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Date Participants Introduction Topics
Sep 27, 1940 African Americans and the U.S. Military Franklin Roosevelt, A. Philip Randolph, Walter White

Meeting with Civil Rights leaders A. Philip Randolph and Walter White, President Roosevelt considers various options for integrating the U.S. military and preparedness efforts.
Sep 27, 1940 The Tripartite Pact Franklin Roosevelt

Press conference response to question on the Tripartite Pact.
Oct 04, 1940 A Japanese Ultimatum Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull

Cordell HullThe morning's New York Times featured reports of an impending meeting between German chancellor Adolf Hitler and Italian premier Benito Mussolini, as well as news of continuing British suc

Oct 08, 1940 "Some Fool Thing" Franklin Roosevelt

Following a press conference in the Oval Office, President Roosevelt ruminated on the growing crisis in the East.  Reflecting upon a recent bellicose statement by the head of the Japanese Press Association, FDR speculated with aides about the degree to which those remarks reflected official Japanese policy.
Oct 25, 1940 The Contingencies of War Franklin Roosevelt

President Roosevelt sketches out for reporters various potential developments in the European war as well as possible U.S. responses.

Sep 29, 1962 Charles Bohlen on the Sino-Soviet Dispute John Kennedy, Charles Bohlen, Llewellyn Thompson

During a conversation about Cuba and Berlin, President Kennedy hears from two experienced Soviet specialists, former ambassador to Moscow Llewellyn Thompson and former State Department Counsel, and current ambassador to France, Charles E. Bohlen.

Oct 19, 1962 "You're in a Pretty Bad Fix" John Kennedy, Curtis LeMay

While discussing various options for dealing with the threat posed by Soviet missiles in Cuba, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, after criticizing calls to blockade the island, sums up the President's political and military troubles.
Oct 26, 1962 JFK and Harold Macmillan on the Cuban Missile Crisis John Kennedy, Harold Macmillan

JFK and Harold MacmillanKennedy placed this call after having held crisis meetings with advisers all day. Macmillan received the call around midnight London time.

Oct 27, 1962 Missiles in Turkey John Kennedy, McGeorge Bundy, Alexis Johnson

President Kennedy and his advisers consider the ramifications of trading Jupiter missiles in Turkey for Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Nov 07, 1962 Kicking Nixon Around John Kennedy, Pat Brown

Richard and Pat Nixon at a news conferenceIn this telephone call, the only two men to have ever beaten Richard Nixon

Nov 16, 1962 JFK and Taylor on the Sino-Soviet Split John Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor

In the course of discussions about the removal of Soviet IL-28 bombers from Cuba, Kennedy considers the implications of Sino-Soviet tensions on the resolution of the Cuban problem.
Nov 21, 1962 Fly Me To the Moon John Kennedy, James Webb, Robert Seamans, Hugh Dryden, Jerome Wiesner

On November 21, 1962, the White House Cabinet Room became the setting for a pivotal and volatile meeting on the course of the U.S. space program. The main participants in the meeting were President John F. Kennedy and James Webb, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Dec 05, 1962 JFK and Nuclear Strategy John Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor

In this clip, recorded in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy considers the implications of U.S. nuclear strategy as well as the wisdom of procuring additional nuclear arms.
Jan 08, 1963 Status Report on Vietnam John Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, Carl Vinson, Everett Dirksen

On January 2, 1963, South Vietnamese troops and their U.S. military advisers engaged Vietcong forces in what became known as the Battle of Ap Bac. Three U.S. soldiers died in the skirmish, which received extensive coverage in the American press. Several of those accounts were critical of the South Vietnamese performance, generating searching editorials on the status of the U.S.

Jan 15, 1963 Dispatching the Wheeler Mission John Kennedy, Joint Chiefs of Staff

President Kennedy met with his senior military advisors immediatly preceding their departure on a fact-finding trip to Vietnam. The Wheeler Mission, named for Army Chief of Staff Gen. Earle G. Wheeler, had been proposed by the Joint Chiefs the previous week following the Battle of Ap Bac, the first major confrontation between South Vietnamese and Vietcong forces.