The Black Vault Radio Network: PresidentialArchivesUncovered

Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:48:00 -0600

On September 1, 1945, President Harry S. Truman addressed the American people after the signing of the terms of unconditional surrender by Japan.

File Download (0:00 min / 12 MB)

Peace Corps

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:31:00 -0600

President Kennedy launched the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961, by executive order. Four months later, he spoke in the White House Rose Garden to the first group of Peace Corps volunteers.

File Download (0:00 min / 5 MB)

Panama Canal Treaties

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:23:00 -0600

During the first years of the Carter presidency, few events aroused such intense controversy as the negotiation and ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Although past presidents had admitted the need for new treaties, many Americans loudly opposed giving away the canal. When the Senate ratified the Panama Canal treaties in March and April 1978, each by one vote margins, President Carters long ordeal ended. He made an address at the Treaty signing ceremony on June 16, 1978.

File Download (0:00 min / 2 MB)

Noonan and the Challenger Speech

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:20:00 -0600

The morning of January 28, 1986, children in classrooms across the nation watched the Space Shuttle Challenger liftoff, and 73 seconds later, explode in a ball of fire and gaseous vapor. Presidential Speechwriter Peggy Noonan talks about the speech President Reagan gave to the nation.

File Download (0:00 min / 2 MB)

Roosevelt's War Message

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:16:00 -0600

At 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared before a Joint Session of Congress to deliver his War Message, an address now known as the Day of Infamy Speech, and asked Congress to declare the existence of a state of war between Japan and the United States.

File Download (0:00 min / 10 MB)

Johnson and King Telephone Conversation

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:08:00 -0600

President Johnson talks with Martin Luther King, Jr., on January 15, 1965. The President discusses his strategies for passing health, education, and welfare legislation as well as his idea for insuring voting rights for African American citizens.

File Download (0:00 min / 5 MB)

Ford and the End of the Vietnam War

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:04:00 -0600

Ford and the End of the Vietnam War

File Download (0:00 min / 25 MB)

Voting Rights Message

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:52:00 -0600

Imagine it is March 1965. The Civil Rights movement is at its height, and youve just watched on television law enforcement officers brutally attacking Civil Rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama. The President addresses a Joint Session of Congress in a nationally televised speech announcing his intention to send a bill to Congress that would eliminate illegal barriers to the right to vote. This speech would become known as the The American Promise or the Voting Rights Message.

File Download (0:00 min / 42 MB)

Nixon's Rationale for China Trip

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:32:00 -0600

On July 15, 1971, President Nixon announced to the nation that the Peoples Republic of China had invited him to visit, and he had accepted. He also stated that Henry Kissinger, who was Assistant for National Security Affairs, had made a secret trip to Peking in order to plan for the visit. His announcement resulted in strong public reactions for and against the Presidents planned trip.

File Download (0:00 min / 4 MB)

Noonan's Exit Interview

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:53:00 -0600

In this exit interview conducted on June 18, 1986, President Reagans speechwriter Peggy Noonan talks about how she came to work in the White House and what that experience was like.

File Download (0:00 min / 74 MB)

Kennedy Speaks at the University of Michigan

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:25:00 -0600

Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy arrived on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan in the early morning of October 14, 1960. In historic impromptu remarks on the steps of the Student Union he asked the assembled students, who had been waiting for hours, if they would be willing to volunteer in assisting underdeveloped foreign countries. This is now widely regarded as the beginning of what was to become one of President Kennedys most enduring legacies, the Peace Corps.

File Download (0:00 min / 4 MB)

Gulf of Tonkin and Civil Rights Workers

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:20:00 -0600

Tuesday, August 4, 1964, was a day of startling news in the White House. The President planned to work on his legislative program, particularly by using the tactic many called the Johnson treatment to encourage passage of the poverty bill, which was signed on August 20th as the Economic Opportunity Act. But two crises interrupted work that day.

File Download (0:00 min / 13 MB)

Johnson and the Great Society

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:09:00 -0600

This episode features a number of audio clips from the Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. Lyndon B. Johnson envisioned a Great Society to end poverty, promote equality, improve education, rejuvenate cities and protect the environment. In a speech at the University of Michigan on May 22, 1964, Johnson declared, The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed

File Download (0:00 min / 14 MB)

Establishing the Peace Corps

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:03:00 -0600

Kennedy asked his brother in law, R. Sargent Shriver, to direct a Peace Corps Task Force. Shriver, known for his ability to identify and motivate creative, visionary leaders, led the group to quickly shape the organization. After only a month of intense dialogue and debate among task force members, Shriver outlined seven steps to forming the Peace Corps in a February 22, 1961, memorandum to Kennedy. Avoiding a drawn out legislative process, Kennedy launched the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961, by executive order.

File Download (0:00 min / 3 MB)

Nixon Reflects on China Trip

Administrator — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:59:00 -0600

After returning from China in 1972, President Nixon explained to a group of Congressional leaders, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, the importance of restoring

File Download (0:00 min / 4 MB)