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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.
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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-081a-008
This file contains a report to President John F. Kennedy from Henry Kissinger, consultant to the National Security Council (NSC), discussing the situation in Berlin including contingency planning, relations between the United States and Soviet Union, and the role of the United Nations.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-064-014
This file contains the text of correspondence between United Nations (UN) Secretary General U Thant, President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-047-005
This file contains correspondence between President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, United Nations Acting Secretary General U Thant, and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. This file contains some Spanish-language material.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Walter W. Heller
JFKWHSFWWH-MF31-009
This folder contains material compiled by Walter W. Heller concerning disarmament. Items include a report of the Panel on Economic Impacts of Disarmament that was submitted to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; an article titled "Arms Control Will Not Cut Defense Cost" by T. C. Schelling, reprinted from Harvard Business Review; a paper titled "Economic Adjustments to Disarmament" by Murray L. Weidenbaum; the United States' to the Secretariat of the United Nations on "The Economic and Social Consequences of Disarmament"; a booklet titled "The Economics of Disarmament," published by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Future; and a Council of Economic Advisers staff paper by Richard Nelson on "The Impact of Disarmament on Research and Development."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-324-003
This folder contains memoranda from Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council (NSC) to Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, regarding disarmament negotiations and arms control. Also included in this folder is a press release containing reports on nuclear test ban negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland; a joint statement by the United States and Soviet Union on disarmament negotiations; and an exchange of letters between John J. McCloy, Advisor to the President on Disarmament, and Soviet Union Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Valerian A. Zorin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-324-002
This folder contains memoranda to and by Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, regarding arms control; resumed disarmament negotiations; a United Nations (UN) draft resolution on disarmament for the Soviet Union; and a report titled, “The Theory and Practice of Deterrence.” Of note are drafts of a memorandum titled, “Stevenson Reply to Zorin on General and Complete Disarmament.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-001
This folder contains memoranda to and from Arthur Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President, on various topics including an amendment to Executive Orders 10501 and 10816 for the automatic declassification of documents, the appointment of Rajeshwar Dayal as the United Nations (UN) Special Representative to Congo and its effect on United States and India relations, and a proposal to counteract the Soviet Union propaganda phrase of “peaceful coexistence.” Also included in this folder is a memorandum from Schlesinger to President John F. Kennedy titled, “How to Organize an Intelligence Service: Implications of the British Example.”
Collection
SEBPP
Papers 1957-1971. Government official. Member, National Security Council staff (1959-65); staff member, Bureau of International Affairs, Department of State (1965-66). Chronological file, name file, subject file; includes materials on the White House Conference on International Cooperation and a proposed National Academy of Foreign Affairs.