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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-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-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
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17A
Dictation Belt 17A contains four sound recordings from April 2, 1963. Item 17A.1 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of Treasury for Monetary Affairs Robert V. Roosa. They discuss a strategy for the United States and other countries to increase international monetary liquidity. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 17A.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and (William) David Ormsby-Gore, the British ambassador to the United States. In preparation for President Kennedy’s prospective meeting with Harold Wilson, they discuss international military arrangements, a nuclear test ban, and trade. Before the conversation, there is a delay, and Ambassador Ormsby-Gore briefly speaks to an unidentified woman. Item 17A.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Eugene R. Black. They discuss Lucius Clay’s prospective testimony on funding levels for the foreign aid program and the Alliance for Progress program for Latin America. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 17A.4 is part of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. The recording of the conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 17B.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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-007
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 221 (NSAM 221) titled, "U.S. Policy Toward Algeria," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) David Bell, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow, and Director of the Peace Corps R. Sargent Shriver from President John F. Kennedy. Also included are memoranda from Secretary Rusk to President Kennedy discussing a plan of action for Algeria in response to NSAM 211.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-339-025
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 211 (NSAM 211) titled, “U.S. Policy Toward Algeria," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) David Bell, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow, and Director of the Peace Corps Sargent Shriver 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-339-005
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 195 (NSAM 195) titled, “U.S. Policy Toward Indonesia,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) Fowler Hamilton, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, 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-338-017
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 189 (NSAM 189) titled, "Presidential Meeting on Laos, September 28, 1962," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone 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-338-006
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 179 (NSAM 179) titled, “U.S. Policy Toward Indonesia,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) Fowler Hamilton, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, and Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow from President John F. Kennedy. Also included are memoranda to the President discussing a plan of action for Indonesia.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-338-004
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 177 (NSAM 177) titled, “Police Assistant Programs,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) Fowler Hamilton, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone from President John F. Kennedy. Also included is a report titled, “Survey of Training Activities of the A.I.D. Police Assistant Program,” by Arthur M. Thurston, a consultant to the Office of Public Safety division of AID.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-337-009
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 169 (NSAM 169) titled, "Maintaining Momentum of Makarios Visit," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, and Administrator for the Agency for International Development (AID) Fowler Hamilton from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included is a progress report on U.S. economic aid programs in Cyprus.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-336-009
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 153 (NSAM 153) titled, "Policy Statement on Dominican Republic," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, and Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are memoranda regarding the United States plan of action for the Dominican Republic and the status of compliance with NSAM 153.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-336-008
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 152 (NSAM 152) titled, "Panama Canal Policy and Relations with Panama," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, and Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell from President John F. Kennedy. Also included are memoranda on a proposed nuclear excavation program and the Panama Canal policy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-336-002
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 146 (NSAM 146) titled, "Improvement of Police Training and Equipment in Newly Emerging Countries," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of Central Intelligence John McCone, and Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are reports of the Committee on Police Assistance Programs and the Interagency Committee on Police Assistance Programs in Newly Emerging Countries.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-271-001
This folder includes an outline of the general functions and organizational structure of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); a report titled, “Systems Analysis and the Military Estimates Process,” including the improvement of estimates for military capabilities of the Soviet Union; and a memorandum titled, “US Relations with Client States,” discussing countries dependent on U.S. assistance.