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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MFH-01
Hamilton discusses the development of the Agency for International Development, the Alliance for Progress, and problems related to funding foreign aid programs, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WDC-01
Coerr discusses the Bay of Pigs and its effect on White House-State Department relations, U.S. relations with the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, and the formation of the Alliance of Progress, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JUB-01
Bosch discusses coups and revolutions in Cuba, Brazil, and other Latin American countries; the United States’ relationship with the Dominican Republic; and the Alliance for Progress, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
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-JHC-01
Crimmins discusses the political and economic situation in the Dominican Republic in 1961, John F. Kennedy’s handling of the Dominican Republic situation, and Caribbean policy in general during the Kennedy administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RTW-01
Woodward discusses his involvement with Latin American affairs, specifically noting situations involving the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Colombia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TEM-03
This interview focuses on John F. Kennedy’s trip to Central America to meet with heads of state there and the Kennedy administration’s response to military coups in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, among other issues.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-079
Robert Crisp served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from August 1962 to July 1964 as a rural community development specialist. Prior to joining, he had served in the Army and completed a degree in international relations. Crisp trained both in the Outward Bound camp outside of Arecibo, Puerto Rico (for language and physical and emotional endurance) and at the University of Puerto Rico (for cultural and community development studies). He was assigned to Hato Mayor to work on youth clubs and chicken production but became disenchanted with the work ethic of the community. He asked for a transfer and moved to the town of Constanza, where he dug wells and built an oven and wash basin. During his service, the government of the Dominican Republic was overthrown in a military coup. In the interview, Crisp discusses both positive and strained relations with the Dominicans, but feels that his experience was extremely valuable. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, November 22, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-052
Aaron S. Williams served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from December 1967 to June 1970 on an USAID project with the Ministry of Education. His group received training at San Diego State University, with home stays in Baja California, Mexico. Williams was initially invited to serve in Honduras, but during training he volunteered to fill a shortage in the Dominican Republic. His first assignment was at Monte Plata, providing in-service training to teachers. He extended his service in Santiago, where he helped to develop educational curriculum. Williams married a Dominican woman during his second year of service. He later spent 22 years with USAID, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. His final Foreign Service post was Mission Director to South Africa. In 2009, Williams was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the 18th Director of the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, January 16, 2020. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-042-002
Judy Struve Muncrief served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1965 to 1967 on a community development project. Her training included intensive language, Outward Bound training in Puerto Rico at Camp Crozier and Camp Radley, as well as a stay in a small village. The men in the program were assigned to work with the government ministry of community development while Judy and the other women were assigned to a small village in an unstructured and unsupervised setting. In her two years, Muncrief found and participated in many creative community development and educational activities within her community. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, April 4, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-001
Randolph (Randy) Adams served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1969. He worked on community development projects in El Guanal and other towns, then continued for a third year in the education unit of a newly created agricultural reform agency in addition to training new volunteers. Beginning in the 1980s, Adams resumed his affiliation with the Peace Corps and worked in a contract position as a trainer in Venezuela and Peru, then moved to agency headquarters where he filled various positions, including Director of Evaluation (2006-2011). In total, he held 12 different positions. During his interview, Adams talks about changes in volunteer training practices over the decades, from the university-based training in the U.S. and his "outward bound" training in Puerto Rico, to in-country training and home stays for cultural immersion. He discusses how the Peace Corps was generally trusted by various factions during the post-dictator period, but also mentions the bombing of the agency's offices after an American columnist (Drew Pearson) accused the Peace Corps of being affiliated with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Adams talks about the impact of the Peace Corps, both in terms of "capacity-building" in foreign countries by helping people learn how to solve their own problems, and within the U.S. as returned volunteers share their deeper understanding of the world. He also discusses the important role of host country Peace Corps staff and his belief that the "5-year rule" that limits their terms leads to administrative inefficiencies and a lack of continuity. Adams is on the board of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and concludes the interview with comments about the organization's evolving role and activities. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 15, 2018. 2 digital files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-027
Courtney Columbus served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from February 2012 to June 2015 on a community environmental development project. She served an additional year as a regional volunteer leader. As an undergraduate, Columbus had completed a study abroad program in Ecuador. Her Peace Corps community-based training included Spanish, Dominican culture and history, and specific environmental technical elements. She served in an agricultural community that had previously had volunteers. Columbus worked with a women's group and youth environment groups on a variety of projects, including introducing gas stoves to replace firewood and providing presentations on environmental issues. She also worked on a secondary activity to help Dominican-born Haitians obtain their birth certificates. Eventually, the Peace Corps environmental program was eliminated in the Dominican Republic. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph (Randy) Adams, September 19, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-024
Sarayu Adeni served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2010 to 2012 in a youth, family, and community development program. She was motivated to join the Peace Corps in part as a response to President Obama's call to action, in part to respect her Indian parents' immigrant experience, and because of the poor job market for newly graduated print journalism majors. She talks fondly of the warm welcome her group of volunteers got from Peace Corps volunteers and staff already in-country. She discusses her close relationship with the three host families with whom she lived, especially the host family in Carlos Pinto where she was stationed. Adeni also discusses the Peace Corps GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) program; the HIV prevention, sports, and other projects in which she was involved; and her partnership with the San Diego Padres organization and its outreach coordinator in the area. Interviewed and recorded by Kelli Haynes, June 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.