Sources

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1917–1972, Volume VI, Public Diplomacy, 1961–1963

The Presidential papers of John F. Kennedy, housed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, are a key source of high-level decision making documentation on public diplomacy. A number of collections within the National Security File (NSF) are relevant to research in this area, specifically the Departments and Agencies series, Meetings and Memoranda series, and Subjects series. In addition, the President’s Office Files, specifically the Departments and Agencies series, contains a substantial amount of documentation regarding the United States Information Agency, including memoranda from USIA Director Edward R. Murrow to President Kennedy. Also significant are the Personal Papers of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Schlesinger’s White House Files, specifically the subject file and classified subject file yield documentation concerning the cultural affairs of the Kennedy administration.

The National Archives and Records Administration also houses essential high-level documentation on the implementation and management of public diplomacy during the Kennedy administration. Within the Department of State Record Group 59, the records of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are especially significant, as they contain the files of the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs as well as the records of the Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs. Of great importance is Record Group 306, the records of the United States Information Agency. These collections yield a substantial amount of documentation on USIA’s organizational structure, as well as on program development, implementation, and evaluation. The USIA Historical Collection includes Subject Files (containing records relating to USIA function, mission, organization, and programs compiled by former USIA archivist Martin Manning), Office of the Director Files (containing biographical material on USIA senior personnel and major speeches), and Reports and Studies Files. The Records of the Office of Plans contain both subject files and general subject files. The Office of the Director Files (separate from those contained within the USIA Historical Collection) also include detailed subject files. The Office of Research files contain a variety of USIA printed products, including the Special Reports.

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Unpublished Sources

  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State
    • Central Files.
    • 032: Tours (Visits of unofficial persons to or from other countries, including the United States)
    • 511.00: Psychological Warfare (General)
    • In February 1963 the Department of State switched from a decimal file number to a subject numeric system for its Central Files
    • Lot Files.
    • CU Files: Lot 63D135 (Entry A1-5072)
      • Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary, Subject Files, 1961–1962
    • CU Files: Lot 68D277 (Entry A1-5461)
      • Records of Multilateral and Special Activities, Secretariat to the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs and to the Advisory Committee on the Arts (11/62-1963), Records Regarding a Special Study on Educational Exchange Programs, 1962–1963
    • CU Files: Lot 72D363 (Entry A1-5458)
      • Records of Multilateral and Special Activities, Secretariat to the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs and to the Advisory Committee on the Arts (11/62-1963), Study Materials, 1962–1963
    • Record Group 306, Records of the United States Information Agency
    • Alphabetical Subject Files Containing Policy Guidance, 1953–1961 (Entry UD WW 199)
    • Policy Guidance Files, 1953–1969 (Entry UD WW 266)
    • USIA Historical Collection
      • Office of the Director, Biographic Files Relating to USIA Directors and Other Senior Officials, 1953–2000 (Entry A-1 1069)
    • Office of the Director
      • Director’s Subject Files, 1961 (Entry UD WW 142)
      • Director’s Subject Files, 1962–1963 (Entry UD WW 173)
      • DIRCTR Subj File, 1963–69, Bx 6-29 63-69, Acc. #72A5121 (Entry UD WW 257)
    • Office of Plans
      • Office of Plans, Subject Files, 1955–1971 (Entry UD WW 148)
      • Office of Plans, General Subject Files, 1949–1970 (Entry UD WW 151)
      • Office of Plans, General Subject Files, 1949–1970, Acc. #65A175 (Entry UD WW 288)
      • Office of Plans, Subject Files, 1955–1971, Acc. #65Z1075 [B] (General IOP) (Entry UD WW 334)
      • Office of Plans, General Subject Files, 1949–1970 (Entry UD WW 372)
      • Office of Plans, General Subject Files, 1949–1970, Acc. #67A222 (Entry UD WW 379)
      • Office of Plans, General Subject Files, 1949–1970 (Entry UD WW 382)
    • Office of Research
      • Library, Archives, Office of the Archivist/Historian, Records Relating to the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs, 1962–1978 (Entry P-138)
      • Special Reports, 1953–1997 (Entry P-160)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas
    • Presidential Appointment Books
  • John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts
    • National Security Files
      • Countries Series
      • Charles E. Johnson Files
      • Departments and Agencies Series
      • Meetings and Memoranda Series
      • Subjects Series
    • Personal Papers of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
      • White House Files
        • Subject File, 1961–1964
        • Classified Subject Files
    • Personal Papers of Robert F. Kennedy
      • Attorney General’s General Correspondence
    • Pre-Presidential Papers
      • Transition Files-Task Force Reports
      • Transition Files-Transition Reports
    • President’s Office Files
      • Departments and Agencies Series
      • Staff Memoranda
    • United States Information Agency Records (RG 306)
      • Series 1, Records, 1961–1964
    • White House Central Files
      • Subject Files
        • FG 296: Includes information on the United States Information Agency
        • FG 750: Includes information on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Interna__tional, Educational, and Cultural Affairs
    • President’s Daily Diary

Published Sources

  • The Christian Science Monitor
  • Congressional Record
  • Eisenhower, Dwight D. The White House Years. Waging Peace: 1956–1961. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965.
  • The New York Times
  • The Washington Post
  • United States Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs. A beacon of hope—The Exchange-of-Persons Program, a report from . . . The U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs. Washington: Government Printing Office, April 1963.
  • United States Commission on Civil Rights. Freedom to the Free: Century of Emancipation, 1863–1963: A Report to the President by the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963.
  • United States Department of State. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents. 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967.
  • ______. Bulletin. 1953, 1959, 1960–1963. Washington: 1953, 1959, 1960–1963.
  • United States House of Representatives. Fifteenth Report of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information, Letter From Chairman, U.S. Advisory Commission on Information Transmitting a Copy of the Fifteenth Report of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information, Dated April 1960, Pursuant to Public Law 402, 80th Congress, House Document No. 369, 86th Cong., 2d Sess. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1960.
  • ______. Eighteenth Report of the United States Advisory Commission on Information, Letter From Chairman, United States Advisory Commission on Information Transmitting the Eighteenth Report of the United States Advisory Commission on Information, Dated January 1963, Pursuant to Public Law 402, 80th Congress, House Document No. 53, 88th Cong., 1st Sess., Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963.
  • ______. A Special Study on the Effectiveness of the Past Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs of the U.S. Department of State: A Report to Congress From the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs Pursuant to Public Law: 87-256 Also Constituting the First Annual Report of the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs, House Document No. 93, 88th Cong., 1st sess. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963.
  • United States National Archives and Records Administration.
  • Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961, 1962, 1963. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1962–1964.
  • ______. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S Truman, 1951. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1965.
  • United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Nominations of Edward R. Murrow and Donald M. Wilson (United States Information Agency): Hearing before the Committee of Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Eighty-seventh Congress, first session, on the nominations of Edward R. Murrow to be Director, and Donald M. Wilson to be Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency. March 14, 1961. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961.