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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-052
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of October 11, 1961 (News Conference 17). President Kennedy begins the press conference by announcing that General Maxwell D. Taylor will be undertaking a trip to Saigon to meet officials regarding the recent attacks on the people of South Vietnam. He then discusses his appointment of a panel to study the problem of mental retardation and recommend a program of action. Following the announcements the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including the situation in Berlin and the construction of the Berlin wall.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-002
This folder contains memoranda to and from Arthur Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President, on various foreign affairs issues. Also included in this folder are articles regarding former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Morgenthau Plan to control Germany after World War II; and a letter to Schlesinger from journalist and author Theodore H. White discussing White’s trip to Asia with comments on Communist China, Vietnam, and the U.S. Department of State.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-055-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the President's News Conference of October 11, 1961 (News Conference 17). President Kennedy began the press conference by announcing that General Maxwell D. Taylor would be undertaking a trip to Saigon to meet officials regarding the recent attacks on the people of South Vietnam. He then discussed his appointment of a panel to study the problem of mental retardation and recommend a program of action. Following the announcements the President answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including the situation in Berlin and the construction of the Berlin wall. Background materials in this folder consist of draft press conference announcements. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-405-014
This folder contains memoranda to President John F. Kennedy on various topics including East Berlin, atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, Vietnam, and a meeting between President Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Bermuda.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-065-009
This folder contains memoranda between the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President. Topics include a letter relaying a conversation between Schlesinger and the Counselor of the Soviet Embassy Mr. Kornienko, Berlin, the John Birch Society, Vietnam, and a proposal to organize the democratic parties of the world. Of note are letters and newspaper clippings concerning Army indoctrination abuses and a related seminar in San Antonio, Texas.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-119-002
Sound recording of a meeting held on November 2, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Under Secretary of State George Ball, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, and Under Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman. They discuss the delivery of wheat on American ships to the Soviet Union, alternatives, and related discussions with American unions. Other topics of discussion include a review of the coup situation in Vietnam; Berlin, Germany; plans for a visit by President of France Charles DeGaulle; and the allocation of resources by the Soviet Union. Also Under Secretary Ball talks to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz on the telephone. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 119/A55, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 119/A55 in its entirety.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-118-003
Sound recording of a meeting about Vietnam held on October 29, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Far East Division William Colby, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, Military Advisor to the President General Maxwell Taylor, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Director of the CIA John McCone, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss an intelligence report on Vietnam, the orientation of various Vietnamese forces, a 1960 coup attempt, messages to United States staff in Vietnam, whether or not United States Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge should return to the United States, the chain of command, and convoy procedures for Berlin, Germany. Seven segments of the recording totaling 27 seconds have been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 13526. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 118/A54, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 118/A54 in its entirety.
Collection
MKPLRLPP
Papers 1961-1979. Co-authors of The Kennedy Crises (1983). Notes, correspondence, interviews, audiotapes, research materials, draft manuscript.