SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews conducted by Reichley with former Nixon and Ford administration officials from the White House staff, Cabinet departments, National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the Council of Economic Advisers about White House operations, issues faced by the administrations, and the philosophies of the Presidents and their staffs. Also included are interviews with members of Congress about their experiences with the two administrations and interviews focusing on the 1980 Reagan-Bush presidential campaign and transition.

QUANTITY
1.0 linear feet (ca. 2,000 pages)

DONOR
A. James Reichley (accession number 91-36)

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
A. James Reichley donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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, June 1991
[s:\bin\findaid\reichley, james - interviews.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

A. James Reichley

March 3, 1929 - Born, St. Clair, Pennsylvania

1946-50 - B.A. (Philosophy), University of Pennsylvania

1951-53 - U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps

1953-54 - Technical editor, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

1955-56 - M.A. (History), Harvard University

1957-61 - Political reporter, Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA

1961-62 - Legislative Assistant, Senator Kenneth Keating of New York

1963-67 - Assistant to Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania

1967-76 - Associate Editor and member of the Board of Editors, Fortune magazine

1970 - Consultant, President's Commission on Student Unrest

May-October 1976 - Consultant, White House staff

1977-? - Senior Fellow, Department of Governmental Service, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

Author:

• The Burying of Kingsmith (Houghton Mifflin, 1957) [novel]
• Hail to the Chief (Houghton Mifflin, 1960) [novel]
• States in Crisis (University of North Carolina Press, 1964)
• Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations (Brookings Institution, 1981)
• Religion in American Public Life (Brookings Institution Press, 1985)
• Elections American Style (Brookings Institution, 1987)
• The Life of the Parties (Rowman & Littlefield, 2000)
• The Values Connection (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)
• Faith in Politics (Brookings Institution Press, 2002)

INTRODUCTION

The James Reichley interview transcripts result from his interviews with over 160 government officials in conjunction with the writing of his book Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations (Brookings Institution, 1981). They focus primarily on the personalities, philosophies, and issues of the Nixon and Ford administrations, although one series concerns the 1980 presidential campaign and transition.

In conducting the interviews, Reichley did not employ a tape recorder. He took notes during the interviews and then constructed transcripts from the notes soon afterwards. The transcripts therefore should not be considered a verbatim record of the entire discussion. While varying in length from a single page to ten pages, the average transcript is four pages.

Although Reichley conducted most of the interviews between 1977 and 1981, two date from a much earlier period. A 1967 interview with Richard Nixon focuses on his views of the upcoming presidential campaign. A 1969 interview with John Mitchell concerns the work of the Justice Department.

Reichley interviewed over fifty former members of the Nixon and Ford White House staffs, several Cabinet members and almost thirty other agency officials, thirty-five members of Congress, and four other political figures. These interviews focus on White House administration; philosophies of the two Presidents and their administrations; relationships among various administration officials; roles of the Cabinet, Domestic Council, and Office of Management and Budget; congressional liaison; presidential campaigns of 1968, 1972, and 1976; and such issues as economics, civil rights, busing, desegregation, welfare reform, and the Vietnamese War.

A number of interviews also examine the role of Bob Haldeman in the Nixon White House and attempts to influence the direction of Nixon administration domestic policies by Daniel Moynihan, Arthur Burns, and John Ehrlichman. Some Ford administration interviews focus on the role of Donald Rumsfeld and the relationship between Rumsfeld and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Interviewees of note include Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan; Vice President Rockefeller; and Cabinet members William Coleman, Carla Hills, Edward Levi, Robert Finch, John Mitchell, John Connally, Melvin Laird, Elliot Richardson, and William Simon.

The almost thirty interviews concerning the 1980 campaign and transition include several on the conduct of the campaign, especially in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the work of the transition team, but also cover plans for the new administration and various issues, including the Kemp-Roth proposal to cut taxes. Interviewees of note include George Bush, James Baker, Drew Lewis, and Richard Schweiker.

In his deed of gift transferring these interview transcripts to the Ford Library, Reichley specified a restriction on their use. While researchers may freely examine the transcripts and make use of the factual information they contain, no direct quotations from the transcripts may be used without written permission from James Reichley. His address is available upon request.

In arranging the interviews for use by researchers, the Ford Library staff kept the basic order established by Mr. Reichley. Three interviews were moved to more appropriate series, however, and each series was alphabetized.

Related Materials (June 1991)
Materials on many of the same topics, especially those from the Ford administration, appear throughout the Library's holdings. Other interviews with President Ford, Vice President Rockefeller, and the Ford White House staff appear in the James Cannon Papers, the James Hyde and Stephen Wayne Interviews, and the William Syers Interview Transcripts.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Ford White House Interviews, 1977-78. (Box 1, 0.1 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with members of the Ford White House staff concerning White House operations, politics, issues, and the conservative philosophy of the administration. Major topics include busing, operation of the Domestic Council, economics, Energy Independence Authority proposal, federal budget, 1976 presidential campaign, regulatory reform, and White House administration. Some interviews also include information about the Nixon administration.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Nixon White House Interviews, (1967) 1977-78. (Box 1, 0.2 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with members of the Nixon White House staff concerning White House operations, politics, issues, and the conservative philosophy of the administration. Major topics include desegregation of schools, Domestic Council operation, 1968 presidential campaign and 1969 transition to the new administration, revenue sharing legislation, Vietnamese War, welfare reform, and White House administration. Another focus is the roles of Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Arthur Burns, Daniel Moynihan, George Shultz, Robert Finch, and Charles Colson in the Nixon administration. The interview with Richard Nixon dates from 1967 and focuses on the 1968 campaign. Some interviews also include information about the Ford administration.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Foreign Policy Interviews, 1977-78. (Box 1, 0.1 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with State Department, National Security Council, and other officials from both the Nixon and Ford administrations concerning national security and foreign affairs matters. Major topics include the Vietnamese War, the foreign policy role of Henry Kissinger, and Kissinger's relationships with Nixon and Ford. Some interviews from other series also touch on foreign affairs.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Domestic Policy Interviews, (1969) 1977-78. (Box 2, 0.1 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with Cabinet members and other department and agency officials from both the Nixon and Ford administrations concerning domestic issues. Major topics include busing; civil rights; Department of Health, Education and Welfare; Department of Justice; desegregation; Office of Management and Budget; and welfare reform. The John Mitchell interview dates from 1969; all others were done after the end of the Ford administration. Many interviews from other series also touch on domestic issues.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Economic Policy Interviews, 1977-78. (Box 2, 0.1 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with officials from the Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, Council of Economic Advisers, Office of Management and Budget, and the White House from both the Nixon and Ford administrations concerning economic issues. Major topics include economic controls, federal budget, inflation, and taxes. Some interviews from this series touch on matters beyond economics, while many from other series also mention economic issues.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Congressional Interviews, 1977-78. (Box 2, 0.2 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with members of Congress concerning relations with the White House during both the Nixon and Ford administrations and a variety of other issues. Major topics include abortion, busing, 1976 presidential campaign, revenue sharing, Vietnamese War, welfare reform, and White House liaison with Congress.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

Politician Interviews, 1978. (Box 3, 0.05 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with four political figures--Ronald Reagan, White House and Reagan adviser Lyn Nofziger, and former Illinois Governors Richard Ogilvie and James Thompson-- concerning issues and politics during both the Nixon and Ford administrations.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

1980 Campaign and Transition Interviews, 1980-81. (Box 3, 0.2 linear feet)
Transcripts, reconstructed from notes, of interviews with campaign workers and transition officials concerning the Reagan-Bush campaign, the transition to the presidency, and plans for the new administration.

Arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Ford White House Interviews

• Ford White House Interviews - General
• Baker, James - Interview, 8/27/79
• Baroody, William - Interview, 9/27/77
• Buchen, Philip - Interview, 9/1/77
• Cannon, James - Interview, 3/1/78
• Cavanaugh, James - Interview, 3/8/78
• Cheney, Richard - Interview, 5/20/77
• Connor, James - Interview, 10/19/77
• Ford, Gerald - Interview, 3/8/78
• Friedersdorf, Max - Interview, 10/27/77
• Gergen, David - Interview, 2/21/78
• Goldwin, Robert - Interview, 2/27/78
• Hartmann, Robert - Interview, 12/8/77
• Hills, Roderick - Interview, 11/17/78
• Kendall, William - Interview, 11/22/77
• Kilberg, Bobbie - Interview, 12/28/77
• Marsh, John - Interview, 9/2/77
• Morrow, Hugh - Interview, 10/18/77
• Rockefeller, Nelson - Interview, 3/24/78
• Rumsfeld, Donald - Interview, 1/25/78
• Schmults, Edward - Interview, 11/16/77

Box 1 (Continued) - Nixon White House Interviews

• Nixon White House Interviews - General
• Anderson, Martin - Interview, 1/3/78
• Ash, Roy - Interview, 4/30/78
• BeLieu, Kenneth - Interview, 9/13/77
• Buchanan, Patrick - Interview, 9/13/77
• Cashen, Henry - Interview, 10/11/77
• Casselman, William - Interview, 10/28/77
• Clapp, Charles - Interview, 8/25/77
• Cole, Kenneth - Interview, 12/21/77
• Cook, Richard - Interview, 9/16/77
• Cowen, Eugene - Interview, 10/5/77
• Dent, Harry - Interview, 4/3/78
• Ellsworth, Robert - Interview, 9/1/77
• Engman, Lewis - Interview, 2/17/78
• Fleming, Harry - Interview, 8/29/77
• Garment, Leonard - Interview, 10/19/77
• Harlow, Bryce - Interview, 11/3/77
• Harper, Ed - Interview, 10/26/77
• Hess, Stephen - Interview, 10/21/77
• Huebner, Lee - Interview, 12/9/77
  
• Klein, Herb - Interview, 1/16/78
• Korologos, Tom - Interview, 8/31/77
• MacGregor, Clark - Interview, 9/2/77
• Malek, Fred - Interview, 9/13/77
• Moynihan, Daniel P. - Interview, 7/13/78
• Nixon, Richard - Interview, 9/28/67
• Patterson, Bradley - Interview, 11/11/77
• Price, John - Interview, 3/24/78
• Price, Ray - Interview, 3/2/78
• Sears, John - Interview, 8/26/77
• Timmons, William - Interview, 11/29/77
• Waldmann, Ray - Interview, 1/11/78
• Waldron, Agnes - Interview, 9/23/77
• Warren, Gerald - Interview, 1/6/78
• Weber, Fred - Interview, 10/17/77
• Whitaker, John - Interview, 2/15/78
• Ziegler, Ron - Interview, 11/15/77

Box 1 (Continued) - Foreign Policy Interviews

• Foreign Policy Interviews - General
• Allen, Richard (National Security Council) - Interview, 10/27/77
• Laird, Melvin (Secretary of Defense) - Interview, 3/31/78
• Lake, Anthony (National Security Council) - Interview, 10/28/77
• Lord, Winston (State Department) - Interview, 10/19/77
• Scowcroft, Brent (National Security Council) - Interview, 12/1/77
• Scranton, William (Ambassador to the United Nations) - Interview, 6/30/78
• Sonnenfeldt, Helmut (National Security Council and State Department) - Interview, 10/12/77
• Watts, William (National Security Council) - Interview, 9/21/77

Box 2 - Domestic Policy Interviews

• Domestic Policy Interviews - General
• Coleman, William (Secretary of Transportation) - Interview, 12/19/77
• Finch, Robert (Secretary of HEW) - Interview, 3/8/78
• Hills, Carla (Secretary of HUD) - Interview, 5/19/78
• Kleindienst, Richard (Department of Justice) - Interview, 8/30/77
• Kurzman, Steven (HEW) - Interview, 9/28/77
• Leonard, Jerris (Justice Department) - Interview, 10/31/77
• Levi, Edward (Attorney General) - Interview, 1/24/78
• Mitchell, John (Attorney General) - Interview, 9/18/69
• Nathan, Richard (OMB) - Interview, 8/4/77
• Panetta, Leon (HEW) - Interview, 9/19/77
• Richardson, Elliot (Nixon and Ford Cabinets) - Interview, 1/9/78
• Veneman, Jack (HEW) - Interview, 9/12/77
• Weinberger, Caspar (OMB) - Interview, 1/4/78

Box 2 (Continued) - Economic Policy Interviews

• Economic Policy Interviews - General
• Burns, Arthur (Federal Reserve Board) - Interview, 9/21/77
• Connally, John (Secretary of the Treasury) - Interview, 8/27/79
• Friedman, Milton (Private Economist) - Interview, 3/9/78
• Greenspan, Alan (Council of Economic Advisers) - Interview, 1/28/78
• Jones, Sidney (Treasury Department) - Interview, 11/29/77
• Lynn, James (Office of Management and Budget) - Interview, 9/8/77
• MacLaury, Bruce (Treasury Department) - Interview, 12/20/77
• Mayo, Robert (Office of Management and Budget) - 1/24/78
• McCracken, Paul (Council of Economic Advisers) - Interview, 10/5/78
• O'Neill, Paul (Office of Management and Budget) - Interview, 10/18/77
• Penner, Rudy (Office of Management and Budget) - Interview, 1/11/78
• Peterson, Peter (Council on International Economic Policy) - Interview, 3/23/78
• Seidman, William (White House) - Interview, 11/16/77
• Shultz, George (Labor Department/Office of Management and Budget) - Interview, 1/4/78
• Simon, William (Secretary of the Treasury) - Interview, 10/18/77
• Stein, Herb (Council of Economic Advisers) - Interview, 11/29/77
• Volcker, Paul (Treasury Department) - Interview, 3/24/78
• Walker, Charls (Treasury Department) - Interview, 10/4/77

Box 2 (Continued) - Congressional Interviews

• Congressional Interviews - General
• Anderson, John - Interview, 9/21/77
• Bayh, Birch - Interview, 9/9/77
• Brock, William - Interview, 9/22/77
• Brown, Clarence - Interview, 9/13/77
• Byrnes, John - Interview, 11/2/77
• Conable, Barber - Interview, 9/13/77
• Coughlin, Larry - Interview, 10/26/77
• Crane, Philip - Interview, 1/30/78
• Devine, Samuel - Interview, 11/1/77
• Dole, Robert - Interview, 9/9/77
• Eckhardt, Bob - Interview, 10/14/77
• Frenzel, Bill - Interview, 10/14/77
• Goodell, Charles - Interview, 8/30/77 (?)
• Heinz, John - Interview, 9/22/77
• Hyde, Henry - Interview, 9/22/77
• Kemp, Jack - Interview, 10/4/77
• Lay, Chris (Administrative Assistant to Steve Symms) - Interview, 9/19/77
• Mathias, Charles - Interview, 9/22/77
• McDade, Joe - Interview, 10/13/77
• Mikva, Abner - Interview, 11/3/77
• Montgomery, Sonny - Interview, 11/9/77
• Preyer, Richardson - Interview, 10/21/77
• Railsback, Thomas - Interview, 9/15/77
• Schroeder, Patricia - Interview, 9/22/77
• Schweiker, Richard - Interview, 1/17/78
• Scott, Hugh - Interview, 12/6/77
• Shuster, Bud - Interview, 10/6/77
• Simon, Paul - Interview, 9/19/77
• Steiger, William - Interview, 11/22/77
• Stevenson, Adlai - Interview, 9/20/77
• Stokes, Louis - Interview, 9/15/77
• Thompson, Frank - Interview, 10/20/77
• Treen, David - Interview, 10/5/77
• Waggoner, Joe - Interview, 2/8/78
• Wiggins, Charles - Interview, 12/6/77

Box 3 - Politician Interviews

• Politician Interviews - General
• Nofziger, Lyn (Nixon White House/Reagan Advisor) - Interview, 1/5/78
• Ogilvie, Richard (Governor of Illinois) - Interview, 1/23/78
• Reagan, Ronald - Interview, 1/4/78
• Thompson, James (Governor of Illinois) - Interview, 1/25/78

Box 3 (Continued) - 1980 Campaign and Transition Interviews

• 1980 Campaign and Transition Interviews - General
• Baker, James - Interview, 12/15/80
• Budde, Bernadette (Director, Business Industry Political Action Committee) - Interview, 11/17/1980
• Bush, George - Interview, 1/12/81
• Butler, Steward (Heritage Foundation) - Interview, 12/15/80
• Conable, Barber (Congressman) - Interview, 12/16/80
• Cotiaux, Neil (Virginia Republican) - Interview, 10/28/80
• Crane, Philip (Congressman) - Interview, 11/20/80
• Danforth, John (Senator) - Interview, 1/7/81
• Franklin, ? (Administrative Assistant to Attorney General Coleman of Virginia) - Interview, 10/28/80
• Gifford, Dawn (Legislative Assistant to Congressman Jack Kemp) - Interview, 11/17/80
• Greenspan, Alan - Excerpt from Interview with Jessica Savitch on NBC, 11/17/80
• Gresham, Vic (Field Worker, Virginia Reagan - Bush Campaign) - Interview, 10/28/80
• Hager, Henry (Republican Leader, Pennsylvania State Senate) - Excerpt from Speech, 10/23/80
• Heritage Foundation Report on the Office of Management and Budget Notes, 12/18/80
• Lewis, Drew (Reagan Cabinet Appointee) - Interview, 12/4/80
• McClaughry, John - Interview, 12/22/80
• Morras, M.C. (Director, Reagan - Bush Campaign in Fredericksburg, VA) - Interview, 10/28/80
• Reagan Trip, 9/11/80 - Notes
• Robb, Rick (Pennsylvania Campaign Official) - Interviews, 10/17/80 and 10/23/80
• Ryan, Matt (Republican Leader, Pennsylvania State House) - Interview, 10/23/80
• Schweiker, Richard - Interview, 12/19/80
• Sears, John (Reagan Campaign Official) - Interview, 1/12/81
• Spees, Richard (Administrative Assistant to Senator Paul Laxalt) - Interview, 1/17/81
• Spence, Clark (Republican Leader, Adams County, PA) - Interview, 10/24/80
• Taft, Will (Transition Official) - Interview, 12/9/80
• Walker, Charls (Former Treasury Department Official) - Interview, 12/15/80
• Wanniski, Jude - Interviews, 7/15/80 and 10/17/80
• Wirthlin, Richard (Reagan Pollster) - Interview, 12/9/80