Deirdre Henderson (#106)

An Inventory of Her Personal Papers
1959-1961
In the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
List of Series
Description


Administrative Information

Abstract
Papers 1959-1961
Research assistant in John F. Kennedy's Boston office (1959-1960); campaign aide to John F. Kennedy (1960). Correspondence, memorandums, speeches, and other campaign materials relating to John F. Kennedy and the Cambridge, Massachusetts academic community.

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
According to the deed of gift signed October 1982, copyright of these materials has been assigned to the United States. Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excesses of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Received from Deirdre Henderson of Cambridge, MA, in December 1971 (Acc. 1973-039); and in June 1977 (Acc. 1977-031).

Extent
About 1600 items (10 linear inches ; 1.0 cubic foot)

Withdrawn Items: 50
Selected folders may contain withdrawal sheets where 50 documents, in accordance with the donor's deed of gift, were removed from the collection. These include documents which may be used to injure or harass any living person. All withdrawn documents have been placed under seal and upon request the Kennedy Library will review any material which has been closed for a period of not less than 2 years for the purpose of opening items which no longer require restrictions. Researchers should consult the reference staff to obtain the appropriate form(s).

Date Opened
October 1982.

Processed by
Beryl Crown under the supervision of Jo August Hills

Encoded by
James M. Roth

Related Collections
John F. Kennedy’s Pre-Presidential Papers: Campaign Files, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Democratic National Committee Files, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Francis Keppel Oral History Interview, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Bradley Patterson Oral History Interview, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Robert C. Wood Oral History Interview, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

The Personal Papers of Deirdre Henderson (1936?- )

Biographical Note
A graduate of Wells and Smith, Deirdre Henderson came to the attention of the Kennedy office while working for Henry Kissinger, then Director of the Defense Studies Program at Harvard. She was knowledgeable in matters of defense and security policies. Later she was staff director of the Professors-for-Kennedy group. Henderson was responsible for contacting and working with the academic group (“the Brains Trust”) in Cambridge and Greater Boston, and worked closely with professors Archibald Cox, Abram Chayes, and Earl Latham and Theodore Sorenson. She obtained information, position papers, and research materials from the academic community central to the propounding of the ideas of the “New Frontier.”

Collection Overview
The Deirdre Henderson Papers cover the period of January 1959 to January 1961. The papers result from her work as a research assistant in the Boston office of Senator John F. Kennedy and consist of two series: Subjects Files and Name Files.

List of Series
Series 1.  Subject Files
Series 2. Name Files

Collection Description

Series 1. Subject File.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.

This series has numerous miscellaneous position papers and background material on issues of the 1960 campaign, and memoranda pertaining to the academic community. It also covers some details of running the Boston office, inaugural arrangements, future appointments, and a copy of an early paper by John F. Kennedy on Rousseau.
  

Series 2. Name File.
Arrangement: alphabetical by surname.

This series consists of correspondence and position papers generated by members of the Cambridge/Boston academic community involved in contributing ideas and policy suggestions to the 1960 campaign.