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Rusk TT, Dean Rusk interviewed by Richard Rusk, Part 2, circa 1985

Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia
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00:00:05 - University of Georgia School of Law / Supreme Court

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Partial Transcript: --increased funding for the Law School or the University, and certainly it has increased public support for those institutions.

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk shares about his philosophy and experience raising funds for the UGA Law School. He also talks about lawyers who have reached out to him since his professorship seeking help with international law. Later, he discusses President Lyndon B. Johnson's intention to name Rusk to the Supreme Court.

Keywords: AID; Abe Fortas; Agency for International Development; Constitution of the United States of America; Dean and Virginia Rusk Fund; East Pakistan; Georgia Museum of Art; LBJ; Senator Richard Russell; Tech-Georgia Fund; West Pakistan; nationalization

00:04:58 - Ditchley Foundation Conference / Export Administration Act

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Partial Transcript: During the early Kennedy years the word vigor was a very favorite word around town and everybody was supposed to pretend to have a lot of it.

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk talks about his experience at the Ditchley Foundation Conference in order to establish the meaning of the word "detente," especially in relation to the Cold War. Later, he expresses his concerns about self-imposed limits on American business in foreign markets.

Keywords: Attorney General Robert Francis Kennedy; Bobby Kennedy; CIA; Central Intelligence Agency; Church Committee; Communism; Cuba; Dean Rusk Center; Ditchley House; Export Administration Act; Fidel Castro; Frank Forrester Church; Henry Kissinger; National Security Council; President Richard Nixon; antitrust; assassination; bribery; congressional hearings; peaceful coexistence; sensitive payments

00:13:16 - The 38th parallel

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Partial Transcript: There is some point--if we could have really effective ways of storing information in a way that it could be quickly recalled if needed for policy questions.

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk talks about the factors that contributed to the decision to divide Korea along the 38th parallel. He also shares some regrets about the decision because its effect on heightening the beginning of the Cold War tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Keywords: American Armed Forces; Colonel Charles Hartwell Tic Bonesteel III; North Korea; Seoul; South Korea; State Department; V-J Day; Victory-Japan Day

00:16:50 - Problems with the CIA

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Partial Transcript: What about other topics you have testified on in Congress?

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk shares several issues he had with the CIA, concerning the attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro and the CIA budget.

Keywords: Allen Welsh Dulles; Bobby Kennedy; Church Committee; Defense budget; Intelligence Committee; JBJ; JFK; John Foster Dulles; Johnson Administration; Joint Committee of Congress; President John F. Kennedy; President Lyndon B. Johnson; Robert Kennedy; Senator Richard Russell; the National Security Council

00:21:29 - Results of the Church Committee / Congressional committees

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Partial Transcript: Are you satisfied with the steps that were taken in the aftermath of the Church hearings?

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk shares his views on the changes to the government, especially the CIA, that resulted from the Church Committee. Later, he talks about the role of congressional committees, as well as the committees' potential problems.

Keywords: Central Intelligence Agency; Congressional consensus; Congressional oversight; Congressional subcommittees; Constitutional immunity; Frank Church; Joint Committee on Atomic Energy in the Congress; Secretary of State; State secrets; congressional hearings; espionage

00:28:46 - Experiences with Congress as Secretary of State

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Partial Transcript: How much of your time as Secretary of State was spent toward preparing yourself for Congressional testimony or actually testifying?

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk talks about the amount of time he spent preparing for and testifying for congressional committees. He also discusses the importance of committees in fostering governmental unity and consensus.

Keywords: Chief Justice Earl Warren; Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum; Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; Senator Richard Russel; checks and balances; separation of powers

00:32:31 - Relationship with Jimmy Carter

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Partial Transcript: Pop, how about significant, meaningful contacts with Secretaries of State and American Presidents since leaving office in 1969?

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk talks about his relationship with President Jimmy Carter throughout the years in Carter's various roles: as governor, President-elect, and president.

Keywords: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; Carter Administration; Panama Canal treaties; President Carter's Inauguration; President James Earl Carter; The White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs; UVA; University of Virginia; campaign staff; presidential campaign

00:37:46 - Relationship with later presidents and administrations

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Partial Transcript: Now, I've been called up there occasionally.

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk talks about the relationships he's had with various presidents and administrations after his retirement. He discusses advice he has and has not given, analyzing the merits of input from those outside the government.

Keywords: Congressional action; Dean Acheson; George Shultz; Henry Kissinger; LBJ; President Lyndon B. Johnson; President Ronald Reagan; Reagan Administration; Vietnam War; advisory committees

00:43:16 - Awards and recognition

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Partial Transcript: And did these fellows offer to bring you into the administration, presuming you might have been available?

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk shares some of the gifts and awards he has been presented throughout the years, including knighthood by the British government, around thirty honorary degrees, and a Cadillac.

Keywords: George Shultz; Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Georgia Chamber of Commerce; Governor George Busbee; Secretary of State; State Department; Sylvanus Thayer Award; United States Military Academy Preparatory School; University of Oxford; West Point; advisory committees

00:48:23 - Dedications and other recognition

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Partial Transcript: There's one kind of interview that I've refused.

Segment Synopsis: Dean Rusk and Richard Rusk talk about different buildings that have been dedicated to Dean Rusk. They also share about other forms of recognition, including a pre-death obituary and a Rusk Roast.

Keywords: AP; Associated Press; Atlanta Gas Light Company; Chipping Norton; Dean Rusk Elementary School; Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication; Lee Street School; Lord's Cricket Field; Shining Light Award; The Rusk Center; UGA; UGA School of Law; UPI; United Press International; University of GA; University of Georgia; University of Oxford; Vienna sausages; baseball