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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BBH-01
In this interview Hickenlooper discusses various meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on foreign relations; Soviet and American nuclear testing; the nuclear test ban treaty; the Bay of Pigs invasion; Laos and Vietnam; the Punta del Este Conference in 1962; the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Hickenlooper's 1962 reelection campaign; traveling with JFK to Costa Rica; the 1961 Berlin crisis; JFK's congressional relations; and social occasions at the Kennedy White House, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JH-01
In this interview Harllee discusses his interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK] during World War II; working with Congressman JFK on selection procedures for Annapolis and West Point, 1947–1948; his impressions of JFK in Congress; working as chairman of Citizens for Kennedy and Johnson [Lyndon B. Johnson] in northern California, 1960; anti-Catholic opposition to JFK in California during the 1960 presidential election; and becoming a member of the Federal Maritime Commission amid changes to the Commission’s powers and functions, 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-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-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-24B
Dictation Belt 24B contains three sound recordings from July 30, 1963. Item 24B.1 is a brief fragment of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man (probably Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations Frederick G. Dutton). They discuss putting together a congressional delegation for an unidentified occasion (probably the signing of the treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT). Item 24B.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy, Special Assistant to the President Lawrence F. O’Brien, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. They discuss inviting United States Senators to join a congressional delegation to the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 24B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss a legislative strategy for dealing with delays in the United States Senate on a defense appropriations bill and a military construction authorization bill. They also discuss possible effects of defense contract cuts on employment in California and on the 1964 election.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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-14B
Dictation Belt 14B contains six sound recordings from March 12, 1963. The recording of the conversation in item 14B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 14A.5. Item 14B.1 is part of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon. They continue to discuss Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules on expense accounts. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 14B.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of the Navy Paul B. Fay. They discuss possible naval base closings and the outlook for a bid by the city of San Francisco to host the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 14B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Richard N. Goodwin, Secretary-general for the International Peace Corps Secretariat. They discuss preparing remarks for President Kennedy to deliver during his visit to Costa Rica. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 14B.4 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric. They discuss hearings on the TFX airplane. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 14B.5 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Lawrence F. O'Brien, Special Assistant to the President. They discuss a construction bill, a pay raise issue, and their effects on the federal budget. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 14B.6 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Assistant Secretary of Defense Arthur Sylvester. They discuss Sylvester’s testimony at a hearing involving the TFX airplane.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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-50
Dictation Belt 50 contains four sound recordings. Item 50.1 is a recording of two telephone exchanges. The first exchange is a telephone conversation between Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln and a woman called “Barbara” who answers the telephone in the office of White House Social Secretary Letitia Baldrige. They discuss President John F. Kennedy’s decisions on social affairs, one involving Chief Justice Earl Warren and another involving a luncheon. A long delay precedes the conversation. [White House Operator?] places the call at Lincoln’s request. Machine noise follows the conversation. The second exchange is a brief telephone exchange between President John F. Kennedy and a White House Operator. President Kennedy asks the operator to place a call to Charles Bartlett. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 50.2 is a telephone conversation held in 1962 between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man. They discuss James H. Meredith’s accusations of segregation within the United States Army. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 50.3 is a telephone conversation held in 1962 between President John F. Kennedy and Senator George A. Smathers of Florida. They discuss the signing of an unidentified bill, southern politics, and other congressional matters. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 50.4 is a brief fragment of a telephone conversation held in 1962 between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man. The topic of discussion is unclear. The recording begins in mid-conversation and ends abruptly.Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.