papers with "restricted talking points, information
prepared exclusively for the President, or politically sensitive
material," among other criteria.
Of particular
value are the extensive debate briefing materials
given to the President by Michael Raoul‑Duval
and other senior advisers. Many items
were extensively annotated by Ford in detailed preparation for his three
debates. Also of interest are budget
decision books, many containing the President's line‑item changes in
agency program requests of personnel levels.
The highly selective collection of issue decision papers, some of which
were never forwarded to the President, largely document White House staff
differences of opinion or the way the staff handled suddenly urgent
issues. The small administrative file
clearly documents the extent to which the Special Files Unit administered high
level presidential papers.
Related
Materials (May 1984):
The Special
Files debate files complement similar materials available in the Michael Raoul‑Duval Papers, the Raoul‑Duval
Files, and in the White House Central Files (PL 7). Collections containing material on the 1976
presidential campaign are described in the Ford Library handout " The 1976
Presidential Election: A Guide to the Manuscript Collections Available for
Research."
The Ford Library
has available sometimes extensive materials related to the issue decision
papers and budget review papers filed here.
See especially the files of the Domestic Council staff and the Office of
Economic Adviser (L. William Seidman).
While much of
the Presidential Handwriting File is not yet available for research, the handwriting
items dated before mid‑June 1975 are available in the WHCF via cross
references in categories PR 5‑2, RS 3, and other appropriate subject
headings.
Series
Descriptions
1‑3 Ford ‑ Carter Debates
Files, 1974-76. (1.2 linear feet)
Briefing papers
on potential debate issues, flash cards containing concise response
suggestions, memoranda from advisers, notes by the President,
and others materials given to Ford in preparation for his three debates with
Jimmy Carter. Most items are marked with
the stamp "The President Has Seen..." and many contain marginalia and
underlinings in Ford's hand.
Arranged
by debate and thereunder by subject.
4‑7 Issue Decision Papers for the
President, 1974-77. (1.6 linear feet)
Decision memoranda
with supporting White House staff comments and background reports on eleven
selected issues considered by Trudy Fry to be politically or administratively
sensitive. A judicially restricted
videotape of Ford's testimony in the case against Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was part of this file, but it has been transferred
to the Library audiovisual unit. Not all
of the decision memoranda filed here went to the President for action.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject and thereunder
chronologically.
8‑11 Budget Review Decision Papers,
1974-76. (1.3 linear feet)
Briefing
books, each containing program funding requests and recommended OMB changes,
for several large federal agencies and related small agencies. The President used these books in his annual
series of meetings to make final decisions on federal budget proposals to
Congress. Also included are background
papers for selected agencies or issues and briefing papers for meetings to hear
agency appeals. Several books contain
the President's handwritten comments or pencilled
changes in specific dollar amounts or personnel levels.
Arranged by
fiscal year (FY) and thereunder chronologically by
date of meeting.
11‑12 Special Files Administration,
1970-75. (0.7 linear feet)
Logs and lists
of incoming materials, correspondence, memoranda, reference materials and
rubber stamps used by Trudy Fry in administering the Special Files Unit of the
Staff Secretary prior to its reorganization in June 1975.
Arranged
by subject.
Container List
1 Ford-Carter
Debates Files
First Debate,
Briefing
Materials ‑ Miscellaneous Issues
Carter and Crime
Carter Interview
with Harry Reasoner
Carter on
Economic Issues
Carter Press
Clippings
Carter Record as
Governor
Domestic Issues
Briefing Book
Ford Notes ‑
Miscellaneous Issues
Grain Embargoes ‑
Public Record of the President
Press Clippings ‑
General
Press Release
Transcript
Suggestions from
Outside the White House
Suggestions from
Robert Hartmann
Suggestions,
Style and Themes
Second Debate,
Briefing
Materials ‑ Miscellaneous
2 Ford-Carter Debates Files
Second Debate,
Carter on
Foreign Policy ‑ Briefing Book (1)-(2)
Carter
Statements on Defense Issues
Defense
Department Briefing Book (1)-(2)
Defense
Department Issue Papers
Ford Meetings
with Foreign Leaders
Ford Notes from
Meetings with Republican Leaders,
Ford Notes on
Briefing Materials
Issue Papers on
Miscellaneous Topics
Kissinger as an
Issue
National
Security Council Briefing Book (1)-(2)
Polling
Information
Press Release Transcript
3 Ford-Carter Debates Files
Second Debate,
Rumsfeld Briefing Book
on Defense/Nuclear Issues
Rumsfeld Suggestions and
Comments
Suggestions from
White House Staff
Third Debate,
Briefing Book, I
Briefing Book,
II
Briefing Cards ‑
Miscellaneous Topics
Briefing Cards
from First Debate (1)-(2)
Briefing Cards
from Second Debate
Closing
Statements
Ford Notes ‑
Miscellaneous Topics
Issue Papers ‑
Domestic Policy
Issue Papers ‑
Foreign Policy
Key Points
Memos from Duval
Press Clippings
Suggestions ‑
Miscellaneous
4 Issue Decision Papers for the President
Busing (1)-(5)
Busing
Background Book (1)-(5)
Interagency Task
Force on
5 Issue Decision Papers for the President
Interagency Task
Force on
Nuclear Policy
Review (1)-(4)
6 Issue Decision Papers for the President
Peterson
Commission Report on Executive Salaries (1)-(5)
7 Issue Decision Papers for the President
Republican
Legislative Agenda (1)-(3)
Science and
Technology Adviser (1)-(4)
Secret Service
Protection for Vice President and Secretary of State (1)-(3)
8 Budget Review Decision Papers
9 Budget Review Decision Papers
10 Budget Review Decision Papers
12/75 ‑
Final Budget Decisions
12/75 ‑
Fifty Issues
11 Budget Review Decision Papers
12/76 ‑
DOD Base Closings,
Special Files
Administration
Chronological
File
Confidential
File Box Lists, A‑Z
Confidential
File Oversize Attachments
Diebold Files Handbook
President Ford's
Outbox ‑ List of Items Received
President's
Ford's Outbox ‑ Log of Material Received
President Ford's
Staff ‑ Press Release Biographies (1)‑(3)
12 Special Files Administration
Presidential
Libraries (1)-(4)
Security
Classification Procedures
Special Files ‑
Boxed Files Received
Special Files ‑
Box Log
Special Files ‑
Classified Cases Received
State Department
Foreign Affairs Manual (1)-(2)
White House
Staff Memos
Rubber Stamps for Special Files
