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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DH-01
In this interview Henderson discusses working at the United States Embassy in Peru under President Dwight D. Eisenhower; his daily routine and responsibilities as economic counselor; the Point Four Program and Peru; Peruvian elections; James I. Loeb as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru and changes and tensions within the Embassy; the military coup in Peru and the events leading up to it; Haya de la Torre’s self-destructive behavior in the Peruvian presidential election; working at the Embassy in Peru after the coup and after Loeb leaves his position; pressure on the United States from Peruvian authorities; the issue of U.S. non recognition of the military leaders; Canadian and British interests in Peru; John Wesley Jones as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru; problems with military governments and transitions; Henderson’s daily routine and responsibilities as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia; his first few weeks in Bolivia; John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Bolivian President Victor Paz Estenssoro; Henderson’s impressions of JFK; American hostages in Bolivia in late 1963; the military coup in Bolivia and the events leading up to it; the political breakdown of Bolivia; and political and military maneuvering in other Latin American countries, among other issues.
Collection
DOHPP
Economist, diplomat, government official. Economic officer and Foreign Service officer, Mexico (1942-1943), Chile (1943), Bolivia (1943-1947), Department of Commerce (1947-1950), Switzerland (1950-1956); Assistant Director, Economic Defense Administration, Department of State (1956-1959); Economic Counselor, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d'affaires, U.S. Embassy, Peru (1960-1963); Ambassador to Bolivia (1963-1968). Official, personal and family correspondence with speech files, clippings, scrapbooks, and subject files pertaining to Foreign Service work and life abroad. Also papers of wife Dorothy documenting life of a Foreign Service family abroad.