Interview with Stuart Symington, June 9, 1980

Interview Summary

Symington begins the interview by reflecting upon how he met John Sherman Cooper at Yale University. Cooper and Symington's lives after Yale are recalled. Symington details Cooper's first term in the Senate in 1947. Symington also talks of his work as the Assistant Secretary of War for Air. Symington discusses his own impressions of Cooper, along with those of President Truman, Alben Barkley and others. The interviewee talks of Cooper's appointments to the U.S. Delegation to the UN and NATO. Symington describes his and Cooper's role in the 1952 Senate. Cooper's views on Joseph McCarthy are explored. Symington reveals Cooper's reputation in India. According to Symington, Cooper rather enjoyed campaigning. Cooper's and Symington's only disagreement in the Senate was over the appointment of Julius Holmes as Ambassador of Iran. Symington discusses Cooper's friendship with John F. Kennedy. Symington then details his and Cooper's positions on the Vietnam War, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and the anti-ballistic missile system. The discussion turns to partisan politics. Symington claims that he and Cooper were conservative on financial issues and liberal when it came to people. To conclude the interview, Symington considers Cooper's accomplishments in the Senate and shares a story about Cooper's middle name.

Interview Keyword

Henry Jackson John F. Kennedy John McClellan Joseph McCarthy Dean Acheson U.S. Air Force Alben Barkley Senate Armed Services Committee Bellarmine College Bricker Amendent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Chuck Spofford Jim Eastland Earle Clements Eddie Jones Foreign Relations Franklin Roosevelt Howard Baker Jim Allen Jock Whitney John Cooper Julius Holmes Leverett Saltonstall Lorraine Cooper Lyndon Johnson Maggie Smith Max Cooper Panama Canal Treaty Present at the Creation Harry S. Truman Sam Rayburn Spessard Holland Robert Taft Teddy Roosevelt Tom Hennings Tonkin Gulf Resolution Walt Rostow Anti-ballistic missile system Yale University

Interview LC Subject

Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991 Politicians Politicians--United States Politics and government Symington, Stuart, 1901-1988 Symington, Stuart, 1901-1988--Interviews United States--Politics and government Bellarmine University Yale University Washington (D.C.) Kentucky Kentuckians Vietnam War, 1961-1975

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.