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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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6618-A
President John F. Kennedy speaks prior to signing Public Law 87-41, Inter-American Social and Economic Cooperation Program and the Chilean Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Program Act. Others, L-R: Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) and Ambassador of Uruguay, Carlos A. Clulow; unidentified man in back; Secretary General of the OAS, Dr. José Mora; Chairman of the Council of the OAS, Dr. Fernando Lobo; Congressman Silvio O. Conte of Massachusetts (in back); Congressman Joseph M. Montoya (New Mexico); Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn (Texas); Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (Minnesota); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Congressman Armistead I. Selden, Jr. (Alabama); Congressman Gerald R. Ford, Jr., of Michigan (in shadow); Congressman William H. Natcher of Kentucky (in back); Congressman Clarence Cannon (Missouri); Senator Wayne Morse (Oregon); Congressman John J. Rooney (New York); former President Harry S. Truman; Senator George D. Aiken (Vermont); two unidentified men. Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6450-C
Signing of the Instrument of Ratification for US Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). President John F. Kennedy sits at desk. Standing (L-R): Senator John J. Sparkman (Alabama); Senator Everett Dirksen (Illinois); Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Senator Alexander Wiley (Wisconsin); Secretary of State, Dean Rusk. Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.