Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ronald Louis Ziegler (1939-2003) span the years 1956-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1969 to 1974. The papers highlight Ziegler's duties as White House press secretary and as an assistant to President Richard M. Nixon, 1969 -1974, and his service as an assistant to Nixon after his resignation from the presidency, 1974-1975. The collection also chronicles Ziegler's political activities with Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign and various California state elections during the 1960s. There are only a few items relating to Ziegler's work as a trade association administrator and none relating to his early career in advertising. The papers are organized into the following series: Political File, Richard M. Nixon Administration, Richard M. Nixon Transition File, Speeches and Writings File, Miscellany, Restricted, Classified, and Top Secret. The collection contains some Russian and Chinese foreign language material.
The Political File, 1959-1974, pertains primarily to Ziegler's activities as a volunteer and press aid for election campaigns in California from 1961 to 1966 and as a press aide to Nixon during the presidential campaign of 1968. The bulk of the material consists of briefing files and press materials relating to Nixon's unsuccessful campaign for governor of California in 1962 and his successful election campaign as president of the United States in 1968. A small number of files also relate to Nixon's re-election campaign in 1972. Also represented are papers chronicling Ziegler's endeavors as press director for the California Republican Central Committee from 1961 to 1962 and his work for Robert Finch's campaign for lieutenant governor of California in 1966.
The Richard M. Nixon Administration series, 1961-1974, comprising almost eighty percent of the collection, documents Ziegler's service as White House press secretary and as an adviser to President Nixon. The series is divided into three subseries: Correspondence, Subject File, and Watergate File. An alphabetical file in the Correspondence consists chiefly of memoranda between Ziegler and White House staff, the president, and members of the Nixon family. Topics include press matters and press coverage, the Watergate Affair, the impeachment of the president, the Vietnam War, and a few items of Ziegler's personal correspondence. Drafts of speeches, talking points, and wire reports are sometimes interfiled in the alphabetical files, which consist mainly of photocopies rather than original documents. A chronological file in the Correspondence subseries contains Ziegler's outgoing correspondence to government officials, members of the press, and the public. Many of these files consist of Ziegler's response to requests from the public and much of it is routine.
The Subject File, 1961-1974, makes up the bulk of the Nixon Administration series and documents some of the key issues of the Nixon administration such as the opening of relations with China in 1972, diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and the Vietnam War. The focus is on the press, particularly transcripts of press briefings and press releases. There are extensive files pertaining to presidential travel, particularly China and the USSR, reflecting Ziegler's role as press liaison. His notes, especially for trips to Europe, 1969, and to Belgium and the USSR, 1974, include details of the president's meetings with foreign leaders and record some of the issues discussed. Files pertaining to the Vietnam War treat Ziegler's role as an observer at peace talks in Paris and contain material about prisoners of war and other issues related to that conflict. Other topics relate to the transition from the Lyndon B. Johnson administration to the Nixon administration and to Nixon's efforts in his second term to reorganize the government and his White House staff. Also included are brief notes by Ziegler, primarily for 1973, pertaining chiefly to press matters, meetings, Watergate, and the Vietnam War.
The Watergate File, 1969-1974, consists of material about the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex, the cover-up of the burglary, illegal wiretapping, and other unlawful activities that came under investigation during the Nixon administration. The investigation of these incidents resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of the president's key advisers and led ultimately to Nixon's resignation as president on August 9, 1974. The Watergate subseries contains the bulk of material relating to the Watergate Affair. Letters and documents containing references to the scandal, however, are also filed in the Correspondence and Subject File subseries.
The legal files comprise the largest segment of material in the Watergate subseries, documenting Nixon's dealings with various parties from federal courts, congressional committees, and special prosecutors. Much of the litigation treated in the files concerns legal clashes over requests for White House documents and tape recordings of oval office conversations that led to Nixon resigning rather than face impeachment for obstructing justice and other charges. Files labeled “tapes of presidential conversations” include chronologies, summaries and excerpts of these recordings, and material relating to tampering issues and missing tapes.
Also in the Watergate File are a set of chronologies consisting of calendars, weekly and monthly summaries of events, notes, meetings, press briefings and releases, staff memoranda, press clippings, and other material that chronicle the activities of the president, Ziegler, and other White House staff. These chronologies and the press briefing files provide a time sequence of some of the key events and dates of Watergate. Files worthy of special mention are the day folders, from July 19 to 29, 1974. The day folders contain news summaries, press clippings, and notes by Ziegler highlighting Watergate and Nixon's final days inside the White House. Also featured in this subseries are files pertaining to impeachment, Nixon's resignation, and extensive press clippings about the scandal.
The Richard Nixon Transition File, 1974-1975, relates to Ziegler's tenure, approximately six months, as an assistant to Nixon in San Clemente, California, after Nixon resigned as president. The bulk of the transition files are day folders comprised chiefly of wire reports, news summaries, and press clippings. Topics featured include foreign affairs, domestic policy, amnesty for Nixon, Watergate litigation, and other legal matters. Occasionally a few of Ziegler's notes are filed in the day folders, but most are filed under notes in the subject files of this series. The transition files also include Nixon's statement, press clippings, and other material relating to his pardon by Gerald R. Ford.
The Speeches and Writings File, 1969-1997, consists primarily of speeches that Ziegler gave during his tenure with the Nixon administration. Also included are materials documenting a speech by Ziegler in China in July 1997, commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Nixon's trip in 1972.
The Miscellany series, 1956-1999, contains family papers and school clippings about Ziegler and a post-government file. The family papers consist mostly of clippings about Ziegler's wife, Nancy, and clippings about Ziegler's high school football achievements. The family papers include a few cards and notes from Ziegler's wife and daughters. The post-government file, dating from 1975 to 1999, relates mainly to Ziegler's continued interest in politics and the Nixons. The files contain clippings, funeral programs, and other material relating to the deaths of Pat Nixon and Richard M. Nixon. Additional files about the former president and his administration include photocopies of his daily diaries from the National Archives and Records Administration from 1973 to 1974, press clippings, and files relating to the Vietnam War and Watergate. Ziegler's work as a trade association administrator is reflected throughout the post-government files in correspondence and subject files such as calendars, biographical material, China, and press clippings.
Correspondents include Patrick J. Buchanan, Dwight L. Chapin, Ken W. Clawson, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Franklin R. Gannon, David R. Gergen, Alexander Meigs Haig, H. R. Haldeman, Bruce A. Kehrli, Richard M. Nixon, David N. Parker, Diane Sawyer, Gerald Lee Warren, and J. Bruce Whelihan.