Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
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-BAJ-01
In this interview Jacobson discusses meeting John F. Kennedy [JFK] at Harvard University in 1936 and interactions with him at the school; visiting the Cape with the Kennedy family, 1937–1938; JFK’s plans for after his Harvard graduation; JFK’s 1946 congressional campaign; flying back with JFK from the 1960 Democratic National Convention; interactions with the Kennedy boys at Harvard; social interactions with JFK; visiting JFK in Washington, D.C.; JFK’s distrust of Fidel Castro; and Jacobson’s long relationship with JFK and the Kennedy family, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DJR-01
In this interview Roberts discusses working with John F. Kennedy [JFK] on New England issues when he was a congressman and a senator; JFK and the American textile industry; JFK and other New England governors; the significance of New England solidarity at national political conventions; Adlai E. Stevenson and the 1956 Democratic National Convention; JFK’s bid for the vice-presidential nomination at the 1956 Convention and arguments against him; Stevenson’s reaction to JFK as a vice-presidential possibility; contact with JFK and his staff after 1956; dealing with the religious issue when gathering support for JFK; meeting at Hyannis Port in October 1959; JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; JFK’s reception in Rhode Island; interactions with President JFK and working with his Administration; and JFK’s political legacy, among other issues.