Nixon years, 1969-1974

Top level Anglo-American discussions and briefing papers dominate this project. There is also a wealth of material on social conditions, domestic reforms, trade, culture and the environment. FCO and British Embassy analyses of US policy decisions, White House staff appointments and UN discussions, views on Europe, the deployment of F111 aircraft on US airbases in the UK and Nixon's battles over funding from Congress, visits to the US by both Wilson and Heath, files on the internal situation in the US and domestic reform all feature strongly. There are detailed assessments of all the changes brought about by the Presidential Elections of 1972. These files allow scholars and researchers the opportunity to assess, from a British, European and Commonwealth perspective, Nixon's handling of numerous Cold War crises, his administration's notable achievements, as well as his increasingly controversial activities and unorthodox use of executive powers culminating in Watergate and resignation. Many files focus on foreign policy issues, but there is also significant coverage of domestic policy initiatives and public opinion in the United States.