Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 269 › Conversation 269-035

Nixon & Ehrlichman on School prayer and Eighteen-year-old vote

Tuesday, August 3, 1971 · 1:47 PM–3:40 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation269-035 on Tape 269 (tape position 06:16:16–06:18:53)StartTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 1:47 PMEndTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 3:40 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 269-035 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discussed potential responses to anticipated press conference questions regarding prayer in public schools and the voting age for eighteen-year-olds. They assessed the political implications of these issues, identifying potential opposition from secular groups, Jewish organizations, and constitutional scholars. The discussion focused on formulating a strategic administration stance to navigate these sensitive topics effectively during upcoming public appearances.

  • School prayer
  • Eighteen-year-old vote
  • Press conference strategy
  • Constitutional law
  • Public opinion

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 06:16:16 – 06:18:53

part D, 16:19

269a.mp3
269b.mp3
269c.mp3
269d.mp3

NARA Description

On August 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 269-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 269-35

Date: August 3, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     Prayer in public schools
          -Possible press conference question
          -Possible opponents
                -Atheists, Jews
                -Constitutionalists
          -Possible press conference question
                -Voting by eighteen-year-olds

Transcript (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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

John, what position do you want to take on?
I'm for it.
And when they got this service, they were looking for it.
Who's gonna screw about it?
The Acres and the Jews.
Now let's face it, that's my home.
The Acres and the Jews, and God and the Constitutionals.
Now I'm just in court, I'm just in front of there.
I think I'll just be bored.
The 18 year old voters for whether they should go to home or school, should I just say home?
Yeah, I hear you.
Yeah.
Yeah, and I don't get it.

Also recorded on August 3, 1971

  • 269-027 1:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-028 1:47 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-029 1:47 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-030 1:47 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-031 1:47 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-032 1:47 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-033 1:47 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 269-034 1:47 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:40 pm.

All 45 conversations from August 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 269-035, August 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/269-035 (accessed November 2, 2026).