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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-02
In this interview Heath discusses how she came to join the Office of Education; the leadership within the Office of Education and different ideas on how it should be run; other agencies within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]; changes in the status and administration of HEW; various pieces of education legislation; the 1954 Supreme Court decision on separate but equal and segregation in schools; international education affairs; the reasons for pushing for general school aid over categorical aid; the 1955 White House conference on education; coalescing all the organizations within HEW into one voice for the Department; working with other Departments; the International Labor Organization and the United Nations; getting political support from the different presidential Administrations; the nationalization of the Suez Canal; the shift to considering social matters in a much broader context; the impact of the Sputnik launch on the Office of Education; and the National Defense Education Act, 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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-25-A
ST04
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-02
In this interview Komer discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] personal diplomacy with the United Arab Republic [UAR] through letters; normalizing U.S.-Egypt relations; the Yemen conflict and U.S. interests; negotiating Yemen with M. Harold Macmillan and the attempt to have the United Kingdom recognize the Yemen Republic; dealing with Gamal Abdel Nasser; and difficulties with Saudi Arabia and the UAR, 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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-41
Dictation Belt 41 contains four sound recordings. Item 41.1 is a telephone conversation between unidentified men. They discuss aerial reconnaissance and various proposals involving airplanes or aerial photography, including the sale of an airplane to the United Nations (U.N.). Most of one speaker’s side of the conversation is indistinct. The conversation ends abruptly and machine noise follows. Item 41.2 is a telephone conversation held on October 28, 1962, between President John F. Kennedy and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. They discuss dealings with Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev for ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. [White House Operator?] connects the call at President Kennedy’s request. Item 41.3 is a telephone conversation held on October 28, 1962, between President John F. Kennedy and former President Harry S. Truman. They discuss dealings with Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev for ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. [White House Operator?] places the call at President Kennedy’s request and a delay follows. Item 41.4 is a telephone conversation held on October 28, 1962, between President John F. Kennedy and former President Herbert Hoover. They discuss conditions for ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation.Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-30
Dictation Belt 30 contains two sound recordings from October 22, 1962. Item 30.1 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and John J. McCloy. President Kennedy asks McCloy to return to the United States from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to support the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis at the United Nations (U.N.). The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 30.2 is a recording of three telephone exchanges. The first exchange is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. They discuss ways to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis and consider possible consequences, including nuclear war and actions taken by the Soviet Union in Berlin, Germany. The recording begins in mid-conversation. The second exchange is chatter involving [White House Operators?]. Machine noise follows. The third exchange is a brief fragment of a telephone conversation between Secretary of State Dean Rusk and an unidentified man. They talk about an impending address to the nation on providing an “effective quarantine” against a threat.Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
United States Information Agency Audio Recordings Collection
USIAAU-044
Sound recording of a Russian-language Radio Liberty (RFE/RL, Inc.) broadcast on October 12, 1961, called “War or Peace.” The radio broadcast includes excerpts from President John F. Kennedy's address in New York City before the General Assembly of the United Nations (U.N.) on September 25, 1961; excerpts cover nuclear testing and disarmament, a proposal for a treaty to stop nuclear testing, free elections, security, the crisis in Berlin, Germany, and the role and organization of the U.N. Also included are excerpts from remarks by the Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Andrei Gromyko. Accession MR-1965-143B
Moving image
Television Network Columbia Broadcasting System Collection
TNC-020
CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) motion picture of President John F. Kennedy's address before the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York City. See "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1961: Item 387." President of the General Assembly Mongi Slim, a Representative from Tunisia, introduces the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Venezuela Marcos Falcon Briceno, who addresses the General Assembly, speaking about the recent death of U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold and international relations. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrives at U.N. Headquarters. President Kennedy arrives and is introduced by President Slim. In his speech President Kennedy addresses the recent death of Secretary-General Hammarskjold, presents six proposals for the new Disarmament Program, and provides information on the current crises in Berlin, Germany, Laos, and South Vietnam. At the conclusion of the President's address, there are shots of delegates in the General Assembly, and President Kennedy being escorted out of the hall by President Slim. CBS No. 610925. Copyright restrictions apply.
Textual folder
Burke Marshall Personal Papers
BMPP-035-007
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-081a-008
This file contains a report to President John F. Kennedy from Henry Kissinger, consultant to the National Security Council (NSC), discussing the situation in Berlin including contingency planning, relations between the United States and Soviet Union, and the role of the United Nations.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-064-014
This file contains the text of correspondence between United Nations (UN) Secretary General U Thant, President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-047-005
This file contains correspondence between President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, United Nations Acting Secretary General U Thant, and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. This file contains some Spanish-language material.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-028a-011
This folder contains memoranda and telegrams regarding the crisis in the Congo and attempted reintegration of Katanga, United States operating plan and policy for the Congo, and U.S. military aid to support UNOC (the United Nations Operation in the Congo).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-026-009
This folder contains telegrams from the Department of State and drafts of correspondence between President John F. Kennedy and President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek. Topics include the representation of China (Peoples Republic) in the United Nations (UN), the Republic of China’s opposition to representation of Outer Mongolia in the UN, relations between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, and relations between the United States and the Republic of China.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-305-020
This folder contains a press release and drafts for a speech given by President Kennedy to the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). In his speech the President discusses the recently signed treaty banning atmospheric, space, and underwater nuclear weapons tests (later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty or Limited Test Ban Treaty), and explains that the task of maintaining peace must be shared by all nations. President Kennedy also proposes ways for the United Nations to increase and improve their efforts in developing countries, specifically focusing on health, human rights, agriculture, communication, and the environment. Also included in this folder are telegrams regarding international media reaction to the President's speech.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-305-012
This folder contains a collection of memoranda titled "United States Strategy at the 16th GA," containing background information for a meeting of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Topics include disarmament, Africa, the Soviet Union, the UN in space, foreign affairs, and the UN as an international peacekeeper.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-305-009
This folder contains a press release of President John F. Kennedy's speech before the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. In his speech the President discusses the importance of disarmament and introduces a six-point disarmament program, a proposal to extend the UN charter to outer space, and advocates UN peacekeeping units for all member nations. Also included in this folder are telegrams concerning the international reaction to President Kennedy's speech.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-310-008
This folder contains memoranda regarding the United Nations (UN) and UN General Assembly meetings including UN space activities, financial problems in the UN, and voting procedures. Also included in this folder are policy proposals by Harlan Cleveland, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, on United States strategy at the 16th UN General Assembly meeting and on a wider scale, and an information report by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on a meeting between the Chiefs of Missions to the UN of Soviet Union and Soviet Bloc satellite countries.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-324-003
This folder contains memoranda from Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council (NSC) to Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, regarding disarmament negotiations and arms control. Also included in this folder is a press release containing reports on nuclear test ban negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland; a joint statement by the United States and Soviet Union on disarmament negotiations; and an exchange of letters between John J. McCloy, Advisor to the President on Disarmament, and Soviet Union Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Valerian A. Zorin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-324-002
This folder contains memoranda to and by Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, regarding arms control; resumed disarmament negotiations; a United Nations (UN) draft resolution on disarmament for the Soviet Union; and a report titled, “The Theory and Practice of Deterrence.” Of note are drafts of a memorandum titled, “Stevenson Reply to Zorin on General and Complete Disarmament.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-319a-002
This folder contains memoranda, telegrams, and letters between National Security Council staff member Samuel E. Belk and various persons. Topics include the treatment of Jewish persons in the Soviet Union, a request for President John F. Kennedy to meet with victims of the Hiroshima bombing to discuss nuclear testing, the Congo, peace keeping expenses in the United Nations (UN), and a request by African students in Bulgaria and other Bloc countries for assistance to transfer to Western European schools.