Title: Leonard Garment Papers, White House Central Files, 1969-1974

Dates: 1969-1974

Collection Number: 5997456

Creator/Collector:

Extent: 115 linear feet, 11 linear inches; 265 boxes

Repository: Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

Abstract: The office files of Leonard Garment reflect his responsibilities as a Special Consultant to the President concerned with domestic issues in the areas of civil and human rights, Native American affairs, plans for the American Revolution Bicentennial celebration, cultural affairs (including both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities), and voluntary action. In addition, this file series contains documents related to Garment’s role as Acting Counsel to the President during the Watergate crisis following John W. Dean III’s resignation in April 1973.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open for research. Some materials may be unavailable based upon categories of materials exempt from public release established in the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.

Most government records are in the public domain; however, this series includes commercial materials, such as newspaper clippings, that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.

Leonard Garment Papers, White House Central Files, 1969-1974. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

These materials are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration under the provisions of Title I of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-526, 88 Stat. 1695) and implementing regulations.

May 11, 1924 - Leonard Garment born in Brooklyn, New York. 1942-1949 - Attended Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York; also performed as a clarinetist in various jazz bands, including Woody Herman's, during this period. 1949 - Joined the law firm of Mudge, Stern, Baldwin, and Todd. 1957 - Became partner and served as head of the Litigation Department. Met Richard M. Nixon in 1963 when he joined the law firm, thereafter known as Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander. 1966-1967 - Became involved in Richard M. Nixon's Presidential campaign. 1968 - Returned to law firm after Nixon's election; became its Washington, D.C. representative. May 28, 1969 - Joined the White House staff as a special consultant to the President. Assisted the President on a variety of special projects, with special emphasis in the areas of civil and human rights, Indian affairs, voluntary action and the arts. May 10, 1973 - Designated Acting Counsel to the President following John W. Dean III's resignation. January 4, 1973 - Resigned as Acting Counsel and appointed as Assistant to the President. June 1974 - Departed White House staff.

The office files of Leonard Garment reflect his responsibilities as a Special Consultant to the President concerned with domestic issues in the areas of civil and human rights, native American affairs, plans for the American Revolution Bicentennial celebration, cultural affairs (including both the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities), and voluntary action. In addition, they contain documents related to Garment's role as Acting Counsel to the President during the Watergate crisis following John W. Dean III's resignation in April 1973. Leonard Garment's Staff Member and Office Files (SMOF) is divided into eleven series. The White House Memos File contains a chronological sequence of memoranda concerning the internal operations of Garment's office. The next series, the Chronological File, concerns the external activities of the Nixon administration. This is followed by the Correspondence Files which contain communications between Garment and his friends and associates. The Public Opinion Mail File is subdivided into two subseries and contains petitions and correspondence from the general public. The Speeches/Meetings File is composed of transcripts of speeches made by Leonard Garment before numerous organizations at a variety of events. They also contain rough drafts, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous background information on the organizations; and interviews with The Christian Science Monitor. The Alpha-Subject Files reflect the wide scope of Leonard Garment's involvement in domestic issues with a concentration on civil rights. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title. In a few instances, the folders are not arranged by the first word in the title but by another one. In these cases the letter under which the folder title has been arranged is underlined. For example, "Hasek, Eliska - Presidential Messages" is filed under "P" for Presidential Messages. Words that appear in brackets were not part of the original folder title and have been added to clarify the title, i.e. "Bic[entennial] Parks". The next series, Office of Assistant for Cultural Affairs, is subdivided into six subseries. These are the office files of Carol V. Hanford and Starke Meyer, Garment's assistants in the area of the arts and cultural affairs. Nixon's Political Campaign - 1968 Files contain pre-Presidential and personal documents and has been withdrawn in its entirety. This is followed by the Political Campaign - 1972 File which holds information about the President's 1972 campaign. Documents which relate to Mr. Nixon as a political candidate rather than as President Nixon has been withdrawn in accordance with the guidelines under the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act. The next series, Leonard Garment's Personal File, much of which has been returned, contains private and family matters. A few letters which contain information about the Nixon administration have been retained. The last series is a Publication File. This is a miscellaneous collection of reports, House and Senate Committee hearings and books on a variety of domestic issues. Photographs, sound recordings and museum objects have been transferred from Garment's files to the audio-visual unit and the domestic gift unit. Information related to the Leonard Garment Staff Member and Office Files include the Staff Member and Office Files of Bradley H. Patterson and John D. Ehrlichman; and the following files in the White House Central Files subject files: Arts (AR), Education (ED), Housing (HS), Human Rights (HU), Indian Affairs (IN), Bureau of Indian Affairs (FG 19-9), American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (FG 75), Commission on Civil Rights (FG 90), Indian Claims Commission (FG 142), National Council on Indian Opportunity (FG 173), Cabinet Committee on Voluntary Action (FG 252), and National Center for Voluntary Action (FG 259).