Richard Nixon

I agree with Dr. C. Richard Arena that it is disgraceful that the oral history tapes on the early years of Richard Nixon compiled by him for Whittier College during the years 1971 to 1973 have been kept from public scrutiny for over 20 years (letter, May 30). While “red tape” at the National Archives Annex in Laguna Niguel may well be partially culpable for this predicament, the material’s inaccessibility is also due to the late President’s lamentable penchant for confounding public with private property.

Fortunately, there exists a cache of some 200 oral histories (transcribed, edited, and indexed) on the pre-political years of Nixon that is available to all researchers at the Oral History Program at Cal State Fullerton. Transacted simultaneously with the Arena tapes, this collection was assembled by CSUF students under the direction of Harry Jeffrey, a history department colleague, and processed by CETA workers.

Unlike the “official” Whittier project, the Fullerton one was achieved without the Nixon Administration’s funding and endorsement. During the past two decades, it has been extensively used by a veritable parade of Nixon scholars, while its priceless contents have reached the general public via a 1978 OHP publication, “The Young Nixon: An Oral Inquiry.”

ARTHUR A. HANSEN

Director, Oral History Program

Cal State Fullerton