David G. Armstrong (# 334)

An Inventory of His Personal Papers
1948-2005
In the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
List of Series
Description


Administrative Information

Abstract
Papers 1948-2005
Journalist. Bureau Chief for the National Security News Service; journalist, editor, Texas Observer. Correspondence, memoranda and briefings originating mostly from the offices of Walt W. Rostow, Special Assistant to the President and his staff.

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
According to the deed of gift signed December 2004, copyright of these materials has been assigned to the United States. Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Received from David Armstrong of Andover, Massachusetts, in December 2004 (Acc. 2005-082); and in May 2005 (Acc. 2005-156).

Extent
About 43,300 items (32 linear feet, 4 linear inches; 37 cubic feet)

Date Opened
May 2005.

Processed by
Anne Kumer

Revisions
Finding aid updated in June 2005 by Jennifer Blake.

Encoded by
James M. Roth

Related Collections
Walt W. Rostow White House Staff Files, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
National Security File, 1963-1969, Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library
McGeorge Bundy Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

The Personal Papers of David Armstrong (1960- )

Biographical Note
David Grossman Armstrong was born in 1960. He is currently Bureau Chief for the National Security News Service as well as a veteran journalist who has written extensively on national security, intelligence, politics, and the environment. Before joining the National Security News Service, Armstrong was the editor of the Texas Observer. In 2000, Armstrong was awarded a PhD. in American studies and in 1989 a master’s degree in journalism, both from The University of Texas at Austin. He also has a B.A. in English from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Collection Overview
The Papers of David Armstrong contain research materials used for Armstrong’s Doctoral Dissertation, The True Believer: Walt Whitman Rostow and the Path to Vietnam . Materials include papers from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library highlighting Rostow’s involvement in foreign policy and, more specifically, the Vietnam War. The collection also contains correspondence from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library, and the United States Central Intelligence Agency to David Armstrong concerning requested documents from the libraries.

List of Series
Series 1. Correspondence, 1998-2005
Series 2. Subject Files, 1963-2000
Series 3. National Security Files, 1961-1968
Series 4. Writings, 1948-2004

Collection Description

Series 1. Correspondence, 1998-2005.
About 3,400 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by institution.

This series contains correspondence from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library, and United States Central Intelligence Agency and several other archival facilities to David Armstrong. The correspondence addresses Armstrong’s research process as well as individual requests made by Armstrong to view documents held at the institutions, mainly the Johnson Library. Many of the letters also contain photocopies of requested documents.
  

Series 2. Subject Files, 1960-2000.
About 9,200 items.
Arrangement: chronological.

This series contains subject files kept by David Armstrong during the course of his research. Many materials within this series were obtained from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and contain the Library’s original folder titles and subject divisions. Attempts have been made to add descriptions to folder titles based on subject content and/or date span of the documents. The topics covered within tend to overlap, covering many aspects of United States Foreign Policy, specifically the National Security Files and Walt Rostow’s role in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Chairman of the Policy Planning Council. An extended collection of the National Security Files can be seen in series 3. National Security Files. Other key subjects include Vietnam, White House Cabinet Meetings, and the White House Central Files.

Series 3. National Security Files, 1961-1968.
About 27,200 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical.

This series contains research materials collected from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas and from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, MA. The National Security File was a working file of President Johnson’s Special Assistants for national security affairs, McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow. These files focus on the Foreign Policy issues and procedures surrounding and leading up to the Vietnam War and contain many records of White House Proceedings, communications, and briefings. Key recipients and senders of these documents include McGeorge Bundy, Walt Rostow, and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Original order has been maintained, which includes many of the same titles as used by the LBJ library. Attempts have been made to distinguish specific subjects in materials within the folders as well as date spans. The majority of materials are White House memos, meeting notes, and briefings created by Walt W. Rostow and his staff.
  

Series 4. Writings, 1948-2004.
About 3,500 items.
Arrangement: by subject.

This series contains writings by David Armstrong and Walt W. Rostow, as well as writings about Rostow. The writings by Rostow are organized in three different files: chronologically according to their publication or presentation date; alphabetically according to title; and alphabetically according to publication. Note that some writings—although not all—appear in more than one file. Many of the folders in the publication file do not contain actual articles by Rostow, but instead contain correspondence between Rostow and the publisher. In most cases, original folder titles have been maintained.