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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OWH-01
In this interview Hill discusses working on John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the negative reaction to Lyndon B. Johnson as the vice-presidential candidate in the South and among African-Americans; difficulties for the Southern operations of the JFK campaign; getting the African-American vote in the South for JFK in the 1960 election; working with and around different civil rights groups and leaders in the 1960 campaign; other campaign staff members at the federal and state levels; attempts to solve the problem of discrimination in housing during JFK’s Administration; the Federal Housing Administration, including staff and directives and projects in the South; the President’s Committee on Equal Opportunities in Housing; and the 1962 executive order in housing, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OH-01
In this interview Harris discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] as a member of the House of Representatives; the Arkansas delegation to the 1956 Democratic National Convention and the vote for the vice presidential candidate; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; the results of the 1960 presidential election in Arkansas; the proposed changes for U.S. regulatory agencies after 1960; and various legislative proposals and battles during JFK’s Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-NEH-02
In this interview Halaby discusses different civil rights issues throughout John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Administration, including the process of and problems with desegregating airport terminals in accordance with Boynton v. Virginia (1960); the 1961 hijacking of a plane, referred to as the El Paso incident; constructing and dedicating the new John Foster Dulles Airport; federal transportation policy; different White House staff members and procedures; and running the Federal Aviation Administration, including problems with certain political figures, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-07
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss the very limited proposal for voting rights legislation before the demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama; how civil rights groups did not always understand politics or how to get things through Congress; John F. Kennedy [JFK] trying to explain political difficulties to civil rights leaders; meetings on civil rights legislation and the strategy for getting the votes for a civil rights bill in both houses of Congress; RFK’s disagreements with Lyndon B. Johnson on civil rights legislation; RFK, the Justice Department, and the reapportionment cases; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin and the subsequent attack on RFK in the press; JFK’s role in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963; speeches at the March on Washington; George Wallace, Alabama state troopers, and the investigation into the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, September, 1963; and JFK, James J. Delaney, and the issue of aid to church schools, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-06
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss civil rights legislation, and how it was innovative and yet inevitable; meetings between RFK and businessmen on civil rights legislation; RFK’s unintentional intimidation of the businessmen based on his history with Senate hearings on labor; attempting to put leadership in the community (North and South) to deal with the problem of segregation and other racial discrimination; hostile treatment of RFK in Alabama; working with the NAACP on school desegregation; the desegregation of the University of Alabama, and the question of if and how to bring in troops to help; and using the incident at the University of Alabama as a political stepping stone, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-05
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss how John F. Kennedy [JFK] and RFK grew increasingly more involved with and concerned about civil rights; getting Martin Luther King out of jail during JFK’s 1960 campaign; civil rights advisers during JFK’s 1960 campaign; RFK becoming Attorney General amidst the civil rights battle and the transitional period in the Department of Justice [DOJ]; how Marshall got his position in the DOJ; the struggle over school desegregation; the New Orleans school crisis of February 1961; the Freedom Riders and violence against them; sending federal marshals to Alabama; trying to find a bus driver to get the Freedom Riders out of Birmingham, Alabama; criticism of RFK’s response to the Freedom Riders; how Freedom Riders were arrested and threatened in Mississippi; African-American voting rights in the South and DOJ authority; difficulties with judges; Supreme Court appointments; the FBI and organized crime; reorganization of the DOJ; RFK’s interactions with the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover after JFK’s death; Hoover’s allegations about JFK and the Kennedy family; the alleged FBI wiretapping of officials; JFK’s opinion of Hoover; FBI press releases; connecting the civil rights movement with communism to discredit it; FBI involvement in civil rights matters; issues with the FBI as having civilian control of a police force; JFK’s communication with King and other civil rights leaders; civil rights legislation; the issue of equal employment; the Civil Rights Commission; and violence against African Americans in Birmingham in the spring of 1963, 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-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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-03
In this interview Conway discusses getting Martin Luther King out of jail in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963; Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] view of King and his actions; the March on Washington; working with RFK and the Justice Department on civil rights legislation; Walter Reuther; Conway’s decision to leave John F. Kennedy’s Administration and working on legislation from the outside; the Community Action Program; working with Senator RFK during the Johnson Administration; Senator RFK’s involvement in the labor movement; Jesse M. Unruh, RFK, and the 1968 California presidential primary; Department of Urban Affairs legislation; getting accelerated public works legislation through Congress; Housing and Home Finance Agency staff members; and the attempt to pick up congressional seats in 1962 and 1964, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-02
In this interview Conway discusses working with John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the negative reaction to the choice of Lyndon B. Johnson for JFK’s running mate; labor leadership and JFK’s campaign; unions and the religious issue during the 1960 election; discussing presidential appointments with JFK after the election; Conway’s role in JFK’s Administration; the Housing and Home Finance Agency, legislation, and working with Congress; accelerated public works, the Department of Commerce, and problems with the extent of presidential powers; Walter Reuther and his relationship with JFK; confrontations between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; working with RFK on civil rights marches and their legislative demands; and interactions with RFK from 1964 through 1968, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-18B
Dictation Belt 18B contains three sound recordings. The recording of the conversation in item 18B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 18A.7. This is a sound recording of part of a telephone conversation held on May 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Representative Edith S. Green of Oregon. They complete their discussion about legislative strategy on an education bill and dealing with the National Education Association of the United States. Item 18B.2 is a telephone conversation held on May 8, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. They discuss a strategy for the State Department to deal with an unidentified issue at the United Nations (U.N.). The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 18B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss administering the State Department and making staff changes at the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They also discuss conferring with Carl Kaysen on a plan to assist Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique’s effort to gain independence. The beginning of the recording is garbled. Machine noise follows the conversation.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-DLH-02
In this interview Hackett discusses working in the Justice Department under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy [RFK], specifically on the issues of juvenile delinquency and poverty; getting the Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act passed and processing the related grant applications; traveling with RFK to impoverished areas; experiencing friction with R. Sargent Shriver, Jr., as head of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty; and RFK’s approach to poverty programs, among other issues.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-010
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include summaries of Senate legislative activities, overviews of legislative items recommended by the President, and reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies. Memoranda from Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation appear throughout. Topics include education, foreign aid, tax reform, and the national debt. The folder was originally titled "11/63 Foreign aid."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-009
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include a press release concerning agriculture, summaries of Senate legislative activities, overviews of legislative items recommended by the President, reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies, and a letter from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to Secretary of State Dean Rush concerning American exports to the Soviet Union. Memoranda from Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation are found throughout. Topics include education, agriculture, tax reform, civil rights, foreign aid, and veterans' pensions. The folder was originally titled "10/63 Military pay, Veterans pensions, Wheat, CIA."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-008
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include summaries of Senate legislative activities, overviews of legislative items recommended by the President, reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies, and memoranda from Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien, and Kermit Gordon, Director of the Bureau of the Budget, concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation. Topics include health, education, tax reform, social services, and the nuclear test ban treaty. The folder was originally titled "9/63 Child welfare, Budget."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-006
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include summaries of Senate legislative activities, overviews of legislative items recommended by the President, reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies, and memoranda from Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation. Topics include foreign aid, education, and the national debt. The folder was originally titled "8/2/63-8/12/63 None."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-005
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include a summary of Senate legislative activities, reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies, and memoranda from Deputy Special Counsel to the President Myer Feldman, Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien. Topics include tax reform, civil rights, foreign aid, and labor disputes in the railroad industry. The folder was originally titled "7/63 Railroad strikes, Taxation, Civil rights, Foreign aid."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-003
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies and memoranda from Montana Senator Mike Mansfield, Deputy Special Counsel to the President Myer Feldman, Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien. Topics include education, mass transit, and mental health, but the majority of materials concerns pending civil rights legislation. The folder was originally titled "6/63 Civil rights."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-002
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include a report of Senate activities, a report on economic policies during the 1958 and 1960 recessions, statistical data on federal expenditures, and reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies. Memoranda from Montana Senator Mike Mansfield, Deputy Special Counsel to the President Myer Feldman, Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation appear throughout. Topics include feed grain, civil rights, education, and the national debt. The folder was originally titled "5/63 Economy, cotton."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-053-001
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning legislative activities and efforts to enact the Kennedy Administration's legislative program. Items include a press release concerning campaign finance legislation, copies of a proposed campaign finance report bill, a report on financing the United Nations, reports on the legislative efforts of individual government agencies, and memoranda from Deputy Special Counsel to the President Myer Feldman, Special Counsel and speechwriter Theodore Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Jerome B. Wiesner, and Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations and Personnel Lawrence "Larry" O'Brien concerning individual congressmen and pieces of legislation. Topics include mass transit, political campaigns, youth employment, and salaries for federal employees. The folder was originally titled "4/63 Federal salaries, Political campaign financing, Republican committee."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-068a-003
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Agency for International Development (AID). Topics include a progress report for the California-Chile project under the Alliance for Progress, as well as a status report for additional state and country participation programs; and background information and advice for the President for a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee concerning the Foreign Aid bill.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-063-006
This folder contains memoranda between the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and Myer "Mike" Feldman, Deputy Special Counsel to the President. Topics include legislation, a definition of right-wing groups, an international air transport policy agreement, and an award for entertainer Eddie Cantor.