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Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-26A
Dictation Belt 26A contains six sound recordings. Item 26A.1 is a telephone conversation held on August 16, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. In preparation for Secretary Rusk’s press conference, they discuss the prospect of answering a question about France and a treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT). The recording begins in mid-conversation, and machine noise follows the conversation. Item 26A.1A is a telephone conversation between Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln and a White House Operator. The operator brings Lincoln up to date on President John F. Kennedy’s recent telephone calls. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 26A.2 is a telephone conversation held on August 16, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. They discuss the possibility of appointing United States Ambassador to Costa Rica Raymond L. Telles to a new position. They also discuss the prospects of political problems in California, where Latin American groups could resent a perceived favoritism in appointments given to Texans. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 26A.3 is a telephone conversation held on August 19, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss foreign aid given to countries that engage in merchant shipping to Cuba. They also discuss foreign aid for India and negotiations with the Soviet Union on nuclear test inspections. They also discuss American troops in Europe and German officials’ views on the matter. Item 26A.4 is a brief telephone exchange between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Attorney General Kennedy asks to visit President Kennedy to review an unidentified matter. Item 26A.5 is a brief fragment of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man. The recording is noisy and ends abruptly. The full conversation (including this fragment) is recorded on Dictation Belt 26B.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-116-003
Sound recording of three meeting. First is a meeting held on October 23, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Presidential Advisor on Foreign Affairs Dean Acheson. For most of the meeting, Acheson discusses the political climate in Europe, especially in Germany. President Kennedy speaks mainly near the end of the meeting.Next are two brief meetings on civil rights held on October 24, 1963. These consecutive meetings concern the timing of civil rights legislation and discussions with leaders in the House of Representatives on the bill and amendments. Participants include President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations Lawrence F. O’Brien, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives John McCormack (Massachusetts), Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, Representative Emanuel Celler (New York), Representative William McCulloch (Ohio), Representative Carl Albert (Oklahoma), Representative Charles Halleck (Indiana), and Representative Leslie Arends (Illinois). Please note that these meetings were opened in 1984 as part of the Kennedy Library’s Civil Rights tape opening. The recording of the second meeting ends abruptly and continues on Tape 117/A53.
This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 116/A52, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding this one. See Related Records to access Tape 116/A52 in its entirety or the end of this recording on Tape 117/A53.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-114-A50b
Sound recording of a meeting on Vietnam held on October 5, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) General Maxwell Taylor, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs W. Averell Harriman, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Secretary of Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) David Bell, and Senior Member of the National Security Council (NSC) Michael Forrestal. They discuss the possible impact on the government of South Vietnam if the United States cuts off commodities and also discuss the Vietnamese oppression of Buddhists. They also discuss General Paul D. Harkins's meeting with President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem and Colonel Le Quang Tung, the role of United States Ambassador to Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, conditions needed for the resumption of aid, General Harkins’s role regarding the military, proposed testimony before a Congressional committee, and the timing of the reduction of troops and advisors. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 114/A50, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 114/A50 in its entirety.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-113-005
Sound recording of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting held on September 30, 1963, concerning wheat sales to the Soviet Union. Discussed are Canadian-Soviet wheat negotiations and the possible sale of U.S. wheat to the Soviet Union and political pitfalls of such an action. The first eight minutes of the meeting are recorded and then the recording skips to the end of the meeting when President John F. Kennedy asks a smaller group of several staff members to stay to continue the discussion. The discussion with the smaller group continues on Tape 114/A49. The larger group includes President Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Under Secretary of the Treasury Henry Fowler, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, Under Secretary of Agriculture Charles Murphy, Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges, Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) General Marshall Carter, Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) General Curtis LeMay, Director of the Office of Emergency Planning Edward McDermott, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, Special Counsel to the President Theodore Sorensen, Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Relations Lawrence F. O’Brien, Presidential Advisor Kenneth O’Donnell, Department of Justice official Norbert Schlei, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Jack Behrman, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze, Chief United States Trade Negotiator Christian Herter, Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley Smith. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 113, which contains additional sound recording(s) following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 113 in its entirety or the remainder of this recording on Tape 114/A49.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-090-003
Sound recording of a meeting held on June 1, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze; Commissioner of Education at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Francis Keppel; General Counsel at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Alanson W. Willcox; Assistant Secretary (for Legislation) at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Wilbur J. Cohen; Assistant Secretary, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare James Quigley; Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice Burke Marshall; Civil Rights and Political Advisor and Deputy Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Louis Martin; Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz; Special Assistant to the President Lawrence F. O’Brien; Special Counsel to the President Theodore Sorensen; and Assistant Special Counsel to the President Lee C. White. This meeting concerns civil rights issues, including the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Equal Accommodations Bill, the public school education bill, the timing of sending these bills to Congress, the legal steps of the Attorney General, and what information to include in the President’s message to the country. After the meeting ends, the rest of the recording is blank. This meeting was previously opened in the "Civil Rights 1963" release in the 1980s. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 90, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 90 in its entirety.