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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DH-01
In this interview Henderson discusses working at the United States Embassy in Peru under President Dwight D. Eisenhower; his daily routine and responsibilities as economic counselor; the Point Four Program and Peru; Peruvian elections; James I. Loeb as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru and changes and tensions within the Embassy; the military coup in Peru and the events leading up to it; Haya de la Torre’s self-destructive behavior in the Peruvian presidential election; working at the Embassy in Peru after the coup and after Loeb leaves his position; pressure on the United States from Peruvian authorities; the issue of U.S. non recognition of the military leaders; Canadian and British interests in Peru; John Wesley Jones as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru; problems with military governments and transitions; Henderson’s daily routine and responsibilities as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia; his first few weeks in Bolivia; John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Bolivian President Victor Paz Estenssoro; Henderson’s impressions of JFK; American hostages in Bolivia in late 1963; the military coup in Bolivia and the events leading up to it; the political breakdown of Bolivia; and political and military maneuvering in other Latin American countries, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-02
In this interview Heath discusses how she came to join the Office of Education; the leadership within the Office of Education and different ideas on how it should be run; other agencies within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]; changes in the status and administration of HEW; various pieces of education legislation; the 1954 Supreme Court decision on separate but equal and segregation in schools; international education affairs; the reasons for pushing for general school aid over categorical aid; the 1955 White House conference on education; coalescing all the organizations within HEW into one voice for the Department; working with other Departments; the International Labor Organization and the United Nations; getting political support from the different presidential Administrations; the nationalization of the Suez Canal; the shift to considering social matters in a much broader context; the impact of the Sputnik launch on the Office of Education; and the National Defense Education Act, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-01
In this interview Hart discusses his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia including King Saud’s visits to the United States for medical treatment beginning in 1961; the issue of the Dhahran Airfield and the American military’s use of it; the creation of the Saudi cabinet and political leadership and the transition to Faisal [Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia] in power; the revolution in Yemen and the problems and tensions it caused within Saudi Arabia and between Saudi leaders and other governments; the debate over U.S. recognition of the new Yemen Republic; various meetings of Near East State Department staff from 1961 through 1963; communication between President John F. Kennedy and Faisal; oil matters in the Near East and different oil companies and related groups; Soviet interest in Middle East oil and in Saudi Arabia; and the work of American advisers in Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WAH-01
In this interview Harriman discusses early interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK], from 1945 to 1956; the 1956 and 1960 Democratic National Conventions; helping get JFK the votes from New York state for the presidential nomination; traveling to Africa in 1960 and the problems with the Department of State’s work there; meeting with JFK and discussing various presidential appointments between JFK’s election and inauguration; and the religious demographics in New York state and how they impacted JFK’s 1960 victory, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-12-A
AR10, ST04, KN07
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WBB-01
Benton discusses his memories of John F. Kennedy (JFK) as a senator, his impressions of JFK’s political and intellectual skill, and problems that Benton encountered with U.S. political appointments to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CBB-01
Bowles discusses his role as foreign policy advisor during the presidential campaign; staffing the State Department; relationship with Dean Rusk and John F. Kennedy; foreign policy towards developing nations; and leaving his position as Under Secretary of State, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WMB-01
Blair discusses Adlai E. Stevenson’s relationship to John F. Kennedy in 1956 and 1960, the debate over which position Stevenson would be appointed to in the Kennedy administration, and Blair’s appointment as ambassador to Denmark, 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-WEK-01
This interview focuses on Knight’s role on the Italian Desk and the Opening to the Left issue, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
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.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0008-005-013
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate the qualifications of President Bush's nominees to U.S. ambassadorships to foreign nations, and the practice of rewarding campaign contributors with ambassadorships. Senator Simpson comments on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's appointment of Senator Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., as United States Ambassador to Great Britain. The episode aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System; the air date is undetermined, but probably early August 1989.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JCT-01
In this interview, he discusses Chester Bowles’ political style, the unconventional selections of ambassadorial positions, and the nation’s role in the world, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FTP-01
This interview focuses on Adlai Stevenson’s appointment as Ambassador to the United Nations, United Nations negotiations that occurred during the Kennedy administration, and the relationship of the United States mission to the White House.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DDR-06
This interview focuses on the internal operations of the Foreign Service, the appointments of ambassadors during the Kennedy administration, and staffing the State Department, among other topics.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-107-002
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks at a dinner honoring Matthew McCloskey upon his appointment as Ambassador to Ireland held in the Grand Ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-044-001
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks at the swearing-in ceremonies for deLesseps Morrison (former Mayor of New Orleans) as the United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States and Robert F. Woodward as the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. In his speech the President thanks the honorees for accepting their new roles and responsibilities in order to accomplish the goals of the Alliance for Progress.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Pierre Salinger
JFKWHSFPS-069-007