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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-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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-27-A
KN08
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.
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.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-049-008
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island announcing John McCone as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In his speech President Kennedy discusses the retirement of former CIA Director Allen Dulles.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-035-050
This folder contains a press copy of President Kennedy's remarks upon announcing John McCone as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.). The press copy includes remarks from former CIA director Allen Dulles and McCone.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-072-005
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Topics include awards for CIA field agents and the appointment of Major General Marshall Sylvester Carter to Deputy Director of the CIA. Of note is the CIA Board of Inquiry's report on Francis Gary Powers.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-072-004
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Topics include the nonaligned nations conference, the resignation of General C.P. Cabell as Deputy Director of the CIA, a memorandum to the President from Clark M. Clifford regarding the five most important areas for reformation within the CIA, and suggested topics for the President when meeting with John McCone, the new Director of the CIA. Of note is a handwritten announcement by the President concerning John McCone and Allen Dulles.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19591
President John F. Kennedy talks with John McCone at the swearing-in ceremony of McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Standing in the background (L-R): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); and United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19590
Swearing-in ceremony of John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (L-R) Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); Mr. McCone; United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren; President John F. Kennedy. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19589
President John F. Kennedy (far right) shakes hands with John McCone, upon his being sworn-in as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (L-R) Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19588
President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with retired Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Allen W. Dulles at the swearing-in ceremony of John McCone as Director of the CIA. Mr. McCone stands in the middle of Mr. Dulles and President Kennedy. Standing in the background (L-R): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19587
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren (on left) swears-in John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). President John F. Kennedy looks on. Standing in the background (L-R): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C. [Blue spot on bottom right is on the original negative.]
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19586
President John F. Kennedy attends the swearing-in ceremony of John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. (L-R) Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); Mr. McCone; United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren; President Kennedy. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C19585
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren (on left) swears-in John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). President John F. Kennedy looks on. Standing in the background are (L-R) Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6917-F
President John F. Kennedy attends the swearing-in ceremony of John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (L-R) Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren; Mr. McCone; President Kennedy. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6917-E
President John F. Kennedy (far right) shakes hands with John McCone, upon his being sworn-in as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren and Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (partially hidden by Justice Warren), are also present. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6917-D
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren (left) swears-in John McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). President John F. Kennedy (far right) and Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson of Washington (far left, in the background) look on. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6917-C
President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with retired Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Allen W. Dulles at the swearing-in ceremony of John McCone as Director of the CIA. Foreground (L-R): Mr. Dulles, Mr. McCone, and President Kennedy. Standing in the background (L-R): Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (mostly hidden by Mr. Dulles); and United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6917-B
President John F. Kennedy talks with John McCone at the swearing-in ceremony of McCone as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Standing in the background (L-R): Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Washington); Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (partially hidden by Mr. McCone); and United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-18954
President John F. Kennedy talks with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Allen Dulles and CIA Director-designate John McCone outside Founders Hall at the Naval War College, United States Naval Base, Newport, Rhode Island. (L-R) Secret Service agent Gerald “Jerry” Behn (wearing sunglasses); Director Dulles; President Kennedy; Naval Aide to the President Tazewell Shepard, Jr.; Director-designate McCone.