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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-340-022
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 234 (NSAM 234) regarding the government in Canada to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg, and Special Representative for Trade Negotiations Governor Christian Herter from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-011
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 225 (NSAM 225) regarding the balance of payments to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) David Bell, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-339-017
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 203 (NSAM 203) titled, "Responsibility for Port Security," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Najeeb Halaby, and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-339-006
This file contains a draft and copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 196 (NSAM 196) titled, “Establishment of an Executive Committee of the National Security Council,” to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-339-004
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 194 (NSAM 194) titled, “Policy Toward Non-Bloc Ships in Cuban Trade,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, Administrator of the Maritime Commission Donald W. Alexander, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) Fowler Hamilton, Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, and President of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charles S. Murphy from Carl Kaysen, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-336-017
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 161 (NSAM 161) titled, "U.S. Internal Security Programs," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Military Representative to the President General Maxwell Taylor, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Najeeb Halaby, and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-012
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 62 (NSAM 62) titled, “Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles, and Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-009
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 59 (NSAM 59) titled, “Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Allen Dulles from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included in this folder is a study on Germany and Berlin in response to NSAM 59.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-329-024
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 49 (NSAM 49) titled, “Possible Presidential Contingency Freedom Fund,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Allen Dulles, and Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.