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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, 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-RJH-01
In this interview Heffernan discusses his work as the Kennedy family doctor, including delivering several of the family’s children and operating on Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-REH-01
In this interview Hedrick discusses how he first became interested in John F. Kennedy [JFK] as a presidential candidate and initial interactions with him; the 1960 West Virginia [WV] presidential primary; the economics of Randolph County, WV; the issue of religion during JFK’s 1960 campaign; the Douglas Committee and legislation; forestry and Randolph County’s economy; Hubert H. Humphrey’s campaign in Randolph County during the 1960 primary; mining communities in southern WV; which of JFK’s domestic policies played well in WV; the students and faculty of Randolph County colleges and JFK’s campaign; Republican hostility towards JFK versus religious hostility in the 1960 election; the impact of JFK’s war record on the WV vote; how the JFK campaign helped WV’s national image and reputation; and the 1960 Democratic National Convention, 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-KGH-03
In this interview Heath discusses the Office of Education during the transition from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to President John F. Kennedy [JFK]; JFK’s task force for education; problems when a new leader comes in; working with Congress; the National Defense Education Act and other education legislation; JFK and the Church-State issue in education; Abraham A. Ribicoff as Secretary of HEW; leadership within the Office of Education; Anthony J. Celebrezze as Secretary of HEW; Wilbur Cohen in HEW; reorganization of HEW; various education projects; new HEW programs under JFK and President Lyndon B. Johnson; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and how it intersected with education programs; and the transformation in how Americans viewed education, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-02
In this interview Heath discusses how she came to join the Office of Education; the leadership within the Office of Education and different ideas on how it should be run; other agencies within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]; changes in the status and administration of HEW; various pieces of education legislation; the 1954 Supreme Court decision on separate but equal and segregation in schools; international education affairs; the reasons for pushing for general school aid over categorical aid; the 1955 White House conference on education; coalescing all the organizations within HEW into one voice for the Department; working with other Departments; the International Labor Organization and the United Nations; getting political support from the different presidential Administrations; the nationalization of the Suez Canal; the shift to considering social matters in a much broader context; the impact of the Sputnik launch on the Office of Education; and the National Defense Education Act, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-KGH-01
In this interview Heath discusses her family and her childhood; how she reached her chosen career path; obstacles to her advancement because of her gender; studying at American University and at Syracuse University; myths of the “male chauvinists’ world”; taking a women’s studies course; working while in school; running a cost of living survey for the Department of Labor in Rochester, NY, and then in Richmond, VA; the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration; working with the disadvantaged during the Depression; the “great American dream”; the effectiveness of institutionalization and the rise in bureaucracy; the National Association of Deans of Women; stigmas attached to higher education; the Civil Service Commission; working during World War II with various organizations, including the Norden Company in Elmira, NY, at the bombsight plant and the United States Army; the attitude towards women in war work; and writing her dissertation and getting her doctorate, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WRH-01
In this interview Hearst discusses his long history with the Kennedy family; early interactions with a young John F. Kennedy [JFK] and later interactions with him as President; JFK and the press, including Hearst’s newspapers; and Hearst’s opinion of JFK’s image as a liberal, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AH-01
In this interview Hearst discusses inviting John F. Kennedy [JFK] to speak at the Jefferson-Jackson Day banquet in Morgantown, West Virginia [WV], in 1958; JFK’s campaign in the 1960 WV presidential primary; working as the county chairman for JFK’s 1960 campaign; the religious issue in WV during the primary and general election in 1960; the local appeal of JFK’s campaign in WV; and the reaction to JFK’s Administration in WV, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JPH-01
In this interview Healey discusses meeting the Kennedy brothers at Harvard; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] campaign for the House of Representatives in 1946; Healey’s political experience in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Michael J. Neville; Massachusetts politics in the postwar period; the “age factor” in the 1946 campaign; the development of JFK’s public speaking ability; engaging with the academic community in Cambridge during the 1946 campaign; Kennedy family members helping out on JFK’s campaigns; JFK’s worries after his election to his first term in Congress and his work once the term began; JFK on the House Labor Committee and the Hartley Bill in the House; the petition for the pardon of James Michael Curley and issues for JFK; Paul A. Dever; JFK’s 1952 campaign for Senate; Henry Cabot Lodge; speechwriting during the 1952 campaign; and Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and JFK’s campaigns, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-HWH-01
In this interview Hazen discusses how he came to support JFK for the 1960 presidential nomination; Paul Corbin and JFK’s campaign in Wisconsin’s seventh district during both the primary and the general election; how Republicans in the seventh district voted in the Wisconsin primary and the general election; JFK’s ignorance of how the farm economy worked; tensions between JFK’s and Hubert H. Humphrey’s campaigns; the attempt to woo Humphrey’s Wisconsin delegates over to JFK’s side; the 1960 vice presidential nomination; and bitterness over Humphrey’s loss of the Democratic nomination in 1960, 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-JFH-01
Haught discusses his role in the 1960 Kennedy for President campaign in West Virginia and personal interactions with JFK; the religious issue in the West Virginia primary; and New Frontier programs, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ATH-01
In this interview Hatcher discusses working for Adlai E. Stevenson at the 1956 Democratic National Convention; his personal and working relationship with Pierre E.G. Salinger; working for Governor Edmund G. Brown, 1959–1960; how he came to work on John F. Kennedy's [JFK] 1960 presidential campaign; various personalities both in the Democratic National Committee and on JFK’s 1960 campaign staff; press work, demonstrations, and delegations at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; and the discussion of the 1960 Democratic vice-presidential choice, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WBH-01
In this interview Hartsfield discusses the 1960 presidential election; the sit-in demonstrations in Atlanta in the fall of 1960; Martin Luther King’s arrest in Atlanta; the meeting between Hartsfield and the demonstrators; the idea to have John F. Kennedy [JFK] speak out to have King released from jail; proposing this idea to the Democratic National Committee; the reaction in the national press to JFK’s supposed intervention on behalf of King; JFK’s immediate acceptance of the plan; John C. Calhoun and the Republican National Committee’s unwillingness to get Richard M. Nixon similarly involved; and other memories of JFK, 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-PTH-03
In this interview Hart discusses Ellsworth Bunker’s mission in Saudi Arabia; meetings between Bunker and Prime Minister Faisal; Faisal’s distrust of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Egyptian inaction in regards to the agreement reached with Bunker; difficulties with the U.S. Department of Defense over the agreement to train Saudi pilots and use American military equipment; major problems in the Middle East, 1957–1967; communications between John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Faisal; and Saudi reactions to JFK’s death and to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-02
In this interview Hart discusses dealing with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser including shifts in U.S. aid in Egypt; how Nasser would play the United States and the Soviet Union against each other for Egypt’s benefit; Nasser’s ambitions for the neighboring countries and the Saudi reaction to Egypt’s actions in the Arabian Peninsula; the increased strain between Egypt and the United States; divisions in Washington over the U.S. policy towards Nasser; Nasser’s position on Israel; Saudi Arabia’s position on Israel and the Palestinian refugees in Saudi Arabia; the modernization process in Saudi Arabia; and changes in foreign policy over Hart’s tenure as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PTH-01
In this interview Hart discusses his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia including King Saud’s visits to the United States for medical treatment beginning in 1961; the issue of the Dhahran Airfield and the American military’s use of it; the creation of the Saudi cabinet and political leadership and the transition to Faisal [Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia] in power; the revolution in Yemen and the problems and tensions it caused within Saudi Arabia and between Saudi leaders and other governments; the debate over U.S. recognition of the new Yemen Republic; various meetings of Near East State Department staff from 1961 through 1963; communication between President John F. Kennedy and Faisal; oil matters in the Near East and different oil companies and related groups; Soviet interest in Middle East oil and in Saudi Arabia; and the work of American advisers in Saudi Arabia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GAH-01
In this interview Harrison discusses his interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK] beginning when JFK was a congressman; the American Veterans Committee’s interest in JFK; JFK’s personal interactions with journalists; The New Republic’s support for Adlai E. Stevenson over the years and then for JFK in 1960; Stevenson’s position within JFK’s Administration; an article about the Bay of Pigs that Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., asked Harrison to pull; and Harrison’s opinion of JFK as President, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-SEH-01
In this interview Harris discusses his work as an economic adviser to John F. Kennedy [JFK]; his interactions with JFK both before and after he became President; JFK’s evolving economic policies and how they were influenced over time; the interaction between the Council of Economic Advisers and the Department of the Treasury on various issues; and several different economic programs under President JFK, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-OH-01
In this interview Harris discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] as a member of the House of Representatives; the Arkansas delegation to the 1956 Democratic National Convention and the vote for the vice presidential candidate; the 1960 Democratic National Convention; the results of the 1960 presidential election in Arkansas; the proposed changes for U.S. regulatory agencies after 1960; and various legislative proposals and battles during JFK’s Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WAH-03
In this interview, Harriman discusses American opinion on negotiations in Laos; U.S. negotiations and objectives in Indonesia; American relations with Achmed Sukarno; friction between the State Department and the Pentagon over who should control the situation in Vietnam, civilians or the military; Ngo Dinh Diem and the military coup that overthrew him; problems with and for newspapermen in Vietnam; and his opinion on where the United States went wrong in Vietnam, among other issues.