Pre-Presidential Papers: Transition Files (#2.5.)

Administrative Information | Biographical Note | Collection Overview | Full List of Series

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Collection 2. Pre-Presidential Papers
Subcollection 2.1. House of Representatives Files, 1947-1952
Subcollection 2.2. Campaign Files, 1946-1948
Subcollection 2.3. Senate Files, 1953-1961
Subcollection 2.4. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960
Subcollection 2.5. Transition Files, 1960-1961

Subcollection 5. Transition Files, 1960-1961.
Boxes 1062-1075 (33.6 opened linear feet)

These files cover the period after the election, 8 November 1960, through the inauguration, and include both congratulations and important ground work material on the president's policy.

List of Series in Subcollection 5.

Series 16. Presidential Election Congratulations, 1960
Series 17. Staff Post-Election Correspondence, 1960
	Series 17.1. Feldman Post-Election Correspondence, 1960
	Series 17.2. Holborn Post-Election Correspondence, 1960
	Series 17.3. O'Donnell Post Election Correspondence, 1960
	Series 17.4. Post Election Political Files, 1960
	Series 17.5. Task Force Reports, 1960
Additions
Addition of June 2005 (Acc. 2005-187)
Series 16. Presidential Election Congratulations, 1960
	Series 17.4. Post Election Political Files, 1960
	Series 17.5. Task Force Reports, 1960

Series 16. Presidential Election Congratulations, 1960.
Boxes 1062-1063, 2 boxes.

Divided by the Kennedy organization into VIP and General messages. A1so thank you letters from winners of gubernatorial and congressional contests to letters of congratulations from Kennedy. See also Post Election Political Files (boxes 1067 - 1070).  For additional information, see  Addition 2005-187 .
  

Box 1062	Kennedy Thank You Form Letter VIP
		Telegrams
			A-Z (23 folders) Miscellaneous Organizations or Groups First Names Only
Box 1063		Letters, A-Z (3 folders) Foreign
			VIP: Telegrams (2 folders) VIP: Letters General: Telegrams (6 folders) General: Letters
	Political: Telegrams General: Telegrams (2 folders) Thank You's from Congressional Contest Winners Thank You's from Gubernatorial Contest Winners

  

Series 17. Staff Post-Election Correspondence, 1960.
  

	Series 17.1. Feldman Post Election Correspondence, 1960. 1960, Box 1064, 1 box. Very small file of correspondence, arranged alphabetically, answered by Myer Feldman, Theodore Sorensen, and occasionally signed by Kennedy. Mainly thank you letters for memoranda and reports on issues, and also correspondence with Jewish groups. Included is a copy of Kennedy's telegram to Robert Frost requesting that he participate in the inaugural ceremony.
Box 1064	A-Z (23 folders)

  

	Series 17.2. Holborn Post Election Correspondence, 1960. Box 1065, 1 box. Letters of congratulations, endorsements, and suggestions to the newly elected president. Most of the letters bear a number, probably designating the robotype response. The final folder "Inauguration" contains Kay Halle's material on the selection of inaugural guests and a draft of the inaugural address. Additional inaugural materials may be found in the 1960 Campaign, Press Secretary's Subject File (box 1045) and in the Feldman Post Election Correspondence (above).
Box 1065	A-B (2 folders) Bills C-Z. (18 folders) Inauguration

  

	Series 17.3. O'Donnell Post Election Correspondence, 1960.  Box 1066-1066a, 2 boxes. Correspondence and memoranda, including discussions of political appointments, requests for meetings with the president-elect, congratulatory messages, invitations, and campaign reports, and miscellaneous items such as a proposal to use presidential power "to act against segregation by withholding Federal grants," and general public opinion mail. All correspondence either directed to or from Kenneth O'Donnell. This series was part of the President's Office Files.
Box 1066	Appointments to see JFK, Requests for Appointments
		Government Cabinet Air Force Aide Military Aide Naval Aide Massachusetts Senatorial
	Campaign File Congratulatory Mail Correspondence Defense Department Foreign Policy Greetings Inauguration Inter-Office Memos
Box 1066-A	Invitations
		General Declined Late O'Donnell, Kenneth
	Miscellaneous Office Space Personal Political File Pomeroy, George B. Presidential Powers Regulatory Agencies State Department White House

  

	Series 17.4. Post Election Political Files, 1960. Boxes 1067-1070, 4 boxes Mainly congratulations, letters of advice on policy and appointments, and job applications. Incoming letters are arranged by state, and sometimes bear a number which indicates a form letter reply. Letters are arranged by state, telegrams are in an alphabetical series by subject. See also Presidential Election Congratulations (boxes 1062 - 1063).  For additional material, see  Addition 2005-187 .
Box 1067	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California (2 folders) Canal Zone Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida (2 folders) Foreign Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas
Box 1068	Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts (2 folders) Michigan Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York (2 folders) North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon
Box 1069	Pennsylvania (2 folders) Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas (2 folders) Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Anti JFK Appointments to Cabinet and Other Positions (2 folders) Conduct of Affairs
Box 1070	Day, J. Edward (2 folders) Debate Foreign Fulbright, J. William Job Seekers Kennedy, Robert F. Negroes for Positions: Robert Weaver and Miscellaneous Pre-Election Telegrams Recommendations for JFK's Seat in Senate Stevenson, Adlai Vandiver, Samuel Ernest

  

	Series 17.5. Task Force Reports, 1960.   Boxes 1071-1075, 5 boxes. Task Force Reports and other material presented to Kennedy prior to his inauguration for his use in reviewing the current situation in both domestic and international areas and as an aid in planning future policies. Included are the Clark Clifford Memorandum on Transition, the Richard E. Neustadt Memorandum on Staffing the President-Elect, the Adlai E. Stevenson Special Report to the President, and a twelve volume series concerning the 1960 - 1961 presidential transition. This material has been integrated from the Pre-Presidential Papers, the Overflow Files of the White House Central Files, and the President's Office Files, and is arranged by subject.  For additional materiat, see  Addition 2005-187 .
Box 1071	Domestic Affairs
		Agriculture
			Conference on Policies and Programs for American Agriculture Cotton Advisory Committee Cotton Reports Feed Grain Study Full Parity-Family Farm Income Improvement Program House Committee Statement Key Elements of the Agricultural Situation Kiplinger Letter, 8/22/59 Talmadge Farm Plan Washington Newsletter, 8/22/59 Wheat Program for the 1960's
		Area Redevelopment Task Force Report Civil Rights
			Citizen Response Memorandum from National Newspaper Publishers' Association Harris Wofford Memorandum
		Clifford Memorandum on Transition Economy
			Samuelson Report, 1/61 Preliminary Task Force Report
		Education Task Force Report Health and Social Security Task Force Report Housing and Urban Affairs Task Force Report Housing: Robert C. Weaver Appointment
Box 1072		Labor Relations Narcotics
			Correspondence from Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Los Angeles Program
		Natural Resources Advisory Report Neustadt Memorandum on Staffing the President-Elect Post Office Regulatory Agencies
			Report from James M. Landis Published Report
		Relationship Between the President and the Members of the Cabinet Science Advisory Committee Space Taxation Task Force Report United States Information Agency Task Force Report Water Resources Women: Role in Government
Box 1073	Foreign Affairs
		Africa
			Adlai E. Stevenson Proposal Task Force Report
		Algeria Communist Subversion in SEATO Areas Defense Disarmament Economy
			Balance of Payments
				General Task Force Report
			Conversation with Secretary of the Treasury Anderson Current Situation Task Force Report on Foreign Economic Policy
		Exchange of Persons
Box 1074		Food for Peace Foreign Aid
			An Action Program for a New roach for the 1960's Memorandum on a New Organization for the U.S. Foreign Aid Program Strategy Report 1961
		India Labor Affairs (International) Latin America National Security
			Council Study Policy Committee Reports from Sen. Henry Jackson
		Nuclear Weapons Peace Corps Russia State Department
			Role of Secretary Salaries and Allowances Task Force Report on Operations
		Stevenson, Adlai E.
			Report, 11/60 Supplemental Memorandum
		Summary of Recommendations from Five Task Force Reports
Box 1075	McKinsey and Company Study of the 1960-61 Presidential Transition
		I. Managing and Restaffing the Department of State II. Managing and Restaffing the Department of the Treasury III. Managing and Restaffing the Department of Defense, Including the Army, Navy, and Air Force V. Managing and Restaffing the Post Office Department VI. Managing and Restaffing the Department of Interior VII. Managing and Restaffing the Department of Agriculture VIII. Managing and Restaffing the Department of Commerce IX. Managing and Restaffing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration X. Chairing and Managing the Atomic Energy Commission XI. Managing and Restaffing the Department of Health, Education and Welfare

  

Additions

Addition of June 2005 (Acc. 2005-187)
About 3,600 items (2 linear feet, 10 linear inches).

This addition to the John F. Kennedy Pre-Presidential Papers consists of items that were recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration, on behalf of the Kennedy Presidential Library, from the estate of Robert L. White. White obtained the material from Evelyn Lincoln, President Kennedy’s secretary, who improperly removed and then sold or gave away the material. Had they not been separated by Lincoln, materials in this addition would have been placed in the John F. Kennedy Pre-Presidential Papers, Subcollection 3, Senate Files, Subcollection 4, 1960 Campaign Files, and Subcollection 5. Transition Files.

Within Subcollection 5, the documents should originally have been filed in Series 16. Presidential Election Congratulations, Series 17.4. Post Election Political Files, and Series 17.5. Task Force Reports.

In cases where the intended file location was typed or handwritten on the documents, those documents were placed in folders bearing titles that matched the file location indicated. Documents that were not marked in this way were organized as closely as possible to the original filing system, according to the processing archivist’s judgment.  The arrangement in which the material arrived did not appear to be meaningful, as the folder titles did not correspond with the filing system that is reflected in the original finding aid. However, a detailed description of the original location of the material as it was received is available.

Note that, while this addition has not been integrated into the original deposit, it has been arranged according to the organization scheme of the previously deposited materials (with Series 13.4.added).


Series 16. Presidential Election Congratulations.
8 items.
Arrangement: chronological.

This series consists of letters of congratulations sent by friends and colleagues to President-Elect John F. Kennedy. For a full description of this series and related materials, see  Series 16 .
  

Box 1094

General: Letters

  

Series 17. Staff Post Election Correspondence, 1960.
About 40 items.
  

	Series 17.4. Post Election Political Files, 1960. 3 items. Arrangement: alphabetical by state. This series contains a letter sent to President-Elect Kennedy from a man in Massachusetts requesting a position in the new administration. For a full description of this series and related materials, see Series 17.4 .
Box 1094	Massachusetts

  

	Series 17.5. Task Force Reports, 1960. About 35 items. Arrangement: alphabetical by subject. This series consists of reports about the economy, foreign policy, and the general program of the Kennedy Administration and the Inaugural. The reports seem to have been written for President-Elect Kennedy by members of his staff. For a full description of this series and related materials, see Series 17.5 .
Box 1094	Miscellaneous reports