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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-MJH-01
In this interview Hillenbrand discusses President John F. Kennedy [JFK] entering office amid the Berlin crisis; working as the Director of the Office of German Affairs with JFK; the Berlin Task Force and the Ambassadorial Group; JFK's attitude towards the German problem and German reactions to the Kennedy Administration; the State Department and Germany; the 1961 Vienna talks with Nikita S. Khrushchev; the erection of the Berlin Wall and the crisis it generated; the Kennedy Administration's reaction and response to the Berlin Wall; talks with Russia over Berlin and the Wall; the press "leaks crisis" on the Germany problem; JFK's working style and approach to problems, according to Hillenbrand; the impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Berlin talks; JFK's German policy and relationship with German leaders; and what JFK accomplished related to Germany, among other issues.
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-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-LWH-01
In this interview, Lord Harlech discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] early opinions on disarmament; dealings with Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Soviet Union; the Cuban crisis; issues with selling and testing American missiles; how JFK’s relationship with British Prime Minister M. Harold Macmillan developed over time and how they worked together on specific issues; how JFK’s interest in politics and foreign affairs developed; difficulties with France over their nuclear program in 1962; JFK’s skills and character; JFK’s different circles of friends; and JFK and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ approaches to life in the public eye, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-NEH-02
In this interview Halaby discusses different civil rights issues throughout John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Administration, including the process of and problems with desegregating airport terminals in accordance with Boynton v. Virginia (1960); the 1961 hijacking of a plane, referred to as the El Paso incident; constructing and dedicating the new John Foster Dulles Airport; federal transportation policy; different White House staff members and procedures; and running the Federal Aviation Administration, including problems with certain political figures, among other issues.
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-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.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-02
In this interview Conway discusses working with John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the negative reaction to the choice of Lyndon B. Johnson for JFK’s running mate; labor leadership and JFK’s campaign; unions and the religious issue during the 1960 election; discussing presidential appointments with JFK after the election; Conway’s role in JFK’s Administration; the Housing and Home Finance Agency, legislation, and working with Congress; accelerated public works, the Department of Commerce, and problems with the extent of presidential powers; Walter Reuther and his relationship with JFK; confrontations between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; working with RFK on civil rights marches and their legislative demands; and interactions with RFK from 1964 through 1968, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JEN-01
In this interview he discusses the Cuban prisoners release project, including working with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; why the Cubans agreed to the prisoners’ release; trips to Cuba and interactions with Fidel Castro; starting as the administrative assistant to the Attorney General; James B. Donovan; Castro’s view of the United States; problems with the prisoners’ release; and the significance of this project in regards to John F. Kennedy’s Administration as a whole, among other issues.
Sound recording
United States Information Agency Audio Recordings Collection
USIAAU-007
Sound recording of a taped program with United States Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Adlai Stevenson, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow, and Arnold Michaelis. John MacVane of ABC (American Broadcasting Company) introduces the program. Ambasador Stevenson describes the program as an effort to inform people of what's being done "in diplomacy, in our foreign policy, and especially at the United Nations," and announces that the subject of this episode is communication. They discuss the USIA's efforts and challenges with print and broadcast communication abroad and in relation to the Soviet Union and China. They also discuss the challenges of diplomacy due to language differences. Other topics include accusations from Cuba that the United States interfered with the internal affairs of the Dominican Republic, the wide ranging involvement of the United States in international affairs, and issues in Latin American affairs. Accession MR-1972-096-007.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-AR-01
This interview covers preparations for the March on Washington in 1963, the transition from the Eisenhower to Kennedy administration, and incidents in the Justice Department under Robert F. Kennedy, among other topics.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-090-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of the Treasury. Topics include the embargo on Cuba, a compensatory financing proposal, the establishment of a narcotics working group, a meeting between the President and the Advisory Committee on Banking to the Comptroller of the Currency. Also included in this folder is a summary of a conversation regarding economic issues between the President and Senior Consultant to the Secretary of the Treasury Seymour E. Harris.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-319-009
This folder contains memoranda regarding medium wave broadcasting to Cuba, Pan American Airways flights to Cuba, guidelines for Operation Mongoose Phase II, and a National Intelligence Estimate report (NIE-85-2-62) analyzing the situation in Cuba and the potential resistance to Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro. Also included in this folder are materials concerning a potential increase in Course B, a part of Phase II, to increase pressure in the areas of covert activities, politics and economics, psychological tactics, and military.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-319-008
This folder contains a memorandum from Brigadier General Edward Lansdale regarding a review of Operation Mongoose (also known as the Cuba Project) upon the completion of Phase I. Also included in this folder are reports of Operation Mongoose Phase I objectives and accomplishments for the Department of State, Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United States Information Agency (USIA).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-319-001
This folder contains memoranda regarding the Special Group for Counter-Insurgency (CI).Topics include establishment of the group, foreign police training programs, the adequacy of communications systems in Vietnam, and a subversive insurgency training program for United States government officials. Also included in this folder are materials regarding the political situation in Laos and intelligence activities in Cuba.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-339-027
This file contains drafts and a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 213 (NSAM 213) titled, “Interdepartmental Organization for Cuban Affairs," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk 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-328-011
This folder contains a memorandum to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, in reference to National Security Action Memoranda number 10 (NSAM 10) discussing coordination between departments and agencies to develop a policy for Cuba.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-065-008
This folder contains memoranda between the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President. Topics include a conversation between Fidel Castro and New York Times journalist Tad Szulc, academic exchange programs and resources, and possible changes in the office of Under Secretary of State. Of note is a USIA (United States Information Agency) paper titled "Justice and the Mistreatment of Political Prisoners in Castro's Cuba."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-091-006
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). Materials consist of reports from the USIA Research and Reference Service regarding surveys on various issues, including disarmament, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the Soviet Union, the United States, the common market, and Cuba.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-072-002
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Materials include CIA Bulletins regarding international issues with Laos, the Congo, the Soviet Union, and Libya; the situation with France and Algeria; and probable reactions to possible U.S. courses of action against the Castro regime. Of note is a memorandum from Special Assistant to the President Arthur M. Schlesinger concerning a review and possible reorganization of the CIA.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-062-016
This folder contains memoranda between the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include Cuba, Berlin, China, and administration changes within the Department of State. Of note is a handwritten resignation letter from Bundy. Also included in this folder is a copy of a speech given by Bundy to the Economic Club of Chicago titled "Policy for the Western Alliance-Berlin and After."