Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 638 › Conversation 638-012

Nixon & Volcker on Monetary crisis and US economy

Wednesday, December 15, 1971 · 12:06 PM–12:07 PM ET · Oval Office · 53 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Volcker, Paul A.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation638-012 on Tape 638 (tape position 03:16:39–03:17:58)StartWednesday, December 15, 1971 at 12:06 PMEndWednesday, December 15, 1971 at 12:07 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 638-012 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted Paul Volcker to determine an appropriate figure for the number of major monetary crises experienced over the previous decade to cite in an upcoming speech. Volcker and others provided estimates ranging from three to seven, prompting Nixon to settle on the higher figure of seven to bolster his narrative. The discussion concluded with the President deciding to attribute this statistic directly to Volcker's expertise.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Paul, how many monetary crises, I don't need the exact number, but have we had in the last 10 years?
Seven or... Oh, probably seven.
We've had three.
We had the mark thing, we had the draft.
We had a sterling thing, we had a German thing.
That's two.
Why don't we say we probably in this baseline is kind of a tenuous one.
Over the last ten years, could I say that we've had seven major monetary crises?
Nobody can prove you're right or wrong.
I'm going to say that Paul Walker tells me.
I think I'll go on.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On December 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Paul A. Volcker, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:06 pm to 12:07 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 638-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 638-012

Date: December 15, 1971
Time: 12:06 pm - 12:07 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Paul A. Volcker and an unknown man.

     US monetary crisis
         -Recent history
         -Speech

Volcker and the unknown man left at 12:07 pm.

Also recorded on December 15, 1971

  • 638-006 11:45 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:45 am to 11:46 am.
  • 638-007 11:51 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:51 am to 11:52 am.
  • 638-008 11:55 AM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:55 am to 12:02 pm.
  • 638-009 12:02 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
  • 638-010 12:02 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
  • 638-011 12:02 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
  • 638-014 12:07 PM · 20 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:07 pm and 1:22 pm.
  • 086-003 12:08 PM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and bipartisan Congressional leaders, including Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, Hugh Scott, John G. Tower, Carl B. Albert, [Thomas] Hale Boggs, John W. Byrnes, Gerald R. Ford, Wright Patman, William B. Widnall, Wilbur D. Mills, John B. Connally, Paul W. McCracken, Herbert Stein, Peter G. Peterson, George P. Shultz, Paul A. Volcker, Henry A. Kissinger, John A. Scali, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, William L. Safire, Nathanial Samuels, Ezra Solomon, White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 1:22 pm.

All 19 conversations from December 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 638-012, December 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/638-012 (accessed October 11, 2026).