Title: Howard A. Cohen Papers, White House Central Files, 1971-1973

Dates: 1971-1973

Collection Number: 6167021

Creator/Collector: Cohen, Howard A.

Extent: 4 linear feet, 10 linear inches; 11 boxes

Repository: Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

Abstract: Howard A. Cohen served as a White House Staff Assistant to the President in the office of Charles L. Colson. He functioned primarily as youth affairs liaison. This included involvement with such groups as the White House Interns, young athletes, high school and university groups, Boys Clubs, Junior Achievement, and Young Republicans. Cohen’s duties were to make recommendations on speaking invitations to and from the President, maintaining correspondence with various youth groups, and assisting them while they were in Washington, D.C.

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.

Howard A. Cohen Papers, White House Central Files, 1971-1973. 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.

Prior to working at the White House, Howard A. Cohen was Director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Legislation. He had also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation. After leaving Colson's office, he was appointed to the Cost of Living Council as Assistant Director of Special Projects.

This file group documents the activities of Howard A. Cohen as White House Staff Assistant to the President in the office of Charles Colson from 1971-1972. He functioned primarily as youth affairs liaison. This included involvement with such groups as the White House Interns, young athletes, high school and university groups, Boys Clubs, Junior Achievement, and Young Republicans. Drugs, pollution, Vietnam, and volunteerism were just some of the many issues concerning young people. Among Cohen's duties were making recommendations on speaking invitations to and from the President, maintaining correspondence with various youth groups, and assisting them while they were in Washington, D.C. The files consist of brochures, correspondence, drafts, papers, publications, research reports, schedules and statistics related to Cohen's Staff Assistant duties. Topics include Federal internships, suggestions for Presidential appearances, and various youth issues, such as the environment, the military draft, and vocational education. These files also reflect White House concern about the youth vote in 1972, and methods to cultivate the 18-30 year old voters. These attempts included expanding the White House Intern Program, having the interns campaign, and involving Julie N. Eisenhower in various programs and speaking engagements. The Howard A. Cohen files are arranged alphabetically by subject. Prior to archival processing, these folders were arranged in a reverse chronological fashion (last date first), and were left this way to maintain the provenance of the files. Also, the researcher will note that although Cohen left the White House in 1972, these files were active until 1973.