Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 7 › Conversation 007-152
Nixon phone call with Burns on Wage-price freeze
Sunday, August 15, 1971 · 11:24 PM–11:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns discuss the immediate aftermath of the announcement of the wage-price freeze, expressing relief that the plan remained secret during its development at Camp David. The two leaders strategize on managing international monetary policy, with Nixon tasking Burns to maintain close control over Paul Volcker and Dewey Daane to ensure alignment with administration objectives. Finally, they plan to secure political support from Representative Wilbur Mills by offering him full credit for the initiative to ensure the program's success.
Audio
NARA Description
On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Arthur F. Burns talked on the telephone from 11:24 pm to 11:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 007-152 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 7-152
Date: August 15, 1971
Time: 11:24 pm - 11:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Arthur F. Burns.
Wage-price freeze speech
-Burns’ reaction
-Wording
-International monetary issue
-Burns and Paul A. Volcker
-[James] Dewey Daane
-Control by Burns
-Burns’ reaction
-Democrats
-Spending
-Wilbur D. Mills
-Meeting with Burns
-The President's instructions
-Burns’ talk with [Pierre-Paul?] SchweitzerTranscript (AI-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Also recorded on August 15, 1971
- 007-144 11:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Freeman F. Gosden, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:12 pm to 11:14 pm.
- 007-145 11:14 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:14 pm.
- 007-146 11:15 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Pierre Rinfret talked on the telephone from 11:15 pm to 11:17 pm.
- 007-147 11:18 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:18 pm.
- 007-148 11:18 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:18 pm.
- 007-149 11:18 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:18 pm and 11:20 pm.
- 007-150 11:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 11:20 pm to 11:22 pm.
- 007-151 11:22 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:22 pm and 11:24 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon phone call with Connally on Gold standard and Wage-price freeze August 12, 1971 · 5 min
- Nixon, Shultz & Kissinger on Economic Policy and Wage-Price Freeze August 11, 1971 · 1 hr 42 min
- Nixon, Connally & Peterson on Economic Policy and Gold Standard July 27, 1971 · 55 min
- Nixon phone call with Colson on Wage and price freeze and Phase II September 7, 1971 · 11 min
- Nixon & Ehrlichman on Busing and Child Development November 5, 1971 · 41 min
- Nixon phone call with Shultz on Economic policy and Steel strike July 28, 1971 · 15 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 007-152, August 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417189591). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/007-152 (accessed October 31, 2026).