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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ECH-01
This interview focuses on Hutchinson’s appointment to the Kennedy Administration, the Agency for International Development, and new attitudes towards Africa, among other things.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROAH-03
This interview focuses on U.S. economic policy in regards to Cuba during the Kennedy Admin., reactions of U.S. citizens to the Cuban policy, and the United States' economic investments in Cuba at the time of Fidel Castro's takeover, among other things.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROAH-02
This interview focuses on relations with Cuba under the Kennedy Administration, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban exile community, and the Cold War, among other things.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROAH-01
This interview focuses on Bay of Pigs prisoners, exchanges with Fidel Castro for the prisoners, and effects of the missile crisis on prisoner release, among other things.
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-CHAH-02
In this interview Horsky discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] and the aesthetic development of the National Capital Area; JFK’s reaction to the January 1963 issue of the Architectural Forum magazine; new appointments to the Commission on Fine Arts; the development along the shores of the Potomac River; the problem of mass transportation within the District of Columbia; the National Capital Transportation Agency; the development of highways within the District; civil rights marches in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1963; the attempt to better public higher education in the District; and D.C.’s high crime rates, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CHAH-01
In this interview Horsky discusses how the position of Adviser to the President for National Capital Affairs was created; problems within the District of Columbia; how Horsky came to the Adviser position and how he developed it as he went along; advising President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on children and juvenile delinquency in the District; the November 1962 Thanksgiving disturbances at the District of Columbia Stadium; the process of getting the District to participate in the President’s Commission on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime; Washington Action for Youth; the problem of District finance; and JFK and the congressional District Committee, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WH-01
In this interview Holness discusses her job at the White House; interactions with and impressions of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis; the Kennedy family moving into the White House; traveling with presidential families; interacting with the Kennedy children; and learning of President Kennedy’s death, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAPH-01
In this interview Hirsh discusses working at the White House as the French instructor for the Kennedy children; taking Caroline Kennedy on outings; interactions with President JFK; JFK’s secret French studies; the Kennedys’ pride in their children; difficulties for Caroline after JFK’s death; JFK’s effect on Hirsh; and JFK as a French student and his Boston accent, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DPH-01
In this written statement Highley discusses when he first met John F. Kennedy [JFK] as a client at his barbershop in 1947; JFK’s courteousness; Highley’s impression of JFK; and Highley’s reaction to JFK’s assassination.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BBH-01
In this interview Hickenlooper discusses various meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on foreign relations; Soviet and American nuclear testing; the nuclear test ban treaty; the Bay of Pigs invasion; Laos and Vietnam; the Punta del Este Conference in 1962; the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Hickenlooper's 1962 reelection campaign; traveling with JFK to Costa Rica; the 1961 Berlin crisis; JFK's congressional relations; and social occasions at the Kennedy White House, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JHH-01
In this interview Herling discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] as part of the House Labor Committee headed by Andrew Jacobs; JFK’s understanding of labor issues; Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and JFK as part of the McClellan Committee [U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management]; RFK’s dinner with Edward Cheyfitz and James Hoffa and the attempted infiltration of the McClellan Committee; McClellan Committee hearings; George Meany testifying before the subcommittee on labor affairs of the Senate Labor and Education Committee and JFK’s reaction; labor unions’ support for JFK in the 1960 presidential campaign; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Lyndon B. Johnson asking for labor support right before the 1960 Convention; the negative reaction to Johnson as the vice-presidential candidate from labor delegates; JFK and the Landum-Griffin Bill; and covering JFK’s 1960 campaign, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AUG-01
In this interview Heckscher discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis as an “inspiration to cultural life”; Heckscher’s involvement in government affairs prior to becoming a Special Consultant to the President; the invitation of 168 artists to JFK’s 1961 inauguration and its impact; how Heckscher came to work for the White House; discussing Heckscher’s position with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; the reasoning behind the creation of the new position of Special Consultant on the Arts and the favorable public reaction to it; enlarging the definition of “The Arts,” especially regarding architecture; Arthur Goldberg; the establishment of the Freedom Medal; creating the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts through executive order; personal impressions of JFK; setting up Heckscher’s office and staff; how Heckscher was meant to advise JFK and what his position entailed; the Cultural Center [Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]; conversations with JFK; Mrs. Kennedy’s expansive work for the arts; the arts as part of national policy; working with other White House staff members and other Departments; designing special postage stamps; what the President’s role in the arts should be; and the Fine Arts Commission, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JPH-01
In this interview Healey discusses meeting the Kennedy brothers at Harvard; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] campaign for the House of Representatives in 1946; Healey’s political experience in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Michael J. Neville; Massachusetts politics in the postwar period; the “age factor” in the 1946 campaign; the development of JFK’s public speaking ability; engaging with the academic community in Cambridge during the 1946 campaign; Kennedy family members helping out on JFK’s campaigns; JFK’s worries after his election to his first term in Congress and his work once the term began; JFK on the House Labor Committee and the Hartley Bill in the House; the petition for the pardon of James Michael Curley and issues for JFK; Paul A. Dever; JFK’s 1952 campaign for Senate; Henry Cabot Lodge; speechwriting during the 1952 campaign; and Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and JFK’s campaigns, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MLC-01
Coit discusses her personal relationship with John F. Kennedy (JFK), her biography of Bernard M. Baruch, and her analysis of JFK’s handwriting, among other issues.Content warning: this interview contains descriptions of sexual harassment, assault, and/or intimidation. It is available here in its original form to facilitate research.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CC-01
Camp discusses John F. Kennedy's (JFK) Senate and presidential campaign staff operations at the Esso Building in Washington, D.C. in 1959 and 1960, the card file they kept of potential Kennedy supporters nationwide, the 1960 Democratic primary campaign, and JFK’s public relations operation at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JEB-03
Byrne discusses press relations at the General Services Administration; construction of government buildings, including the Executive Office Building in Lafayette Park; and scandals during and criticisms of the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WGB-01
Brown discusses key political and military figures and events in Laos during his tenure as ambassador; instances where his opinion differed from the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.; U.S. aid and military involvement in Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MVB-02
Boylan discusses the requests for assistance from individuals and groups that would come to John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) Senate office in Boston, hiring African Americans for JFK’s Senate staff, and the members of JFK’s Boston staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MVB-01
Boylan discusses transcribing dictated correspondence and speeches for John F. Kennedy (JFK), interactions with JFK’s constituents, and JFK’s final campaign trip though New England in 1960, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ENL-01
In this interview Lincoln discusses how she started working for John F. Kennedy [JFK] when he was in Congress; moving JFK from the House of Representatives to the Senate; JFK’s Senate office organization; Senator JFK’s relationship with the Massachusetts press; Senator JFK’s speeches and decisions; and Senator JFK’s travels between Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JRL-01
In this interview Lewis discusses President John F. Kennedy on civil rights; Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] as Attorney General and civil rights; working on RFK’s 1968 presidential campaign; RFK’s assassination, 1968; J. Edgar Hoover and FBI investigations of the civil rights movement; discrimination, hatred, and violence; and the march from Selma to Montgomery and “Bloody Sunday,” 1965, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-06
In this interview Komer discusses U.S. aid to India and Pakistan and some problems involved with it, including the question of long-term U.S. aid and a shift in focus from Pakistan to India; problems with the Agency for International Development; oil and U.S. policy; U.S. involvement in the Congo; Komer’s meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] and how Komer briefed him; the relations among JFK, Dean Rusk, John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai E. Stevenson, and McGeorge Bundy; JFK’s interest in India and Pakistan and his attempt at a mediation between the two on Kashmir; and JFK and Algeria and Morocco, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WIEK-01
This written statement focuses on William E. Knox’s trips to the Soviet Union and Knox’s meeting with Chairman Krushchev in 1962, among other issues.