Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
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-EWH-01
In this interview Henry discusses working on John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign as part of the Nationalities Division of the Democratic National Committee; getting the vote of different ethnic groups in the 1960 presidential election; impressions of JFK; joining the Kennedy Administration and the Federal Communications Commission [FCC]; Newton Minow as Chairman of the FCC and his successes; the relationship between the FCC and Congress and between the FCC and the broadcasting industry; keeping the broadcasting industry fair; White House involvement in FCC conflicts with the broadcasting industry; and meeting with JFK on November 20, 1963, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AUG-01
In this interview Heckscher discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis as an “inspiration to cultural life”; Heckscher’s involvement in government affairs prior to becoming a Special Consultant to the President; the invitation of 168 artists to JFK’s 1961 inauguration and its impact; how Heckscher came to work for the White House; discussing Heckscher’s position with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; the reasoning behind the creation of the new position of Special Consultant on the Arts and the favorable public reaction to it; enlarging the definition of “The Arts,” especially regarding architecture; Arthur Goldberg; the establishment of the Freedom Medal; creating the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts through executive order; personal impressions of JFK; setting up Heckscher’s office and staff; how Heckscher was meant to advise JFK and what his position entailed; the Cultural Center [Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]; conversations with JFK; Mrs. Kennedy’s expansive work for the arts; the arts as part of national policy; working with other White House staff members and other Departments; designing special postage stamps; what the President’s role in the arts should be; and the Fine Arts Commission, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LBH-01
In this interview Hays discusses early interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; obstacles to becoming an Assistant Secretary of State and his work in that position; Hays’ trip abroad to visit the Pope; moving over to the White House and his work as a Special Assistant to the President; Federal-State intergovernmental relations; visiting Africa and various Peace Corps installations; the relationship between JFK’s Administration and different African countries; JFK and humor; making speeches and acting as a spokesman for the Kennedy Administration; and Hays’ last interaction with JFK before the assassination, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WJH-01
In this interview Hartigan discusses meeting John F. Kennedy [JFK] for the first time; working with Kenneth P. O’Donnell on JFK’s 1952 Senate campaign; the Democratic Party in Massachusetts; JFK as a Senator; JFK’s try for the vice presidential nomination in 1956; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; the 1960 West Virginia and Wisconsin presidential primaries; traveling with JFK during his 1960 campaign; working in the White House and traveling with President JFK; moving over to the Post Office Department; and JFK’s assassination, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WLH-01
In this interview Hart discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign in West Virginia [WV]; the fight for the WV Democratic primary between JFK and Hubert H. Humphrey; disappointments in WV with JFK’s Administration once he is elected President and resentment of White House staff members; various aspects of WV’s political background and makeup, including civil rights programs, religious issues, and local industries; and JFK’s campaign in the WV university community, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OB-12
Beaty discusses interactions between the Interior Department and White House staff, and the Kennedy administration’s difficulty with getting legislation passed, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ENL-02
In this interview Lincoln discusses her shorthand notes from her time as John F. Kennedy's [JFK] secretary; JFK’s House and Senate files; JFK’s staff; recording telephone calls and meetings in the White House; Lincoln’s filing system in the White House; which materials the JFK Library should collect; and White House staff members Robert F. Kennedy brought in, 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-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-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, 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.