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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FTH-01
This interview focuses on John F. Kennedy’s relationship with the United States Catholic Conference, Catholicism and aid to education under the Kennedy Administration, and programs such as the Peace Corps, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LWH-01
In this interview, Lord Harlech discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] early opinions on disarmament; dealings with Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Soviet Union; the Cuban crisis; issues with selling and testing American missiles; how JFK’s relationship with British Prime Minister M. Harold Macmillan developed over time and how they worked together on specific issues; how JFK’s interest in politics and foreign affairs developed; difficulties with France over their nuclear program in 1962; JFK’s skills and character; JFK’s different circles of friends; and JFK and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ approaches to life in the public eye, among other issues.
Textual folder
United States General Services Administration Records
USGSA-MF17-004
This folder contains material pertaining to the Cargo Preference Act and the Inter-Agency Committee on Cargo Preference, likely from the files of Robert B. Conrad and Malcolm D. Miller of the Transportation and Communications Service. Items include a report titled "Free-World Shipping in the Cuban Trade" by the U.S. Maritime Administration; a booklet titled "The Carrier's Role in Export Control" by the U.S. Department of Commerce (March 1957); a presentation by the American Maritime Association regarding emergency planning and the oil import program; and a list of "Tankers and Owners in Communist Oil Export Trade as of March 29, 1962."
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-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
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-03B-1
Sound recording of two exchanges. The recording of the first exchange begins on Dictation Belt 3A.8. This is a sound recording of part of a conversation held on September 10, 1962, between President John F. Kennedy and approximately six unidentified people, possibly including Reverend Billy (William Franklin) Graham and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. They continue their discussion about guerillas in Colombia.This is not a telephone conversation, but rather a conversation recorded when the telephone was left off the hook. It is a very poor quality recording.
The second item is a sound recording of a telephone conversation held on September 13, 1962, between President John F. Kennedy, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Representative Thomas E. (“Doc”) Morgan of Pennsylvania, and Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia. They discuss a congressional resolution on Cuba.
Transcript included.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-144
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of November 20, 1962 (News Conference 45). The President begins the press conference with an update on the Cuban Missile Crisis, stating that Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev would withdraw IL-28 bomber planes in Cuba within 30 days and that the naval quarantine of Cuba was lifted as a result of the withdrawal. The President then announces the signing of Executive Order 11063, which prevented discrimination in housing facilities owned or operated by the federal government, and the creation of the Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing. The President also announces advances in northeast India by the Chinese, and the deployment of a team headed by Assistant Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman to determine India’s military assistance needs. Following these statements the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including Cuba, information policies between the press and the government, Executive Order 11063, and the current situation between India and China.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-122
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of August 22, 1962 (News Conference 41). The President begins the press conference with a statement concerning the historic rendezvous under the Arctic ice pack between two nuclear powered submarines, the USS Skate and the USS Sea Dragon. He then states the importance of five measures Congress was to act upon within the next seven days: the farm bill that extends the current feed grain program an additional year and repealed the 1958 Benson feed grain approach; the drug bill; a constitutional amendment to outlaw the poll tax in federal elections; the trade expansion bill; and the United Nations (UN) bond bill. Following these statements the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including domestic and foreign affairs, the space program, the economy, the delay in the approval of Thurgood Marshall to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and an increase in supplies and technicians into Cuba from the Soviet Union.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-167
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of March 6, 1963 (News Conference 51). The President begins the press conference urging Congress to support three new bills: the Youth Employment Opportunities bill; a medical bill that provided funding for medical schools and students; and a bill to combat mental illness and retardation. Following this announcement the President answers questions on a variety of topics including proposed tax cut legislation; the nuclear test ban treaty; progress of Soviet troop withdrawal from Cuba; the Chamizal zone in El Paso, Texas; and the employment status of the four Americans who died during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Walter W. Heller
JFKWHSFWWH-MF41-041
This folder contains material pertaining to a request for comments from the Council of Economic Advisers on a Department of Labor proposed report on H.R. 6501, to provide extended unemployment compensation to workers who lost their jobs by reason of the embargo on the importation of raw materials of Cuban origin. It also includes a copy of a similar bill, H.R. 8021.
Textual folder
Papers of Robert F. Kennedy. Attorney General Papers
RFKAG-202-007
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-059-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of March 6, 1963 (News Conference 51). The President began the press conference urging Congress to support three new bills: the Youth Employment Opportunities bill; a medical bill that provided funding for medical schools and students; and a bill to combat mental illness and retardation. Following this announcement the President answered questions on a variety of topics including proposed tax cut legislation; the nuclear test ban treaty; progress of Soviet troop withdrawal from Cuba; the Chamizal zone in El Paso, Texas; and the employment status of the four Americans who died during the Bay of Pigs invasion. Background materials in this folder include briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and newspaper clippings. Of note is a briefing memorandum to the Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy from Executive Secretary of the Department of State William H. Brubeck regarding the forthcoming visit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Dirk Stikker to the White House. 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. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-058-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of November 20, 1962 (News Conference 45). The President began the press conference with an update on the Cuban Missile Crisis, stating that Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev would withdraw IL-28 bomber planes in Cuba within 30 days and that the naval quarantine of Cuba was lifted as a result of the withdrawal. The President then announced the signing of Executive Order 11063, which prevented discrimination in housing facilities owned or operated by the federal government, and the creation of the Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing. The President also announced advances in northeast India by the Chinese, and the deployment of a team headed by Assistant Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman to determine India's military assistance needs. Following these statements the President answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including Cuba, information policies between the press and the government, Executive Order 11063, and the current situation between India and China. Background materials in this folder include briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security, newspaper clippings, memorandums, and special reports from the Department of State and the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Topics include the resumption of the Geneva Conference on November 26, 1962, the situation in Cuba, and a possible future Soviet satellite tracking station in Australia. 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. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-057-006
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the President's News Conference of August 22, 1962 (News Conference 41). The President began the press conference with a statement concerning the historic rendezvous under the Arctic ice pack between two nuclear powered submarines, the USS Skate and the USS Sea Dragon. He then stated the importance of five measures Congress was to act upon within the next seven days: the farm bill that extended the current feed grain program an additional year and repealed the 1958 Benson feed grain approach; the drug bill; a constitutional amendment to outlaw the poll tax in federal elections; the trade expansion bill; and the United Nations (UN) bond bill. Following these statements the President answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including domestic and foreign affairs, the space program, the economy, the delay in the approval of Thurgood Marshall to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and an increase in supplies and technicians into Cuba from the Soviet Union. Background materials in this folder include weekly department and agency reports summarizing activities and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs. Of note is a memorandum to the President from the Director of the United States Information Agency Edward R. Murrow concerning the alleged suspension of high altitude nuclear tests by the United States at the request of the Soviet Union, and the status of the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Collection
BLBPP
Papers 1955-1966. Businessman, New Hampshire political figure, government official. Mayor of Laconia, N.H. (1955-1959); Kennedy campaign worker (1960); Deputy Administrator and Administrator, General Services Administration (1961-1964); Deputy Director, Office of Economic Opportunity (1965-1968). Correspondence, memorandums, appointment books, schedules, and speech files relating to New Hampshire politics, the 1960 presidential campaign, the General Services Administration, and the Office of Economic Opportunity.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960
JFKCAMP1960-1058-018
This folder contains speeches and a transcript of a press conference given by Senator John F. Kennedy in Maine discussing the Passamaquoddy Bay project; religious issues; legislation; industry; the economy; and relations with Latin America, Cuba, and the Organization of American States (OAS).