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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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-023
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 235 (NSAM 235) titled, “Large-Scale Scientific or Technological Experiments with Possible Adverse Environmental Effects,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall; Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges; Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Anthony J. Celebrezze; Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg; Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) James E. Webb; Director of the National Science Foundation Alan Tower Waterman; Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy; and Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Jerome B. Wiesner from President John F. Kennedy.