Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 719 › Conversation 719-001

Nixon & Bull on Fort Worth and General

Thursday, May 4, 1972 · 8:43 AM–8:45 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation719-001 on Tape 719 (tape position 00:00:20–00:04:01)StartThursday, May 4, 1972 at 8:43 AMEndThursday, May 4, 1972 at 8:45 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 719-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull discuss the aggressive tactics employed by a newly appointed general in Fort Worth to restore order. The general reportedly secured the area by deploying armed scout cars and issuing a lethal-force ultimatum against unauthorized personnel. The exchange highlights the President's interest in this swift, albeit extreme, approach to resolving civil disturbances.

Audio

part A, 0:20

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 155.3 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the players above hold the full tape, shared with neighbouring conversations. By the archivists' log it runs from 00:00:20 to 00:04:01 into the tape; their log often drifts a minute or two from the audio, so listen for the subjects in the finding aid.

NARA Description

On May 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:45 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 719-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 719-1

Date: May 4, 1972
Time: 8:43-unknown before 8:45 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     Greetings

Bull left at an unknown time before 8:45 am.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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; click one to play the tape from there.

This new general up in Fort Worth has sort of shaken that place up.
He just put 50-caliber scout cars around, and he's put out the word that anyone that's not with his unit will be shot, and cleaned up that mess very quickly up there.

Also recorded on May 4, 1972

  • 719-002 8:45 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:45 am to 8:57 am.
  • 719-003 8:58 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:58 am to 9:02 am.
  • 719-004 9:06 AM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:06 am to 9:59 am.
  • 023-150 9:30 AM · 38 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:30 am and 9:35 am.
  • 719-005 9:59 AM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:59 am.
  • 719-006 9:59 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:03 am.
  • 719-007 9:59 AM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:22 am.
  • 719-008 10:22 AM · 8 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:31 am.

All 45 conversations from May 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 719-001, May 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/719-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).