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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAAB-02
Burke discusses John F. Kennedy’s personality and political skill, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAAB-01
Burke discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) congressional and presidential campaigns, and JFK’s time in Congress, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GMB-01
Burke discusses the staff and operations of John F. Kennedy’s Boston office during his years in Congress, his health, and his personality and temperament, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BLB-02
In this interview Boutin discusses New Hampshire politics; presidential elections and Democratic National Conventions from 1956 through 1968; various staff members of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidential campaign from 1956 to 1960; JFK’s presidential campaign in several different states; the 1960 presidential primary in New Hampshire; working as the Administrator of the General Services Administration [GSA], including public works projects, federal buildings and sites, reorganization of GSA structure and personnel, and working with Congress and other federal agencies on GSA matters; the National Archives and Records Administration and presidential libraries; the Democratic National Committee during JFK’s Administration; Boutin’s memories of immediately following JFK’s assassination in 1963; tensions between Robert F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and “Johnson people” versus “Kennedy people,” among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KMB-03
Birkhead discusses specific agriculture legislation during the Kennedy administration, including among others the 1962 farm bill and 1963 wheat referendum, and Southern members of Congress, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ENL-02
In this interview Lincoln discusses her shorthand notes from her time as John F. Kennedy's [JFK] secretary; JFK’s House and Senate files; JFK’s staff; recording telephone calls and meetings in the White House; Lincoln’s filing system in the White House; which materials the JFK Library should collect; and White House staff members Robert F. Kennedy brought in, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ENL-01
In this interview Lincoln discusses how she started working for John F. Kennedy [JFK] when he was in Congress; moving JFK from the House of Representatives to the Senate; JFK’s Senate office organization; Senator JFK’s relationship with the Massachusetts press; Senator JFK’s speeches and decisions; and Senator JFK’s travels between Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MAL-01
In this interview Lasker discusses her work lobbying for different health and medical programs such as a presidential commission on strokes; her encounters with John F. Kennedy [JFK], both in the White House and socially; her friendship with Adlai E. Stevenson and his experience during the 1960 presidential campaigns; and her work on the National Cultural Center Board which she suggested be renamed as a memorial for JFK, 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-EDAG-01
In this interview Gullion discusses his first impressions of and early relationship with Congressman John F. Kennedy [JFK]; JFK’s 1951 visit to Indochina and its affect on his stance on foreign policy; the State Department’s issues with JFK throughout his career; and JFK as a Senator, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-HWG-01
Graham discusses meeting John F. Kennedy in 1951 in Germany and impressions of him, 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-09
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] decision to enter politics right after WWII; JFK’s campaign for the House of Representatives and Kennedy family and supporters’ roles in it; JFK as a campaigner, strengths and weaknesses; traveling around the world with JFK in 1951 and meeting foreign leaders; JFK’s interest in foreign affairs while in Congress; JFK’s 1952 Senate campaign; the Massachusetts Democratic Party; Adlai E. Stevenson; Paul A. Dever; the tea parties for JFK’s campaigns; the organization of JFK’s 1952 campaign; and the 1956 Democratic National Convention and the question of the vice-presidential nomination, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-07
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss the very limited proposal for voting rights legislation before the demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama; how civil rights groups did not always understand politics or how to get things through Congress; John F. Kennedy [JFK] trying to explain political difficulties to civil rights leaders; meetings on civil rights legislation and the strategy for getting the votes for a civil rights bill in both houses of Congress; RFK’s disagreements with Lyndon B. Johnson on civil rights legislation; RFK, the Justice Department, and the reapportionment cases; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin and the subsequent attack on RFK in the press; JFK’s role in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963; speeches at the March on Washington; George Wallace, Alabama state troopers, and the investigation into the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, September, 1963; and JFK, James J. Delaney, and the issue of aid to church schools, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-06
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss civil rights legislation, and how it was innovative and yet inevitable; meetings between RFK and businessmen on civil rights legislation; RFK’s unintentional intimidation of the businessmen based on his history with Senate hearings on labor; attempting to put leadership in the community (North and South) to deal with the problem of segregation and other racial discrimination; hostile treatment of RFK in Alabama; working with the NAACP on school desegregation; the desegregation of the University of Alabama, and the question of if and how to bring in troops to help; and using the incident at the University of Alabama as a political stepping stone, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-05
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss how John F. Kennedy [JFK] and RFK grew increasingly more involved with and concerned about civil rights; getting Martin Luther King out of jail during JFK’s 1960 campaign; civil rights advisers during JFK’s 1960 campaign; RFK becoming Attorney General amidst the civil rights battle and the transitional period in the Department of Justice [DOJ]; how Marshall got his position in the DOJ; the struggle over school desegregation; the New Orleans school crisis of February 1961; the Freedom Riders and violence against them; sending federal marshals to Alabama; trying to find a bus driver to get the Freedom Riders out of Birmingham, Alabama; criticism of RFK’s response to the Freedom Riders; how Freedom Riders were arrested and threatened in Mississippi; African-American voting rights in the South and DOJ authority; difficulties with judges; Supreme Court appointments; the FBI and organized crime; reorganization of the DOJ; RFK’s interactions with the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover after JFK’s death; Hoover’s allegations about JFK and the Kennedy family; the alleged FBI wiretapping of officials; JFK’s opinion of Hoover; FBI press releases; connecting the civil rights movement with communism to discredit it; FBI involvement in civil rights matters; issues with the FBI as having civilian control of a police force; JFK’s communication with King and other civil rights leaders; civil rights legislation; the issue of equal employment; the Civil Rights Commission; and violence against African Americans in Birmingham in the spring of 1963, 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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKJ-01
In this interview Javits discusses first meeting John F. Kennedy [JFK] in 1946; working with JFK in the House of Representatives on housing and veterans issues and in the Senate on different pieces of legislation; the confrontation between Javits and JFK in the Senate on medicare; social interactions with Senator JFK; JFK’s occasional “offbeat position;” the 1960 presidential election; and JFK’s sense of humor, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BAJ-01
In this interview Jacobson discusses meeting John F. Kennedy [JFK] at Harvard University in 1936 and interactions with him at the school; visiting the Cape with the Kennedy family, 1937–1938; JFK’s plans for after his Harvard graduation; JFK’s 1946 congressional campaign; flying back with JFK from the 1960 Democratic National Convention; interactions with the Kennedy boys at Harvard; social interactions with JFK; visiting JFK in Washington, D.C.; JFK’s distrust of Fidel Castro; and Jacobson’s long relationship with JFK and the Kennedy family, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CUD-01
Daly discusses his role as a congressional liaison, staffing issues, congressional reform, civil rights, and President John F. Kennedy’s personal friendships, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-01
In this interview Martin discusses joining John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign and his role, including working with other campaign staff members; JFK and civil rights; using the issue of civil rights in the campaign; African-American leadership and the Democratic Party in the 1960 campaign; getting civil rights leaders involved in the 1960 campaign; and the National Conference on Constitutional Rights, among other issues.