Interview with John Sherman Cooper, May 15, 1982

Interview Summary

The interview begins with John Sherman Cooper recalling extensively the details of Richard Nixon's choices for a running mate in 1960. Cooper briefly discusses Paul Douglas. The Depressed Areas bill had lacked presidential support and was vetoed by Dwight Eisenhower. In 1961, the bill was back under consideration, this time with presidential approval. Cooper's time spent in the Republican Policy Committee is explored. He discusses his unique relationship with John F. Kennedy. The interviewee describes issues with constituents asking for patronage jobs in the government. Cooper's position on the Aid to Education Bill and federal aid to parochial schools is shared. Cooper was always active on education and civil rights issues. Cooper talks of his background in advocating for civil rights legislation, including the struggles of getting a civil rights bill he co-sponsored passed in the Senate. Cooper speculates upon why Kennedy did not act upon civil rights legislation immediately. Cooper briefly characterizes some foreign policy issues of the Eisenhower and Kennedy presidential administrations, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the threat of Cuba and the Cold War. To conclude the interview, Cooper discusses the last year of John F. Kennedy's life, and Thruston Morton.

Interview Keyword

Andrei Gromyko Dwight Eisenhower Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Leonid Brezhnev Nelson Rockefeller Robert McNamara Thomas Dewey Archibald Cox Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba, 1961 Fidel Castro Commerce Clause Louisville Courier-Journal Great Depression Richard Russell Everett Dirksen Fourteenth Amendment Orval Faubus Jacob Javits Jacqueline Kennedy John F. Kennedy Labor Committee Lorraine Cooper Luther Hodges Wilson Wyatt New York Times Republican Policy Committee Richard Nixon John Bricker Paul Douglas Robert Taft Southern Baptist Convention Thruston Morton Depressed Areas bill Aid to Education bill

Interview LC Subject

Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991 Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991--Interviews Politicians Politicians--United States Politics and government United States--Politics and government Washington (D.C.) Togo Schools Kentucky Kentuckians Civil rights Civil rights movement African Americans People of color Cold War Cuba

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.