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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.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-186
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of May 22, 1963 (News Conference 56). During this press conference President Kennedy answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including the controversial integration at the University of Alabama, the 1963 Wheat Referendum, the 1964 Presidential election, troops in Vietnam, foreign aid, and the progress of the nuclear test ban proposal.
Textual folder
Richard W. Reuter Personal Papers
RWRPP-011-006
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0007-024-003
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate legislation introduced in Congress to begin restoring U.S. relations and diplomatic ties with Vietnam, noting it has been 13 years since the end of the Vietnam War. The episode aired on Friday, June 17, 1988, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-060-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of May 22, 1963 (News Conference 56). During this press conference President Kennedy answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including the controversial integration at the University of Alabama, the 1963 Wheat Referendum, troops in Vietnam, foreign aid, and the progress of the nuclear test ban proposal. Background materials in this folder include briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Of note is a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to the President regarding the procedures and policies for the selection and assignment of personnel within the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Collection
AWPP
Papers 1958-1968. Lawyer. Attorney, Department of Justice (1963-64); legislative assistant and speechwriter to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (1964-68). Correspondence, memorandums, speeches, reports, and press releases.