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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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-23B
Dictation Belt 23B contains six sound recordings. Item 23B.1 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Senator George A. Smathers of Florida. It probably occurred between July 10 and July 17, 1963. They discuss President Kennedy’s response to an unidentified grievance, judgments about the suitability of men to serve in roles related to a railroad work rules dispute, and a press editorial critical of President Kennedy. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 23B.2 is closed. Personal conversations withdrawn under privacy provisions of the donor’s deed of gift. Item 23B.3 is a brief fragment of a telephone conversation held on July 17, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon. The topic of discussion is unclear. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 23B.4 is a telephone conversation held on July 19, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Senator George A. Smathers of Florida. They discuss a legislative strategy for a foreign aid bill. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 23B.5 is a telephone conversation held on July 19, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Senator Russell B. Long of Louisiana. They discuss a foreign aid bill. [White House Operator?] announces the call. Item 23B.6 is part of a telephone conversation held on July 24, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. They discuss hearings on a treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) or the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) and the positions held by various Senators. The recording of this conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 23C.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
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-210
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of August 20, 1963 (News Conference 60). The President begins the press conference with a statement urging the House of Representatives to pass the Mutual Defense and Assistance Bill of 1964, stating that the foreign aid program is essential to the strength of the free world. Following this announcement the President answers questions on a variety of topics including the four safeguards proposed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to protect the country under the limited language of the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), the upcoming civil rights march in Washington D.C., atmospheric nuclear testing, British Guiana, and legislation.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-144
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of November 20, 1962 (News Conference 45). The President begins the press conference with an update on the Cuban Missile Crisis, stating that Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev would withdraw IL-28 bomber planes in Cuba within 30 days and that the naval quarantine of Cuba was lifted as a result of the withdrawal. The President then announces the signing of Executive Order 11063, which prevented discrimination in housing facilities owned or operated by the federal government, and the creation of the Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing. The President also announces advances in northeast India by the Chinese, and the deployment of a team headed by Assistant Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman to determine India’s military assistance needs. Following these statements the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including Cuba, information policies between the press and the government, Executive Order 11063, and the current situation between India and China.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-056-010
This folder contains background material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of June 7, 1962 (News Conference 35). Materials primarily consist of department and agency reports and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Topics include the economy, proposed tax legislation, nuclear testing, and foreign aid. Of note is a copy of an address given by Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon at the annual dinner of the New York Financial Writers Association on the economy; memorandums to the President from economist and United States Ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith concerning the current economic situation in the United States and the proposed tax cuts; and a copy of a letter from economist Moses Abramovitz, sent to the President by Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Walter W. Heller, concerning the current economic situation in the United States. This folder also includes several draft press conference announcements.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-060-008
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President’s News Conference of August 20, 1963 (News Conference 60). The President began the press conference with a statement urging the House of Representatives to pass the Mutual Defense and Assistance Bill of 1964, stating that the foreign aid program is essential to the strength of the free world. Following this announcement the President answered questions on a variety of topics including the four safeguards proposed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to protect the country under the limited language of the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), the upcoming civil rights march in Washington D.C., atmospheric nuclear testing, British Guiana, and legislation. Background materials in this folder include briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Of note is an article by David Halberstam from The New York Times titled “Vietnamese Reds Gain in Key Area,” and a critique of the article by Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Victor H. Krulak. Also included in this folder is a statement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding their position on the three-environment LTBT and a transcript of Meet the Press focusing on the treaty. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-058-001
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of November 20, 1962 (News Conference 45). The President began the press conference with an update on the Cuban Missile Crisis, stating that Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev would withdraw IL-28 bomber planes in Cuba within 30 days and that the naval quarantine of Cuba was lifted as a result of the withdrawal. The President then announced the signing of Executive Order 11063, which prevented discrimination in housing facilities owned or operated by the federal government, and the creation of the Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing. The President also announced advances in northeast India by the Chinese, and the deployment of a team headed by Assistant Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman to determine India's military assistance needs. Following these statements the President answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including Cuba, information policies between the press and the government, Executive Order 11063, and the current situation between India and China. Background materials in this folder include briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security, newspaper clippings, memorandums, and special reports from the Department of State and the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Topics include the resumption of the Geneva Conference on November 26, 1962, the situation in Cuba, and a possible future Soviet satellite tracking station in Australia. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-057-008
This folder contains background material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of August 22, 1962 (News Conference 41). Materials primarily consist of memorandums and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Topics include the economy, disarmament, the military space program, legislation, the Soviet Union, and foreign aid. Also included are draft press conference announcements, some with handwritten editorial marks and annotations by the President, and newspaper clippings. Of note is a statement by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara before the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of the Military Assistance Program for fiscal year 1963.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-056a-005
This folder contains background material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of June 27, 1962 (News Conference 37). Materials primarily consist of memorandums and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Topics include the economy, legislative record of the 87th Congress, aid to India, and recent action by Chinese Communist military forces in the Taiwan Strait area. Of note are materials relating to the recent United States Supreme court decision banning prayer in public schools.