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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-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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-27-A
KN08
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RMB-02
Bissell discusses the Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath, including the decision not to support the invaders with air strikes, and investigations by the CIA Inspector General and General Maxwell D. Taylor, 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-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-AWD-01
Dulles discusses the planning for, execution, and aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and briefly discusses his service on the Warren Commission, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JTC-02
In this interview Conway discusses working with John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; the negative reaction to the choice of Lyndon B. Johnson for JFK’s running mate; labor leadership and JFK’s campaign; unions and the religious issue during the 1960 election; discussing presidential appointments with JFK after the election; Conway’s role in JFK’s Administration; the Housing and Home Finance Agency, legislation, and working with Congress; accelerated public works, the Department of Commerce, and problems with the extent of presidential powers; Walter Reuther and his relationship with JFK; confrontations between Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; working with RFK on civil rights marches and their legislative demands; and interactions with RFK from 1964 through 1968, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TGW-01
In this interview Wicker discusses early impressions of John F. Kennedy [JFK], 1952–1961; Lyndon B. Johnson campaigning for JFK in the South, 1960; Richard M. Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge’s 1960 presidential campaign; JFK and Johnson in the August 1960 special session of Congress; Wicker’s first interview with President JFK for the New York Times, 1961; building a rapport with JFK’s staff; various Times articles, by Wicker and others, about the Kennedy Administration and White House reactions to them; Wicker’s arguments with Pierre E.G. Salinger over certain articles; year-end briefings in Palm Beach; and President JFK’s press conferences, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17B-1
The recording of this conversation begins on Dictation Belt 17A.4. Sound recording of part of a telephone conversation held on April 2, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss speaking to Richard M. Helms about the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. They also discuss facilitating the movement of members of the Peace Corps into the Foreign Service.Machine noise follows the conversation.
Transcript included. This sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 17B, which contains additional sound recording(s) following this one. To hear all of the recordings on the Dictation Belt, see Digital Identifier: JFKPOF-TPH-17B, Title: Telephone recordings: Dictation Belt 17B.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17B
Dictation Belt 17B contains four sound recordings. The recording of the conversation in item 17B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 17A.4. Item 17B.1 is part of a telephone conversation held on April 2, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss speaking to Richard M. Helms about the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. They also discuss facilitating the movement of members of the Peace Corps into the Foreign Service. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 17B.2 is a telephone conversation held on April 3, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss possible requests by the Air Force Inspector General to use polygraph tests to investigate a Defense Department leak. They also discuss seeking input on the matter from Press Secretary Pierre Salinger and Assistant Secretary of Defense Arthur Sylvester. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 17B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Louis Harris. They discuss polling on upcoming elections in Canada and Kentucky. They also discuss Harris’s professional plans. Item 17B.4 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man. First they discuss a topic that is unclear. Then they discuss providing a recommendation for a student applying to Harvard. There is a brief delay before the conversation, and machine noise follows the conversation.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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17A-4
Sound recording of part of a telephone conversation held on April 2, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. The recording of the conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 17B.1.
Transcript included. This sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 17A, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding this one. To hear all of the recordings on the Dictation Belt, see Digital Identifier: JFKPOF-TPH-17A, Title: Telephone recordings: Dictation Belt 17A.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17A
Dictation Belt 17A contains four sound recordings from April 2, 1963. Item 17A.1 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of Treasury for Monetary Affairs Robert V. Roosa. They discuss a strategy for the United States and other countries to increase international monetary liquidity. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 17A.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and (William) David Ormsby-Gore, the British ambassador to the United States. In preparation for President Kennedy’s prospective meeting with Harold Wilson, they discuss international military arrangements, a nuclear test ban, and trade. Before the conversation, there is a delay, and Ambassador Ormsby-Gore briefly speaks to an unidentified woman. Item 17A.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Eugene R. Black. They discuss Lucius Clay’s prospective testimony on funding levels for the foreign aid program and the Alliance for Progress program for Latin America. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 17A.4 is part of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. The recording of the conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 17B.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.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-058-003
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks upon presenting the National Security Medal to retiring Director of Central Intelligence Allen W. Dulles at a ceremony held at the Central Intelligence Agency Building in Langley, Virginia.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-049-008
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island announcing John McCone as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In his speech President Kennedy discusses the retirement of former CIA Director Allen Dulles.
Sound recording
Edward M. Kennedy Senate Files
EMKSEN-AU0009-028-009
Sound recording of the radio program "Face Off." Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Alan K. "Al" Simpson of Wyoming debate President Clinton's funding request to Congress for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The episode aired on Monday, May 17, 1993, on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Textual folder
Theodore C. Sorensen Personal Papers
TCSPP-053-022
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-04-10-D
KN33
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-11-29-C
AR13, KN10
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Walter W. Heller
JFKWHSFWWH-MF22-002
This folder contains Walter W. Heller's correspondence with the Central Intelligence Agency. The letters are mainly acknowledgements of publications that were exchanged.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-035-050
This folder contains a press copy of President Kennedy's remarks upon announcing John McCone as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.). The press copy includes remarks from former CIA director Allen Dulles and McCone.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-358-011
This folder contains the President’s Intelligence Checklists (PICLs) prepared for President John F. Kennedy and other senior officials by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to provide analysis on developing national security and international relations issues. The checklists in this folder cover multiple subjects and countries, including Cuba; Laos; Iraq; China; and the Soviet Union.