This page covers only previous History Day topics, and is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to President John F. Kennedy
See also: additional topics in History Day guides and Connecticut State Library (CSL) general guides.
These are institutions not listed under a specific topic, and tend to have broader coverage of te topic.
Selected Websites
Selected Databases. Others may be of help.
suggested terms: Space race; sputnik; specific names of rockets
Other terms used during the time period being studied
Public policy issues from Congressional Research Service. Coverage: CRS reports, 1916 - ; Committee Prints, 1830 -. Updated continuously. National and international.
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general key word, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.
Comprehensive index and selected full-text source for Congressional publications. Coverage: 1819-
These are only some suggestions. Search our library catalog, digital collections, and databases for additional resources.
While preference is given to online resources that students may access from home or school, many of the federal documents may be available in print at the Connecticut State Library (CSL).
HeinOnline has organized and indexed the recent released documents from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This collection consists of more than 72,000 volumes, including FBI, CIA, and other government agency materials. Also find supplemental material such as books, hearings, other related works, and scholarly articles on the topic.
Comprehensive index and selected full-text source for Congressional publications. Coverage: 1819-
President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 was passed unanimously in 1992, and requires "all records previously withheld either in part or in full should be released on October 26, 2017, unless authorized for further withholding by the President of the United States." (NARA JFK Assassination Records Processing Project, https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/processing-project). On October 26, 2017, President Trump released "Presidential Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies", which provided an additional six months for agencies to release withheld records. This was later increased to four years.
The JFK Assassination Records Processing Project at U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) states (as of October 22, 2021, see link below):
"When Congress passed the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act in 1992 agencies throughout the Federal Government transferred assassination-related records to the National Archives which established the JFK Assassination Records Collection. The Collection consists of approximately 5 million pages of records. Approximately 88% of the records in the Collection are open in full. An addition 11% are released in part with sensitive portions removed. Approximately 1% of documents identified as assassination-related remain withheld in full. All documents withheld either in part or in full were authorized for withholding by the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), an independent temporary agency that was in existence from 1994 to 1998."
"According to the Act, all records previously withheld either in part or in full should be released on October 26, 2017, unless authorized for further withholding by the President of the United States."
There was an additional release on December 15, 2022. See link below for NARA page on these documents.
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