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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-03
In this interview Heath discusses the Office of Education during the transition from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to President John F. Kennedy [JFK]; JFK’s task force for education; problems when a new leader comes in; working with Congress; the National Defense Education Act and other education legislation; JFK and the Church-State issue in education; Abraham A. Ribicoff as Secretary of HEW; leadership within the Office of Education; Anthony J. Celebrezze as Secretary of HEW; Wilbur Cohen in HEW; reorganization of HEW; various education projects; new HEW programs under JFK and President Lyndon B. Johnson; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and how it intersected with education programs; and the transformation in how Americans viewed education, among other issues.
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-OH-01
In this interview Harris discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] as a member of the House of Representatives; the Arkansas delegation to the 1956 Democratic National Convention and the vote for the vice presidential candidate; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; the results of the 1960 presidential election in Arkansas; the proposed changes for U.S. regulatory agencies after 1960; and various legislative proposals and battles during JFK’s Administration, 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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAC-07
In this interview Carver discusses the difficulties in how the Department of the Interior worked with Congress; instances when the White House needed to step into these congressional dealings; and several different members of the United States House of Representatives and their relationship both with him personally and with the Department of the Interior professionally, Wayne N. Aspinall and Michael J. Kirwan in particular, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAC-05
In this interview Carver discusses the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its Commissioner, Philleo Nash; federal claims to and use of Indian land; industries and commercial enterprises on or close to Indian reservations; problems working with Congress and other federal agencies on issues related to Indian affairs; the Miccosukee in Florida; and the Bureau of Land Management with Karl S. Landstrom as its Director, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-12
Beaty discusses interactions between the Interior Department and White House staff, and the Kennedy administration’s difficulty with getting legislation passed, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WLB-03
Batt discusses the legislation authorizing the Accelerated Public Works Program and the Program itself, the Appalachian Program, and the Area Redevelopment Administration’s relationship with various interest groups, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GB-01
Bolling discusses her work on John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign, on patronage requests at the beginning of the Kennedy administration, and on education and Medicare legislation as a congressional liaison, 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-KMB-02
Birkhead discusses his work on Lyndon Baines Johnson’s speech-writing team during his vice-presidential campaign in 1960, his duties as Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Liaison, and 1961 feed grains legislation, 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-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
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-03
In this interview Conway discusses getting Martin Luther King out of jail in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963; Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] view of King and his actions; the March on Washington; working with RFK and the Justice Department on civil rights legislation; Walter Reuther; Conway’s decision to leave John F. Kennedy’s Administration and working on legislation from the outside; the Community Action Program; working with Senator RFK during the Johnson Administration; Senator RFK’s involvement in the labor movement; Jesse M. Unruh, RFK, and the 1968 California presidential primary; Department of Urban Affairs legislation; getting accelerated public works legislation through Congress; Housing and Home Finance Agency staff members; and the attempt to pick up congressional seats in 1962 and 1964, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-02
In this interview Conway discusses working with John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the negative reaction to the choice of Lyndon B. Johnson for JFK’s running mate; labor leadership and JFK’s campaign; unions and the religious issue during the 1960 election; discussing presidential appointments with JFK after the election; Conway’s role in JFK’s Administration; the Housing and Home Finance Agency, legislation, and working with Congress; accelerated public works, the Department of Commerce, and problems with the extent of presidential powers; Walter Reuther and his relationship with JFK; confrontations between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; working with RFK on civil rights marches and their legislative demands; and interactions with RFK from 1964 through 1968, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TGW-01
In this interview Wicker discusses early impressions of John F. Kennedy [JFK], 1952–1961; Lyndon B. Johnson campaigning for JFK in the South, 1960; Richard M. Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge’s 1960 presidential campaign; JFK and Johnson in the August 1960 special session of Congress; Wicker’s first interview with President JFK for the New York Times, 1961; building a rapport with JFK’s staff; various Times articles, by Wicker and others, about the Kennedy Administration and White House reactions to them; Wicker’s arguments with Pierre E.G. Salinger over certain articles; year-end briefings in Palm Beach; and President JFK’s press conferences, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-SVM-01
This interview focuses on the Senate Labor Committee, the Department of Labor’s approach to congressional relations, and the coordination between the Department of Labor and the White House, among other topics.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-18B
Dictation Belt 18B contains three sound recordings. The recording of the conversation in item 18B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 18A.7. This is a sound recording of part of a telephone conversation held on May 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Representative Edith S. Green of Oregon. They complete their discussion about legislative strategy on an education bill and dealing with the National Education Association of the United States. Item 18B.2 is a telephone conversation held on May 8, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. They discuss a strategy for the State Department to deal with an unidentified issue at the United Nations (U.N.). The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 18B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss administering the State Department and making staff changes at the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They also discuss conferring with Carl Kaysen on a plan to assist Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique’s effort to gain independence. The beginning of the recording is garbled. Machine noise follows the conversation.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-WHO-02
This interview covers Orrick’s time with the Foreign Service and antitrust division, communications between the White House and State Department, and Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] interests in the antitrust division, among other topics.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-GSM-01
This interview focuses on communications with Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] under Food for Peace, RFK as a Senator, and RFK’s run for president in 1968, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JKJ-01
In this interview Javits discusses initial encounters with and impressions of Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; RFK as Attorney General and judicial appointments; RFK’s 1964 Senate campaign; working with Senator RFK and issues between RFK and Javits in the Senate; the “many capacities” of RFK; RFK’s public speaking ability; and Bedford-Stuyvesant, among other issues.