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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, 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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6485-D
President John F. Kennedy meets with Prime Minister of Great Britain Harold Macmillan and members of British and American cabinets. (L-R) Front row: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; President Kennedy; Prime Minister Macmillan; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Ambassador of Great Britain Harold Caccia. (L-R) Back row: Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs George Ball; Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Soviet Affairs Charles Bohlen (partially hidden); Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Sir Norman Brook; Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams; United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sir Patrick Dean (mostly hidden); Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman; unidentified man (mostly hidden); U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain David K. E. Bruce; unidentified man (partially hidden); Under Secretary of State Chester Bowles; unidentified man (mostly hidden); former Secretary of State Dean Acheson; Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; unidentified man (mostly hidden); Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Chairman of State Department Policy Planning Council George McGhee; President's Special Assistant for National Security McGeorge Bundy; Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Foy Kohler; Permanent Under Secretary for the Foreign Office Sir Frederick Hoyer-Millar; unidentified man; President's Deputy Special Assistant for National Security Affairs Walt W. Rostow. Rose Garden, White House. Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C17423
President John F. Kennedy meets with Prime Minister of Great Britain Harold Macmillan and members of British and American cabinets. (L-R) Front row: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; President Kennedy; Prime Minister Macmillan; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Ambassador of Great Britain Harold Caccia. (L-R) Back row: Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs George Ball (mostly hidden); Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Soviet Affairs Charles Bohlen (mostly hidden); Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams; Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Sir Norman Brook (mostly hidden); Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman; U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain David K. E. Bruce; unidentified man; Under Secretary of State Chester Bowles; Military Aide to the President Chester V. Clifton (partially hidden); unidentified man; Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; unidentified man; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Chairman of State Department Policy Planning Council George McGhee; Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Foy Kohler; Permanent Under Secretary for the Foreign Office Sir Frederick Hoyer-Millar; President's Special Assistant for National Security McGeorge Bundy. Rose Garden, White House. Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-66-2-61
President John F. Kennedy meets with Prime Minister of Great Britain Harold Macmillan and members of British and American cabinets. (L-R) Front row: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; President Kennedy; Prime Minister Macmillan; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Ambassador of Great Britain Harold Caccia. (L-R) Back row: Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs George Ball; Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Soviet Affairs Charles Bohlen; unidentified man (mostly hidden); Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams; Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Sir Norman Brook (mostly hidden); Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman; U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain David K. E. Bruce; unidentified man (mostly hidden); Under Secretary of State Chester Bowles; unidentified man (partially hidden); former Secretary of State Dean Acheson; unidentified man (partially hidden); Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; unidentified man (partially hidden); Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; unidentified man (partially hidden); Chairman of State Department Policy Planning Council George McGhee; Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Foy Kohler; President's Special Assistant for National Security McGeorge Bundy; Permanent Under Secretary for the Foreign Office Sir Frederick Hoyer-Millar; unidentified man; President's Deputy Special Assistant for National Security Affairs Walt W. Rostow. Rose Garden, White House. Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-66-1-61
President John F. Kennedy meets with Prime Minister of Great Britain Harold Macmillan and members of British and American cabinets. (L-R) Front row: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; President Kennedy; Prime Minister Macmillan; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Ambassador of Great Britain Harold Caccia. (L-R) Back row: Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs George Ball; Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Soviet Affairs Charles Bohlen; unidentified man; Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams; Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Sir Norman Brook (mostly hidden); Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman; U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain David K. E. Bruce; unidentified man (mostly hidden); Under Secretary of State Chester Bowles; unidentified man; former Secretary of State Dean Acheson; unidentified man (mostly hidden); Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; unidentified man; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; unidentified man; Chairman of State Department Policy Planning Council George McGhee (partially hidden); Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Foy Kohler; President's Special Assistant for National Security McGeorge Bundy; Permanent Under Secretary for the Foreign Office Sir Frederick Hoyer-Millar; unidentified man; President's Deputy Special Assistant for National Security Affairs Walt W. Rostow. Rose Garden, White House. Washington, D.C.