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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LHH-01
In this interview Hodges discusses the 1956 and 1960 Democratic National Conventions; the 1960 National Governors’ Conference; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the Department of Commerce, including reorganization, agencies within the Department, and relations with other groups; establishing the U.S. Travel Service; the Business Advisory Council; businessmen and government; the economic recession in 1960–1961; the Area Redevelopment Act; the 1962 rise in steel prices; balance of payments; and trips abroad, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TMH-01
In this interview Hesburgh discusses his contact with John F. Kennedy [JFK] before he was elected President; Harris Wofford on JFK’s staff; different members of the Commission on Civil Rights; meeting with President JFK about the Commission’s reports and recommendations; JFK versus Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson on civil rights, respectively; JFK’s political priorities as President and what that meant for civil rights issues during his Administration; tension between the Commission and the Department of Justice; JFK’s characterization of civil rights as a moral problem; and a shift in Commission reports towards the local level, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DH-01
In this interview Henderson discusses working at the United States Embassy in Peru under President Dwight D. Eisenhower; his daily routine and responsibilities as economic counselor; the Point Four Program and Peru; Peruvian elections; James I. Loeb as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru and changes and tensions within the Embassy; the military coup in Peru and the events leading up to it; Haya de la Torre’s self-destructive behavior in the Peruvian presidential election; working at the Embassy in Peru after the coup and after Loeb leaves his position; pressure on the United States from Peruvian authorities; the issue of U.S. non recognition of the military leaders; Canadian and British interests in Peru; John Wesley Jones as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru; problems with military governments and transitions; Henderson’s daily routine and responsibilities as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia; his first few weeks in Bolivia; John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Bolivian President Victor Paz Estenssoro; Henderson’s impressions of JFK; American hostages in Bolivia in late 1963; the military coup in Bolivia and the events leading up to it; the political breakdown of Bolivia; and political and military maneuvering in other Latin American countries, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-02
In this interview Heath discusses how she came to join the Office of Education; the leadership within the Office of Education and different ideas on how it should be run; other agencies within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]; changes in the status and administration of HEW; various pieces of education legislation; the 1954 Supreme Court decision on separate but equal and segregation in schools; international education affairs; the reasons for pushing for general school aid over categorical aid; the 1955 White House conference on education; coalescing all the organizations within HEW into one voice for the Department; working with other Departments; the International Labor Organization and the United Nations; getting political support from the different presidential Administrations; the nationalization of the Suez Canal; the shift to considering social matters in a much broader context; the impact of the Sputnik launch on the Office of Education; and the National Defense Education Act, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-01
In this interview Hart discusses his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia including King Saud’s visits to the United States for medical treatment beginning in 1961; the issue of the Dhahran Airfield and the American military’s use of it; the creation of the Saudi cabinet and political leadership and the transition to Faisal [Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia] in power; the revolution in Yemen and the problems and tensions it caused within Saudi Arabia and between Saudi leaders and other governments; the debate over U.S. recognition of the new Yemen Republic; various meetings of Near East State Department staff from 1961 through 1963; communication between President John F. Kennedy and Faisal; oil matters in the Near East and different oil companies and related groups; Soviet interest in Middle East oil and in Saudi Arabia; and the work of American advisers in Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-SEH-01
In this interview Harris discusses his work as an economic adviser to John F. Kennedy [JFK]; his interactions with JFK both before and after he became President; JFK’s evolving economic policies and how they were influenced over time; the interaction between the Council of Economic Advisers and the Department of the Treasury on various issues; and several different economic programs under President JFK, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WAH-01
In this interview Harriman discusses early interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK], from 1945 to 1956; the 1956 and 1960 Democratic National Conventions; helping get JFK the votes from New York state for the presidential nomination; traveling to Africa in 1960 and the problems with the Department of State’s work there; meeting with JFK and discussing various presidential appointments between JFK’s election and inauguration; and the religious demographics in New York state and how they impacted JFK’s 1960 victory, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JH-01
In this interview Harllee discusses his interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK] during World War II; working with Congressman JFK on selection procedures for Annapolis and West Point, 1947–1948; his impressions of JFK in Congress; working as chairman of Citizens for Kennedy and Johnson [Lyndon B. Johnson] in northern California, 1960; anti-Catholic opposition to JFK in California during the 1960 presidential election; and becoming a member of the Federal Maritime Commission amid changes to the Commission’s powers and functions, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-SA-01
Ailes discusses his appointment as under secretary of the army, his involvement in the 1960 campaign, the political appointments process in the Department of Defense, and issues regarding Panama and the canal.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAC-02
In this interview Carver discusses the transition from Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Administration to John F. Kennedy’s [JFK]Administration in late 1960 through 1961; the process of and issues with staffing the various bureaus in the Department of the Interior; tensions between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture; and working with other federal agencies and interests, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAC-01
In this interview Carver discusses his work under Senator Frank Church of Idaho; his work for John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign as a coordinator in Michigan; and the transition process from Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Administration to JFK’s Administration in late 1960 and early 1961, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-HB-01
Bertsch discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) views on agriculture, the successes of the Farmers Home Administration during JFK’s presidency, and the tone that JFK set in government, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FCB-01
Belen discusses the congressional retirement program, relations between the Kennedy White House and the Postal Service, and the Plymouth mail robbery, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-06
Beaty discusses appointments to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and territorial administrations including Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-05
Beaty discusses the Bureau of Reclamation, other water and power agencies within the Interior Department, and the staff of the Interior Department under Stewart Udall, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-04
Beaty discusses members of the Interior Department staff under Stewart Udall and the influence that outside constituencies had on appointments, particularly within the Bureau of Mines and Bureau of Mineral Resources, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-03
Beaty discusses appointments to the Interior Department and problems Stewart Udall ran into early in his tenure as Secretary, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LDB-01
Battle discusses time as special assistant to the Secretary & Executive Secretary, roles of key administrators in the State Department, relations between the White House and State Department, and the fallout from the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GWB-01
Ball discusses his impressions of John F. Kennedy’s personality and administrative style, Britain’s entrance into the European Economic Community, and the Trade Agreements Act, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RHJB-01
Burkhardt discusses his work with New Jersey governor Robert B. Meyner, John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign and inauguration, and Burkhardt’s work as director of Richard J. Hughes’ 1962 campaign for governor of New Jersey, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MGB-02
Bundy discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] decision making style, relationship with Dean Rusk, issues in the National Security policy, and National Security personnel, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MGB-01
Bundy discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) thinking and decision making style; his relationship with other members of his administration, including his close working relationship with Theodore C. Sorensen; the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion; the Cuban Missile Crisis; Laos and the Vietnam War; the threat of military conflict with the Soviet Union over Berlin; and JFK’s relationship with other heads of state, among other issues.