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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LHH-01
In this interview Hodges discusses the 1956 and 1960 Democratic National Conventions; the 1960 National Governors’ Conference; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the Department of Commerce, including reorganization, agencies within the Department, and relations with other groups; establishing the U.S. Travel Service; the Business Advisory Council; businessmen and government; the economic recession in 1960–1961; the Area Redevelopment Act; the 1962 rise in steel prices; balance of payments; and trips abroad, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TMH-01
In this interview Hesburgh discusses his contact with John F. Kennedy [JFK] before he was elected President; Harris Wofford on JFK’s staff; different members of the Commission on Civil Rights; meeting with President JFK about the Commission’s reports and recommendations; JFK versus Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson on civil rights, respectively; JFK’s political priorities as President and what that meant for civil rights issues during his Administration; tension between the Commission and the Department of Justice; JFK’s characterization of civil rights as a moral problem; and a shift in Commission reports towards the local level, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WBH-01
In this interview Hartsfield discusses the 1960 presidential election; the sit-in demonstrations in Atlanta in the fall of 1960; Martin Luther King’s arrest in Atlanta; the meeting between Hartsfield and the demonstrators; the idea to have John F. Kennedy [JFK] speak out to have King released from jail; proposing this idea to the Democratic National Committee; the reaction in the national press to JFK’s supposed intervention on behalf of King; JFK’s immediate acceptance of the plan; John C. Calhoun and the Republican National Committee’s unwillingness to get Richard M. Nixon similarly involved; and other memories of JFK, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JPA-01
Aylward discusses the 1956 and 1960 Conventions, the 1960 presidential campaign in Missouri, and (William) Stuart Symington’s role in Missouri and national politics, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JAC-01
In this interview Carver discusses his work under Senator Frank Church of Idaho; his work for John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign as a coordinator in Michigan; and the transition process from Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Administration to JFK’s Administration in late 1960 and early 1961, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RHJB-01
Burkhardt discusses his work with New Jersey governor Robert B. Meyner, John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign and inauguration, and Burkhardt’s work as director of Richard J. Hughes’ 1962 campaign for governor of New Jersey, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BLB-02
In this interview Boutin discusses New Hampshire politics; presidential elections and Democratic National Conventions from 1956 through 1968; various staff members of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidential campaign from 1956 to 1960; JFK’s presidential campaign in several different states; the 1960 presidential primary in New Hampshire; working as the Administrator of the General Services Administration [GSA], including public works projects, federal buildings and sites, reorganization of GSA structure and personnel, and working with Congress and other federal agencies on GSA matters; the National Archives and Records Administration and presidential libraries; the Democratic National Committee during JFK’s Administration; Boutin’s memories of immediately following JFK’s assassination in 1963; tensions between Robert F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and “Johnson people” versus “Kennedy people,” 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-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-RD-03
(1927 - ) Lawyer, assistant to President John F. Kennedy [JFK] (1960 – 1963) discusses work onJFK’s 1952 campaign for Senate, Massachusetts politics in the 1950s, work on JFK’s
1960 presidential campaign, and working in the Kennedy Administration, among other
issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FBM-01
This interview focuses on the 1960 presidential campaign, Nebraska Democrats’ support for John F. Kennedy, and presidential appointments in Nebraska during the Kennedy administration, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RPM-02
This interview focuses on the Kennedy administration’s presidential appointments and John F. Kennedy’s continued support for West Virginia after the campaign, among other topics.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-WHO-01
This interview covers the presidential campaign of 1960 in California, Orrick’s time with the civil division and in the State Department, and Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] involvement in civil division cases, among other topics.
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.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-WAH-01
In this interview Harriman discusses his role in the State Department and how it developed over time; Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] work on the Special Committee for Counter Insurgency in Latin America; various criticisms of RFK’s travels and his work on the counter insurgency committee, especially by the younger generation; how Lyndon B. Johnson supported RFK in his 1964 Senate campaign; RFK’s trip to Africa; and RFK and Vietnam, among other issues.