Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 273 › Conversation 273-017

Nixon & Colson on Economic Policy and Unemployment

Thursday, August 12, 1971 · 5:16 PM–5:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Colson, Charles W.;  [Unknown person(s)]Conversation273-017 onTape 273 (tape position 01:56:40–01:58:49)StartThursday, August 12, 1971 at 5:16 PMEndThursday, August 12, 1971 at 5:20 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 273-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles W. Colson discussed economic strategies, specifically focusing on the goal of restoring national prosperity compared to previous administrations. The conversation touched upon the correlation between unemployment rates and the reduction in the size of the Armed Forces. The participants also briefly addressed the international monetary situation and preparations for an upcoming phone call by the President.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 67.9 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:56:40 into the tape and ends around 01:58:49.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

1:56:53Rwy'n meddwl bod eich sylfaen yn dda iawn.
1:56:55Yr un peth rwy'n meddwl y byddaf wedi'i roi ymlaen yn y canolfan, ac yn fwy cyffredinol, yw'r awgrymiad.
1:57:10Mae'r llyfn yma wedi'i ddweud ei bod eisiau mynd yn ôl i'r prosperiti nawr.
1:57:14Mae rhywun wedi dweud eu bod eisiau mynd yn ôl i'r prosperiti ar gyfer y cyhoedd cyhoeddus, ond rwy'n siŵr eu bod nhw'n ymwneud â'r llyfn sydd wedi'i ddefnyddio, ac hefyd yn defnyddio'r llyfn.
1:57:24Ac os yw'r ddwy milion o bobl, ac mae hynny'n dda o gwmpas, os yw'r ddwy milion o ddynion sy'n ymwneud â'r rhannau, a'r rhannau hyfforddiant, ac ar y pryd roedden ni'n dod i'r swyddfa, rydyn ni'n dal
1:57:40Rwy'n credu bod hynny'n rhaid i ni wneud hynny.
1:57:43Mae hynny'n rhaid i ni wneud hynny.
1:57:46Rwy'n credu bod hynny'n rhaid i ni wneud hynny.
1:58:23Rwy'n meddwl y bydd hwnnw'n rhaid i chi ddweud hynny.
1:58:26Rwy'n meddwl y bydd hynny'n rhaid i chi ddweud hynny.
1:58:46Rwy'n meddwl y bydd hynny'n rhaid i chi ddweud hynny.

NARA Description

On August 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:16 pm to 5:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 273-17

Date: August 12, 1971
Time: 5:16 pm - 5:20 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

     Fact sheet
           -Contents
                -Prosperity
                     -Previous administrations
                -Unemployment
                     -Relationship to decline in size of Armed Forces

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 5:16 pm.
     Unknown activity

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:20 pm.

     International monetary situation

     President’s forthcoming call to unknown person

Also recorded on August 12, 1971

  • 273-010 4:51 PM · 4 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 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 273-011 4:51 PM · 2 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 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 273-014 5:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:05 pm to 5:07 pm.
  • 273-015 5:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
  • 273-016 5:07 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
  • 273-018 5:20 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 5:27 pm.
  • 273-019 5:27 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter M. Flanigan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:27 pm to 5:30 pm.
  • 273-020 5:30 PM · 1 hr 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.

All 51 conversations from August 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 273-017, August 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-017 (accessed September 18, 2026).