SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Material on the Nelson Rockefeller vice presidency, management of the Domestic Council, many domestic policy issues, drafting of the 1976 and 1977 State of the Union addresses, and Ford's FY1978 budget.

QUANTITY
16 linear feet (ca. 32,000 pages)

DONOR
James M. Cannon (accession numbers 83-48, 88-17)

ACCESS
Open. Some items may be 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
James Cannon donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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, May 1984 (Revised 1986 and July 1988)
[s:\bin\findaid\cannon, james - papers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

James M. Cannon

1918 - Born, Sylacauga, Alabama

1939 - B.S., University of Alabama

1939-40 - Served in the U.S. Army

1940-41 - Worked for Burroughs Adding Machine Company

1941-46 - Served in the U.S. Army

1947-48 - Reporter for the Potsdam (NY) Herald-Recorder

1948-49 - Reporter for the Gloversville (NY) Leader-Republican

1949-54 - Reporter for the Baltimore Sun; in 1950 and 1951 he served as a foreign correspondent

1954-56 - Contributing editor for Time magazine

1956-69 - Employed by Newsweek magazine; his positions included: National Affairs Editor, Washington correspondent, Chief of Correspondents, and Vice President and Assistant to the Publisher

1969-73 - Special Assistant to New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller for Federal, State and Intergovernmental affairs; his main responsibility was liaison between the State of New York and the White House and Congress

Jan.-Aug. 1974 - Special Assistant to Nelson A. Rockefeller with the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans

Aug.-Dec. 1974 - Employed by Rockefeller Brothers and Associates; during this time he served as Nelson A. Rockefeller's congressional liaison for the vice presidential confirmation hearings

Jan.-Feb. 1975 - Served on Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller's staff

1975-77 - Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council

1977-80 - Administrative Assistant to the Senate Minority Leader (Senator Howard Baker)

1981 - Chief of Staff for the office of Senator Howard Baker and Administrative Assistant to the Senate Majority Leader

INTRODUCTION

The papers of James M. Cannon, 1974-79, relate to his brief service as an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and to his dual role of Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council, 1975-77. Well documented topics include Vice President Rockefeller's role in the Ford Administration, a small number of key issues (especially those Cannon Worked on toward the end of his White House service), and the administration of the Domestic Council. The material comprises a valuable supplement to the Cannon files which the Ford Library received as part of President Ford's papers in January 1977.

Because Cannon had a long-time relationship with Nelson Rockefeller and was one of the highest ranking Rockefeller associates in the White House, his papers reveal much about Rockefeller's role in the administration. One small series documents Cannon's work while on Rockefeller's Vice Presidential staff, Dec. 1974 - Feb. 1975. Additionally, Cannon's general subject series include 900 pages under the heading "Vice President" and scattered items elsewhere showing Cannon's interactions with Rockefeller and Rockefeller's role in supervising the work of the Domestic Council. Much of Cannon's post administration series is also Rockefeller related, including transcripts of unpublished interviews with Ford and Rockefeller about Rockefeller's role in the Administration.

Cannon's papers are especially strong for three topics on which he worked in the closing weeks of the administration. These are: the status of Puerto Rico (especially President Ford's statehood proposal), Domestic Council input for the 1977 State of the Union address, and the latter stages of the FY 1978 budget process. Cannon's large file on the 1976 State of the Union address is also included, presumably because it was used as a background for his work on the 1977 speech. Significant but smaller files appear on such topics as energy, a health policy White paper, the nuclear policy statement of October 1986, and regulatory reform.

Researchers will find most or all of Cannon's material on other policy issues in his Ford Papers files rather than in this collection. Many of the folders on issue here contain only fragmentary or duplicative items.

Significant materials on the organization and administration of the Domestic Council include: staff meeting minutes, weekly staff work reports, and files on changes planned by Cannon, Rockefeller and others in the weeks just before Cannon transferred from the vice presidential staff in March 1975. Approximately 500 pages relates to the 1977 transition to the Carter administration, including material on a Domestic Council transition report and a report which Cannon helped Rockefeller to write giving advice to Walter Mondale, the new Vice President.

Related Materials (July 1988)
The most important related materials in the Library are the Cannon files among President Ford's papers. Staff files of Domestic Council staff members are also related, especially those of Sam Halper and Dean Overman for Puerto Rico; and those of Arthur Quern for the 1976 State of the Union address, the FY1978 budget, and Domestic Council administration. White House Central Files category FG 39 has additional materials on Vice President Rockefeller and his role in the administration.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Assistant to Vice President Rockefeller File, 1974‑75.  (Boxes 1‑2, 0.5 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, telephone messages, notes, clippings, and publications concerning such topics as: Rockefeller's confirmation as Vice President, the vice presidential staff, changes made in U.S. Senate cloture rules in 1975, and planning the organization and operation of the Domestic Council in the weeks just before Cannon and Rockefeller assumed their new roles with it. Note: the Cannon chronological file (Box 25) also contains about 100 pp. re Cannon's service on the vice presidential staff.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

General Subject File, 1975-77.  (Boxes 2-12, 4.3 linear feet)
Memoranda, briefing papers, speeches, schedules, clippings, and publications. This series concerns a variety of domestic issues, government agencies, and programs. It also documents Cannon's interactions with Vice President Rockefeller; the vice presidential staff; and the nation's governors, especially James Rhodes of Ohio. Topics include: the status of Puerto Rico, energy, a health policy white paper, the nuclear policy statement of October 1976, and regulatory reform.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

State of the Union Address File, 1975-77.  (Boxes 13-15, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, speech drafts, meeting minutes, and reports concerning Domestic Council input into the 1976 and 1977 State of the Union addresses. Cannon and Arthur Quern solicited recommendations from their staff and from the Cabinet, presented reports to the President, and reviewed speech drafts prepared by Robert Hartmann and the Editorial Staff.

Arranged by year and thereunder alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

FY1978 Budget File, 1976.  (Boxes 16-18, 1.1 linear feet)
Agency budget requests, background information, and publications concerning presidential review of budget requests and subsequent budget appeals. The material is not unique - copies were distributed to various offices and departments - but some Cannon annotations appear on this set. Note: Material on earlier phases of the FY1978 budget process appears in the Cannon files in the Ford papers.

Arranged by category (e.g. "budget appeals" or "presidential review") and thereunder by agency or group of agencies.

View container list for this series

Domestic Council Administrative File, 1975-77.  (Boxes 18-24, 2.5 linear feet)
Memoranda, staff meeting minutes, budget requests and testimony, an activities inventory, a study of domestic needs and major policy problems, "morning reports" on upcoming deadlines, Cannon's weekly reports to the President, and the Council staff's weekly work reports. This series also relates to the 1977 transition, including a Domestic Council transition report and advice from Vice President Rockefeller to Vice President-elect Walter Mondale.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Chronological File, 1975-77.  (Boxes 25-34, 3.8 linear feet)
Carbon copies of outgoing memoranda and correspondence, mostly relating to domestic issues and Domestic Council administration. About 100 pages relates to Cannon's work on Vice President Rockefeller's staff in January and February 1975.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Post-Ford Administration File, 1977-79.  (Boxes 34-35, 0.6 linear feet)
Transcripts of interviews conducted by various individuals with Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller concerning Rockefeller's role in the administration, papers by scholars on Rockefeller and on the Domestic Council, obituaries and notes for Cannon's tribute at Rockefeller's memorial service (Jan. 1979), and fragmentary files on some of Cannon's activities in 1977 after leaving the Domestic Council.

Arranged alphabetically by topic.

View container list for this series

State of the Union Address File (Accretion), 1975-76.  (Boxes 36-40, 2.0 linear feet)
Memoranda, speech drafts, and reports concerning Domestic Council input for the 1976 State of the Union Address.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Assistant to Vice President Rockefeller File

• Box 1 Assistant to Vice President Rockefeller File
• Cannon Biography
• Correspondence
• Domestic Council - Operating Procedures for Studies
• Domestic Council - Organization and Procedures: Colonel Walker's Book
• Domestic Council - Organization and Procedures: General (1)-(4)
• Ideas
• Memoranda to the Vice President
• Notes and Phones Messages
• Rockefeller Confirmation - Congressional Record, 12/19/74 (1)-(2)

Box 2 - Assistant to Vice President Rockefeller File

• Rockefeller Confirmation: General
• Rockefeller Role in the Ford Administration
• Rockefeller Schedule, 12/20/1974
• Rule XXII Changes (Senate Cloture Rule)
• Vice President's Office - Administration and Personnel
• White House Staff Biographies

Box 2 (Continued) - General Subject File

• "Administrative Presidency"
• Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations
• Agenda for the Next Administration - Articles for Fortune Magazine (1)-(3)
• Aircraft Noise
• Bicentennial
• Breakfast with the President, 1/20/77
• Budget - FY1977 (1)-(2)
• Busing
• Cabinet

Box 3 - General Subject File

• Cannon Notes
• Carter, Jimmy - Views on Domestic Issues (1)-(2)
• Chief of Staff
• Congressional - General
• Congressional - Letters
• Connor, Jim - Memoranda
• Drug Abuse Briefing
• Drug Abuse White Paper
• Earthquake Prediction
• Economic and Energy Proposals of the President (1)-(2)
• Economic Policy Board - Intelligence Support
• Economic Policy Board - Meeting, 1/13/77
• Enactment of Legislation Without the President's Signature
• Energy (1)-(2)

Box 4 - General Subject File

• Energy (3)-(4)
• Energy Message, Jan. 1977
• Federal Emergency Preparedness Plan
• Food Stamp Reform Chronology
• Ford Administration - One Year Report
• Ford Administration - Two Year Report
• Government Employment, Suitability Requirements for
• Governors - General (1)-(2)
• Governors - James Rhodes (1)-(3)

Box 5 - General Subject File

• Governors - James Rhodes (4)
• Guam
• Harman, Philip
• Health Policy White Paper (1)-(3)
• Illegal Aliens
• Issues Book - Final Update (1)-(5)
• Jaffe, Nelcie
• Law of the Sea
• Mass Transit - People Mover
• Mayors
• Meeting with Rogers Morton, 7/19/76

Box 6 - General Subject File

• Memoranda to the President
• Memoranda to the President - Responses from Jim Connor
• Miscellaneous
• National Parks
• Nuclear Policy Statement (1)-(2)
• Nuclear Power - General
• Nuclear Power - Seabrook Plant
• Office of Management and Budget - Organization Chart
• Office of Management and Budget - Program Evaluation Efforts
• Office of Management and Budget - Survey of Federal Evaluation Activities (1)-(2)
• Policy Executives Briefing Program (1)-(2)
• Predator Control

Box 7 - General Subject File

• President - Briefing Papers (1)-(3)
• President Ford Committee Issues Book (1)-(2)
• President - General
• President - Schedule Grids
• President - Speeches and Statements (1)-(6)

Box 8 - General Subject File

• Proposed Administration Initiatives
• Puerto Rico - Compact of Permanent Union (1)-(3)
• Puerto Rico - Domestic Issues Briefing Material, 6/22/76
• Puerto Rico - Sam Halper's Chronology
• Puerto Rico - Statehood: General (1)-(5)
• Puerto Rico - Statehood: Meeting, 1/4/77
• Puerto Rico - Statehood: Senior Staff Meeting, 1/11/77

Box 9 - General Subject File

• Q & A Briefing Book (1)-(4)
• Regulatory Reform - Aviation Act of 1977 (1)-(2)
• Regulatory Reform - Communications
• Regulatory Reform - General
• Revenue Sharing - Falk Memorandum
• Revenue Sharing - Myer Memoranda
• Schedule Proposals (1)-(2)

Box 10 - General Subject File

• Schedule Proposals (3)
• Significant National Trends and Policies - New York State Study (1)-(4)
• Social Security Financing
• Staff Secretary Action Memoranda (1)-(7)

Box 11 - General Subject File

• State and Local Government Finances (1)-(5)
• Terrorism
• Trip to Sacramento, CA, 9/5/75
• Uranium Enrichment
• Vice President (1)-(4)

Box 12 - General Subject File

• Vice President (5)-(12)
• Welfare Reform - Income Supplement Program (1)-(2)

Box 13 - State of the Union Address File

• 1976 SOTU Address
  - Baroody Recommendations (1)-(2)
  - Chronology of Preparations (1)-(2)
  - Domestic Council Social Programs Review
  - Drafts (1)-(4)
  - General (1)-(3)

Box 14 - State of the Union Address File

• 1976 SOTU Address
  - Meetings with Cabinet Members (1)-(6)
  - Report from Cannon to the President, 12/22/75 (1)-(2)
  - Report from Rockefeller to the President, 12/10/75
  - Report from Rockefeller to the President, 12/15/75 (1)-(2)
  - Text, Summary and Fact Sheet (1)-(2)

Box 15 - State of the Union Address File

• 1977 SOTU Address
  - Administration Accomplishments (1)-(3)
  - Domestic Council Staff Input
  - Draft Outline (1)-(3)
  - Drafts (1)-(2)
  - General (1)-(4)

Box 16 - FY1978 Budget File

• Budget Appeals
  - Commerce Department and Civil Service Commission
  - ERDA and NRC
  - EPA
  - FEA
  - HEW and ACTION
  - HUD
  - Interior Department, CEQ, TVA, and Water Resources Council
  - Labor Department and Appalachian Regional Commission
  - NASA
  - Small Agencies
  - Transportation Department
  - Treasury Department and Justice Department
• Budget Reductions (1)-(2)

Box 17 - FY1978 Budget File

• Issues '78 (1)-(2)
• Presidential Budget Review
  - Agriculture, Small Related Agencies, and Water Resources Programs
  - Commerce, SBA, Civil Service Commission, and Related Small Agencies
  - Energy Related Issues and Earthquake Research
  - ERDA
  - EPA, Interior and Related Small Agencies (1)

Box 18 - FY1978 Budget File

• Presidential Budget Review
  - EPA, Interior and Related Small Agencies (2)
  - FEA, Energy Independence Authority, and National Science Foundation
  - HEW and Related Small Agencies (1)-(2)
  - HUD, VA, Labor, and Related Small Agencies (1)-(3)
  - NASA and Science Related Small Agencies
  - Transportation and Regulatory Agencies
  - Treasury, Justice, and GSA

Box 18 (Continued) - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Cannon - List of Files
• Cannon - Schedules and Calendars
• Cannon - Telephone Logs
• Cannon - Testimony on the responsibilities of the Domestic Council
• Domestic Council - Activities Inventory (1)

Box 19 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Domestic Council - Activities Inventory (2)-(4)
• Domestic Council - Budget Requests
• Domestic Council - Budget Supplemental
• Domestic Council - Chronology
• Domestic Council - Organization (1)-(2)
• Domestic Council - Public Forums (1)-(3)
• Domestic Council - Staff Meeting Minutes (1)-(2)

Box 20 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Domestic Needs and Major Policy Problems Study (1)-(5)
• Futures Book (1)-(3)
• Hatch Act
• Morning Reports from Art Quern (1)-(4)

Box 21 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Morning Reports from Art Quern (5)-(7)
• Orientation and Procedures - Office of James Cannon
• Parsons, Dick - Memoranda (1)-(4)
• Schleede, Glenn - Memoranda
• Transition - Domestic Council: General
• Transition - Domestic Council: Transition Book
• Transition - General (1)-(2)

Box 22 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Transition - Meeting with Stu Eisenstat, 12/16/1976
• Transition - Rockefeller Report to Walter Mondale (1)-(4)
• Weekly Domestic Activities Reports to the President (1)-(6)
• Weekly Staff Reports, June - Oct. 1975

Box 23 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Weekly Staff Reports, Nov. 1975 - May 1976

Box 24 - Domestic Council Administrative File

• Weekly Staff Reports, June - Dec. 1976
• White House Domestic Policy Organization
• White House Office Handbook (1)-(2)

Box 25 - Chronological File

• Jan. - Apr. 7, 1975

Box 26 - Chronological File

• April 8, 1975 - May 1975

Box 27 - Chronological File

• June 1975 - Sept. 16, 1975

Box 28 - Chronological File

• Sept. 17, 1975 - Nov. 1975

Box 29 - Chronological File

• Dec. 1975 - Feb. 18, 1976

Box 30 - Chronological File

• Feb. 19, 1976 - May 10, 1976

Box 31 - Chronological File

• May 11, 1976 - July 22, 1976

Box 32 - Chronological File

• July 23, 1976 - Sept. 1976

Box 33 - Chronological File

• Oct. 1976 - Nov. 21, 1976

Box 34 - Chronological File

• Nov. 22, 1976 - Jan. 20, 1977

Box 34 (Continued) - Post-Ford Administration File

• Clurman
• Dissertation on the Vice Presidency of Nelson Rockefeller by Michael Turner (1)-(5)
• Food Technology International
• Interviews with Gerald Ford, Melvin Laird, Donald Rumsfeld, and James Cannon re Nelson Rockefeller conducted by Trevor Armbrister
• Interview with Gerald Ford re Nelson Rockefeller conducted by Hugh Morrow

Box 35 - Post-Ford Administration File

• Interview with Nelson Rockefeller by Trevor Armbrister, 10/21/77
• Interview with Nelson Rockefeller by Robert Hartmann, 12/2/77
• Interview with Nelson Rockefeller by Michael Turner, 12/22/77
• Interview with Nelson Rockefeller by Robert Hartmann, 2/22/78
• National Energy Institute (1)-(4)
• Paper on the Domestic Council in the Ford Administration by Louis Maisel and John Helmer
• Rockefeller, Nelson - Notes for Cannon Tribute at Memorial Service
• Rockefeller, Nelson - Obituaries and Tributes (1)-(2)

Box 36 - State of the Union Address File (Accretion)

• Agriculture
• Cannon Notes
• Discussion Paper - Development of a Ford Domestic Policy Strategy
• Economics (1)-(3)
• Energy
• Federal Budget
• Grant Consolidation
• Health and Welfare
• Housing and Urban Policy
• Hudson Institute Proposal
• Labor and Unemployment (1)-(2)
• Legal Matters
• Meetings - 1975/11: Vice President
• Meetings - 1975/11/20: National Association of Home Builders
• Meetings - 1975/11/20: Vice President (1)

Box 37 - State of the Union Address File (Accretion)

• Meetings - 1975/11/20: Vice President (2)
• Meetings - 1975/11/24: Cheney, et.al. (1)-(2)
• Meetings - 1975/12/03: Senior Staff
• Meetings - 1975/12/15: SOTU Coordinating Group
• Meetings - 1975/12/16: Liaison Staff
• Meetings - 1975/12/16: SOTU Coordinating Group
• Meetings - 1975/12/17: SOTU Coordinating Group
• Meetings - General
• Meetings - Schedule
• Presidential Opinions (1)-(2)
• Presidential Year-End Review
• Press Releases (1)-(2)
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/10/21: Denver (1)-(3)

Box 38 - State of the Union Address File (Accretion)

• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/10/29: Tampa (1)-(2)
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/11/11: Austin (1)-(2)
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/11/18: Philadelphia
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/11/25: Indianapolis (1)-(2)
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - 1975/12/09: Los Angeles (1)-(2)
• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - Summaries (1)-(2)

Box 39 - State of the Union Address File (Accretion)

• Public Forums on Domestic Policy - Summaries (3)-(7)
• Regulation
• Republican Governors Association Meeting Transcript, 11/20-22/75
• State of the Union - Drafts (1)-(5)

Box 40 - State of the Union Address File (Accretion)

• State of the Union - Drafts (6)
• State of the Union - Fact Sheets
• State of the Union - General
• State of the Union - Illustrative Draft
• State of the Union - Philosophy/Themes
• State of the Union - Presidential Appointees Spouses Briefing, 1/23/76
• State of the Union - Press Releases re 1975 Address
• State of the Union - Report from the Vice President to the President (1)-(2)
• State of the Union - Suggested Draft Language
• State of the Union - Vice President's Office
• Transportation
• Women's Rights