History 336
Research in U.S. History
Patrick Rael
Ronald F. Hanlon
Fall 2001
Source Report:
Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration
and
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration:
What is it?
Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration is a microfilm collection of documents
gathered from the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on the
executive papers of the Kennedy administration.
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration is a microfilm collection of documents
gathered from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas, focusing on the
executive papers of the Johnson administration.
When was it made? By whom? Why?
Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration was made available by the University
Publications of America in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Library in 1986. As
Carl Brauer states in the introduction to the Civil Rights During the Kennedy
Administration guide, the collection showcases “the Kennedy administration’s efforts to
use executive action to reduce or eliminate discrimination in public transportation and
public accommodations, federally assisted housing, education, and employment.”1
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration was made available by the University
Publications of America in conjunction with the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in 1984.
As Steven Lawson states in the introduction to the Civil Rights During the Johnson
Administration guide, the purpose of the collection is “to gather a selection of major
documents from three key types of records at the Johnson Library – White House Central
Files and Aides Files, the Administrative History of an important agency, and oral
histories – and to make these readily available to scholars everywhere.”2
1
Brauer, Carl, Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration, 1961-1963, index guide, University
Publications of America, 1986, p. x
2
Lawson, Steven, Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration, 1963-1969, index guide, University
Publications of America, 1984, p. viii
Who appears in it?
A wide range of people and organizations appear in the Civil Rights During the Kennedy
Administration collection. For much of the collection, documents are organized
chronologically, with various Executive departments as well as Congress appearing in the
collection. Furthermore, there are a number of Civil Rights leaders who appear in the
collection, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Roy Wilkins, as well as numerous Civil
Rights organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People(NAACP).
The Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration collection is very similar to the
Kennedy collection in that it too contains Executive material such as the White House
Staff, as well as Congress. Secondly, the collection also contains material from the
general public addressed to the President.
How is it organized?
Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration is divided into three sources found at the
John F. Kennedy Library: The White House Central Files, the White House Staff Files,
and the President’s Office Files.
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration is divided into five sources found at the
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, of which the Bowdoin College Library has three:
Part I: The White House Central Files and Aides Files
Part III: Oral Histories
Part V: Records of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders(Kerner
Commission).
How do you use it? Does it have finding aids or supplemental material?
Both collections can be used in the microfilm viewing room at Bowdoin College Library.
The Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration has a microfilm index entitled Civil
Rights During the Kennedy Administration, 1961-1963, edited by Carl Brauer. The
Kennedy collection can also be supplemented with James Harvey’s book entitled Civil
Rights During the Kennedy Administration, which can be found at the Bowdoin College
Library.
The Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration has a microfilm index entitled Civil
Rights During the Johnson Administration, 1963-1969, edited by Steven Lawson. The
Johnson collection can also be supplemented with James Harvey’s book entitled Black
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration, which can be found at Bowdoin College
Library.
2
What kinds of questions can it answer?
Both collections can answer an extremely wide range of questions regarding Civil Rights
during the Movement itself. For any student or historian interested in studying the
African American struggle for equality throughout America, these two collections can be
very useful tools in answering many important questions, including any pertaining to how
the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations furthered, or hindered, the African American
cause. By providing the public with access to government papers concerning Civil
Rights, the University Publication of America has provided an immensely productive tool
for research in African American history in the second half of the twentieth century.
3