Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, September 12, 2011 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Maura Porter
"President Kennedy and James Webb: the Secret Kennedy Library Recordings and the Space Race"
ABSTRACT -- The most outstandingly unique archival material from the John F. Kennedy Library is the Presidential Recordings. These tapes literally provide a "fly on the wall" insight into the President and his staff. None of the recordings from the Kennedy Administration is more interesting and fascinating than those of the two meetings between President Kennedy and NASA Administrator James Webb. The first meeting, in November 1962, was perceived by a few historians as contentious, while in the second meeting, from September 1963, Webb reassured the President about the importance of the lunar landing program. As part of my discussion at the Goddard Space Flight Center, after briefly describing the history of the Kennedy Administration recordings system, I will play excerpts from these two meetings with James Webb, so that those who work in the field today can hear for themselves the historical importance of these recordings and how they can relate to our Nation 50 years later. Finally, although some of President Kennedy's public speeches on the space race are well known, there are other speeches on this subject which in some ways are lost to time. I will play excerpts from some of these speeches as well.
SPEAKER -- Maura Porter is the Senior Declassification Archivist for the Kennedy Library, a position she has held since 2000. Ms. Porter holds primary responsibility for the presidential recordings tape review and openings, as well as the declassification review of Kennedy Administration classified manuscripts. Prior to her present position, she was the Kennedy Library's Senior Archivist in charge of the Research Room operation, a position she held for over a decade. Ms. Porter is a graduate of the National Archives' CIDS Archival Training Program, and is also a cum laude graduate of Boston College.