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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.
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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-214-007
This folder contains telegrams, memoranda, and draft reports on United States policies and objectives towards Europe. Topics include European unity, communism, France and French President Charles de Gaulle, the European Economic Community (EEC), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and shared nuclear responsibility.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-214-006
This folder contains memoranda for the record of European Policy Review group meetings. Topics include United States military forces in Europe and within NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the European Economic Community (EEC) and France, a proposed multilateral nuclear force (MLF) within NATO, relations between France and Germany, and French President Charles de Gaulle.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-214-003
This folder contains papers by Policy Review (PR) study groups regarding United States policy towards Europe; an appraisal of British, French, and West German strategic views; and the impact of an Executive Committee within NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on the policies of French President Charles de Gaulle. Also included in this folder is a paper by the PR Military Committee titled, “Strategic Problems and Alternatives,” discussing the Cold War, collective defense in Europe, and a European nuclear weapons force.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-072-004
This file contains Department of State telegrams regarding France including participation in a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) multilateral nuclear force, an assassination plot against French President Charles de Gaulle, French territories, and criticism by the French media of the United States agricultural policy and Trade Expansion Act.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-213-002
This folder contains memoranda and reports regarding European countries. Topics include United States policies in Europe; relations between France and the Soviet Union; French President Charles de Gaulle and resistance to Great Britain’s entry into the Common Market (also known as the European Economic Community); and a cost estimate of the U.S. partnership with Europe in the areas of military expenditures, foreign aid, and trade. Also included in this folder are memoranda by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) titled, “Franco-Soviet Discussions and Negotiations,” and United States Information Agency (USIA) Research and Reference Service reports titled, “Reactions to European Situation.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-025
This folder contains a draft of a letter from President John F. Kennedy to President of France Charles de Gaulle regarding test ban treaty negotiations between the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain. Also included in this folder is a summary of a meeting discussing the test ban treaty, revisions to the letter to President de Gaulle, and potential French reaction to the treaty.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-006
This folder contains summaries of meetings with President John F. Kennedy. Topics include Laos and a failed SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) initiative, development of a civil defense policy, and United States policy towards the Dominican Republic following the assassination of Generalissimo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina. Also included in this folder is a summary of President Kennedy’s trip to Europe and his conversations with President of France Charles de Gaulle and Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-226-006
This folder contains memoranda, telegrams, and correspondence regarding United States cooperation with France on nuclear weapons safety and control, U.S. relations with France and French President Charles de Gaulle, and nuclear testing by France. Also included in this folder are memoranda to President John F. Kennedy from Under Secretary of State George Ball titled, “Proposed Nuclear Offer to De Gaulle,” and, “A Further Nuclear Offer to De Gaulle,” discussing France and a nuclear test ban treaty.