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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROAH-03
This interview focuses on U.S. economic policy in regards to Cuba during the Kennedy Admin., reactions of U.S. citizens to the Cuban policy, and the United States' economic investments in Cuba at the time of Fidel Castro's takeover, among other things.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROAH-01
This interview focuses on Bay of Pigs prisoners, exchanges with Fidel Castro for the prisoners, and effects of the missile crisis on prisoner release, among other things.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MJH-01
In this interview Hillenbrand discusses President John F. Kennedy [JFK] entering office amid the Berlin crisis; working as the Director of the Office of German Affairs with JFK; the Berlin Task Force and the Ambassadorial Group; JFK's attitude towards the German problem and German reactions to the Kennedy Administration; the State Department and Germany; the 1961 Vienna talks with Nikita S. Khrushchev; the erection of the Berlin Wall and the crisis it generated; the Kennedy Administration's reaction and response to the Berlin Wall; talks with Russia over Berlin and the Wall; the press "leaks crisis" on the Germany problem; JFK's working style and approach to problems, according to Hillenbrand; the impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Berlin talks; JFK's German policy and relationship with German leaders; and what JFK accomplished related to Germany, among other issues.
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-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LWH-01
In this interview, Lord Harlech discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] early opinions on disarmament; dealings with Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Soviet Union; the Cuban crisis; issues with selling and testing American missiles; how JFK’s relationship with British Prime Minister M. Harold Macmillan developed over time and how they worked together on specific issues; how JFK’s interest in politics and foreign affairs developed; difficulties with France over their nuclear program in 1962; JFK’s skills and character; JFK’s different circles of friends; and JFK and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ approaches to life in the public eye, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WDC-01
Coerr discusses the Bay of Pigs and its effect on White House-State Department relations, U.S. relations with the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, and the formation of the Alliance of Progress, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AC-01
Carillo Flores discusses his role as Ambassador to the United States from Mexico, Mexico’s response to the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-SHB-01
Beale discusses his contacts with and impressions of John F. Kennedy (JFK) before he became president and after he took office, JFK’s foreign policy, and Beale’s friendship with JFK, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CRB-01
Burrows discusses his relations with Honduran President Ramon Villeda Morales and with General Oswaldo Lopez Arellano, the man who overthrew Villeda Morales; Villeda Morales’ 1962 visit to the U.S.; the Bay of Pigs invasion and Honduras’ relations with Cuba; and General Lopez’ 1963 coup d’état; among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CBB-01
Bowles discusses his role as foreign policy advisor during the presidential campaign; staffing the State Department; relationship with Dean Rusk and John F. Kennedy; foreign policy towards developing nations; and leaving his position as Under Secretary of State, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CEB-01
Bohlen discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) views of the Soviet Union; foreign relations crises during the Kennedy administration, including the Bay of Pigs, war in Laos, and Cuban Missile Crisis; and Bohlen’s assessment of JFK as a president and a man.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TCM-01
This interview focuses on the Kennedy administration’s policies concerning Latin America and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-NWM-01
This interview focuses on the United States’ relations with Jamaica, the influence of the Cold War on United States international relations, and John F. Kennedy’s legacy, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FUF-01
Freeman discusses being named Ambassador to Colombia, the episode involving the possible cancellation of Kennedy’s visit to Colombia, and working with the foreign ministers and President Lleras, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, 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-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JSF-02
Farland discusses the Bay of Pigs controversy and Panama’s involvement, the Panama Canal treaty, and JFK’s visit to Costa Rica for the San Jose meeting, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JCT-01
In this interview, he discusses Chester Bowles’ political style, the unconventional selections of ambassadorial positions, and the nation’s role in the world, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KTY-01
In this interview Young discusses issues with American policy in Southeast Asia and the need for more informed decision makers; the process of his appointment as Ambassador to Thailand; Thai distrust over French actions in SEATO [South East Asia Treaty Organization] and inaction in Laos; and the various debates over U.S. actions in Laos and Thailand in the early 1960s, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CWY-01
Yost discusses Adlai Stevenson’s ambassadorial role with the United Nations during John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency. He discusses Stevenson’s reactions to issues such as the Bay of Pigs operation, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. Yost also describes his own responsibilities with the United Nations, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JOJM-01
This interview focuses on Cubans being trained in Guatemala in preparation for the Bay of Pigs and relations with Latin America during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, among other topics.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-11A
Dictation Belt 11A contains six sound recordings. Item 11A.1 is a telephone conversation held on March 6, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss the cancellation of a visit by a French official. Machine noise precedes the conversation. [White House Operator?] speaks to Under Secretary Ball while he holds for President Kennedy. Item 11A.2 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and United States Army General Chester V. Clifton. They discuss the issue of participation of Arkansas National Guard fliers in the Bay of Pigs invasion. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.3 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Adrian S. Fisher. They discuss responding to a statement by Senator Thomas J. Dodd of Connecticut. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.4 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss international trade issues involving the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. The trade issues involve wool, oil, and a pipe embargo. The dictation belt skips occasionally. Item 11A.5 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach. They discuss civil rights issues in Mississippi and Louisiana and briefly discuss Interhandel. The recording begins in mid-conversation. [White House Operator?] ends the call. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.6 is part of a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963. First an unidentified man notifies President Kennedy of the death of Thomas J. Shanahan. Then the unidentified man gives Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln additional information regarding Shanahan. The recording of this conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 11B.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.