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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-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.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-048
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of August 30, 1961 (News Conference 16). President Kennedy begins the press conference by congratulating officials and residents of Atlanta, Georgia for the orderly manner in which four high schools were desegregated. He announces that the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany (Federal Republic) would be meeting on September 14, 1961 to consult about the situation in Berlin and the appointment of General Lucius Clay as his personal representative in Berlin. The President then reads the text of his message to the conference of unaligned states scheduled to convene in Belgrade on September 1, 1961. Following the announcements the President answeres questions from the press on a variety of topics including the situation in Berlin, United States-Soviet relations, and steel prices.
Moving image
United States Government Agencies Collection
USG-01-15
Motion picture narrated by Charlton Heston and focusing on the national and international scene during the month of June, 1963. Events covered include activities at the Vatican, with the election and coronation of Pope Paul VI as successor to the late Pope John XXIII, the launching of a Soviet rocket and background on the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, battles in South Vietnam between Communists and South Vietnamese soldiers, the integration of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, with the admission of African-American students Vivian Malone and James Hood while Alabama Governor George C. Wallace stood by in opposition, and President John F. Kennedy's trip to Berlin, Germany, and his remarks upon signing the Golden Book at the Rathaus Schöneberg on Rudolph Wilde Platz. In his remarks President Kennedy famously proclaims, "Ich bin ein Berliner."Directed by: Walter de Hoog and Bruce Herschensohn.
Screenplay and Music by: Bruce Herschensohn.
Narrated by: Charlton Heston.
"A News of the Day Production."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-003-011
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-054-018
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the President's News Conference of August 30, 1961 (News Conference 16). President Kennedy began the press conference by congratulating officials and residents of Atlanta, Georgia for the orderly manner in which four high schools were desegregated. He announced that the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany (Federal Republic) would be meeting on September 14, 1961 to consult about the situation in Berlin and the appointment of General Lucius Clay as his personal representative in Berlin. The President then read the text of his message to the conference of unaligned states scheduled to convene in Belgrade on September 1, 1961. Following the announcements the President answered questions from the press on a variety of topics including the situation in Berlin, United States-Soviet relations, and steel prices. Background materials in this folder include memorandums and executive department and agency reports for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Of note is a memorandum from Assistant Special Counsel Richard N. Goodwin to President Kennedy recounting additional details about his encounter with Che Guevara (Ernesto Guevara) in Montevideo, Uruguay. The official White House transcript of the press conference and the stenotype transcript of the press conference are also included.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-058-008
This folder contains background material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of January 24, 1963 (News Conference 47). Materials primarily consist of department and agency reports, memorandums, and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Topics include the economy, taxes, and disarmament. Of note is a report from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy summarizing civil rights efforts in 1962. Also included in this folder is a Senate report titled, "Berlin in a Changing Europe".