how robert kennedy got appointed attorney general

by Delpha Kshlerin 3 min read

Kennedy resigned from the committee to conduct his brother's successful campaign in the 1960 presidential election. He was appointed United States Attorney General at the age of 36, becoming the youngest Cabinet member in U.S. history since Alexander Hamilton in 1789.

What did Robert Kennedy do as Attorney General?

A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law, Kennedy was appointed attorney general after his brother John Kennedy was elected president in 1960. In this role, Robert Kennedy fought organized crime and worked for civil rights for African Americans.

When did John F Kennedy become an attorney?

Kennedy was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1951, and began to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1955. He joined the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice as an attorney in 1951.

Why did John F Kennedy step down as Attorney General?

As Kennedy stepped down from being attorney general in 1964 to assume the office of senator from New York, The New York Times, notably having criticized his appointment three years prior, praised Kennedy for raising the standards of the position.

Who was the Attorney General in 1961?

Sixty-Fourth Attorney General 1961-1964. Robert Francis Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925. He served with the United States Naval Reserve from 1944 to 1946. He earned a B.A. degree from Harvard University in 1948, was a correspondent on The Boston Post, and in 1951 graduated from the University of Virginia Law School.

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Who did JFK select as his attorney general?

Kennedy was elected president in November 1960, he named his brother Robert Kennedy as America's 64th attorney general.

How Robert Kennedy was involved in the civil rights movements?

President Kennedy defined civil rights as not just a constitutional issue, but also a “moral issue.” He also proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1963, which would provide protection of every American's right to vote under the United States Constitution, end segregation in public facilities, and require public schools to ...

How are John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy related?

He is a nephew of president and senator John F. Kennedy, and senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy grew up at his family's homes in McLean, Virginia, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

What were Bobby Kennedy's last words?

After several minutes, medical attendants arrived and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to whisper, "Don't lift me", which were his last words; he lost consciousness shortly after.

What did Robert Kennedy do that was important?

His tenure is known for advocating for the civil rights movement, the fight against organized crime and the Mafia, and involvement in U.S. foreign policy related to Cuba. He authored his account of the Cuban Missile Crisis in a book titled Thirteen Days.

Why did Kennedy lose popularity for supporting civil rights?

Kennedy lost popularity for supporting civil rights because people in some sections of the country opposed granting civil rights to African Americans.

What was JFK's net worth?

List of presidents by peak net worthNameNet worth (millions of 2022 US$)Political partyRichard Nixon20RepublicanRonald Reagan16RepublicanJames K. Polk13DemocraticJohn F. Kennedy10Democratic41 more rows

What's wrong with Robert F. Kennedy Junior's voice?

What made him sound as if he was choking up? In truth, Kennedy has a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, a specific form of an involuntary movement disorder called dystonia that affects only the voice box.

What disease does Robert Kennedy have?

Kennedy has a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that causes spasms in the larynx, or voice box, and affects speech.

Where was Robert Kennedy born?

Artist: Robert Francis Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925. He served with the United States Naval Reserve from 1944 to 1946. He earned a B.A. degree from Harvard University in 1948, was a correspondent on The Boston Post, and in 1951 graduated from the University of Virginia Law School.

Who was the chief counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field?

From 1957 to 1960 Kennedy was chief counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field.

What did Robert Kennedy do in 1946?

Throughout 1946, Kennedy became active in his brother John's campaign for the U.S. Representative seat that was vacated by James Curley; he joined the campaign full-time after his naval discharge. Biographer Schlesinger wrote that the election served as an entry into politics for both Robert and John. Robert graduated from Harvard in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

When was Robert Kennedy assassinated?

Kennedy, November 25, 1963. At the time that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963, RFK was at home with aides from the Justice Department. J.

What was the RFK teamster's blood feud?

He was relentless in his pursuit of Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa, due to Hoffa's known corruption in financial and electoral matters, both personally and organizationally, creating a so-called "Get Hoffa" squad of prosecutors and investigators. The enmity between the two men was intense, with accusations of a personal vendetta—what Hoffa called a "blood feud"—exchanged between them. On July 7, 1961, after Hoffa was reelected to the Teamsters presidency, RFK told reporters the government's case against Hoffa had not been changed by what he called "a small group of teamsters" supporting him. The following year, it was leaked that Hoffa had claimed to a Teamster local that Kennedy had been "bodily" removed from his office, the statement being confirmed by a Teamster press agent and Hoffa saying Kennedy had only been ejected. On March 4, 1964, Hoffa was convicted in Chattanooga, Tennessee, of attempted bribery of a grand juror during his 1962 conspiracy trial in Nashville, Tennessee, and sentenced to eight years in prison and a $10,000 fine. After learning of Hoffa's conviction by telephone, Kennedy issued congratulatory messages to the three prosecutors. While on bail during his appeal, Hoffa was convicted in a second trial held in Chicago, on July 26, 1964, on one count of conspiracy and three counts of mail and wire fraud for improper use of the Teamsters' pension fund, and sentenced to five years in prison. Hoffa spent the next three years unsuccessfully appealing his 1964 convictions, and began serving his aggregate prison sentence of 13 years (eight years for bribery, five years for fraud) on March 7, 1967, at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania.

What was Kennedy's role in the Bay of Pigs?

Concurrently, Kennedy served as the president's personal representative in Operation Mongoose, the post-Bay of Pigs covert operations program established in November 1961 by the president. Mongoose was meant to incite a revolution within Cuba that would result in the downfall of Castro, not Castro's assassination.

Where is the FBI archive for the RFK assassination?

FBI file on the RFK assassination. "The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives" – a collection within the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Archives and Special Collections established in 1984. Appearances on C-SPAN. v.

When did President Johnson run for reelection?

In 1968 President Johnson prepared to run for re-election. In January, faced with what was widely considered an unrealistic race against an incumbent president, Kennedy stated that he would not seek the presidency. After the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in early February 1968, he received a letter from writer Pete Hamill that said poor people kept pictures of President Kennedy on their walls and that Kennedy had an "obligation of staying true to whatever it was that put those pictures on those walls."

Is it illegal to nominate Robert Kennedy as a senator?

The New York Times editorialized, "there is nothing illegal about the possible nomination of Robert F. Kennedy of Massachusetts as Senator from New York, but there is plenty of cynical about it, ... merely choosing the state as a convenient launching‐pad for the political ambitions of himself.".

When did Robert Kennedy go to the Justice Department?

Robert Kennedy at the Justice Department, 1964. Bettmann/Getty Images

Who was Robert Kennedy?

Robert Kennedy was the attorney general of the United States in the administration of his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, and later served as a U.S. senator from New York. He became a candidate for the presidency in 1968, with opposition to the war in Vietnam as his central issue.

What college did Robert Kennedy go to?

As a teenager, Robert Kennedy attended Milton Academy, a prestigious prep school in a Boston suburb, and Harvard College. His education was interrupted when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy shortly after his oldest brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., was killed in action in World War II. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Navy, but saw no action.

Why did Robert Kennedy not deal with Frank Sinatra?

Robert Kennedy was also focused on organized crime figures, and at one point advised President Kennedy not to deal with Frank Sinatra because of the singer's friendships with mobsters. Such events became fodder for later conspiracy theories that the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers were connected to organized crime.

What school did Robert Kennedy attend?

Roosevelt in 1938, the Kennedy children were featured in news stories and even movie newsreels depicting their travels to London. As a teenager, Robert Kennedy attended Milton Academy, a prestigious prep school in a Boston suburb, and Harvard College. ...

Why was the Kennedy decision controversial?

The decision was naturally controversial, as it sparked charges of nepotism. But the new president felt strongly that he needed his brother, who had become his most trusted adviser, in the government. As attorney general of the U.S., Robert Kennedy continued his feud with Jimmy Hoffa.

What happened to Robert Kennedy's brother?

Following his brother's violent death in November 1963, Robert Kennedy went into a period of mourning and sadness. He was still the nation's attorney general, but his heart wasn't in the job, and he was not happy working with the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson .

How old was Robert Kennedy when he became Attorney General?

President Kennedy's appointment of his 35-year-old brother Robert Francis Kennedy as the attorney general of the United States was controversial. According to many, Robert Kennedy, the youngest attorney general since 1814, lacked experience in practicing law. But he silenced the critics by assembling a skilled and dedicated staff, and by promoting innovative and aggressive programs to enforce civil rights, combat organized crime, improve legal access for the poor, and develop new approaches to juvenile delinquency. A display of film footage and personal items of Robert F. Kennedy provide a glimpse into the Attorney General's office. The centerpiece of the exhibit are documents and personal items of Robert Kennedy's placed atop a desk as they would have been on a September day in 1962. Among the items are the his glasses, pens and pencils, his original telephone, bookends, and drawings taped on the wall from his young children.

What did Robert Kennedy do for the Justice Department?

Robert Kennedy brought to the Justice Department a reputation as a relentless fighter against crime and corruption. As Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate’s “Rackets” Committee he had direct experience of the influence of organized crime on America’s economy and government.

Why did the Kennedy helmet dent?

The dent in the helmet resulted from a blow by a lead pipe wielding rioter. Many of the U.S. Marshals sustained injuries in the rioting by those who sought to block Meredith's enrollment. Robert F. Kennedy kept this helmet on a table behind his desk in the Attorney General's office.

What is the centerpiece of the Robert Kennedy exhibit?

Kennedy provide a glimpse into the Attorney General's office. The centerpiece of the exhibit are documents and personal items of Robert Kennedy's placed atop a desk as they would have been on a September day in 1962.

What did Robert Kennedy do to the country?

Through speeches and writing, such as his book The Enemy Within, he alerted the country to the existence of a “private government of organized crime with an annual income of billions, resting on a base of human suffering and moral corrosion.” He established the first coordinated program involving all twenty-six federal law enforcement agencies to investigate organized crime, overcoming FBI indifference to the pursuit of racketeers. Robert Kennedy's anti-racketeering legislation, passed in 1961 and 1963, and the emphasis he placed on the investigation and prosecution of organized crime, led to dramatic increases in convictions.

What was Robert Kennedy's role in the Cuban missile crisis?

After the Bay of Pigs debacle, Robert Kennedy became an intimate adviser in intelligence matters and major international negotiations. His efforts during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 were crucial in shaping a peaceful outcome.

What was Robert Kennedy's role in the Bay of Pigs?

After the Bay of Pigs debacle, Robert Kennedy became an intimate adviser in intelligence matters and major international negotiations.

Who Was Robert Kennedy?

After managing his brother John's presidential campaign, Robert Kennedy was appointed attorney general of the United States in 1960. As attorney general, he fought organized crime and was a key supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. After JFK's assassination, Robert was elected to the U.S. Senate representing the state of New York. RFK was assassinated on June 5, 1968, during the California Democratic presidential primary. He died the next day.

Who was JFK's closest advisor?

When JFK was elected, Robert was made U.S. attorney general and became one of JFK’s closest cabinet advisors. When JFK was assassinated in 1963, Robert resigned as attorney general the following September and announced his intent to run for a senate seat.

How many siblings did Robert Kennedy have?

Raised as devout Roman Catholics, Robert and his seven siblings enjoyed a life of wealth and privilege. Among Kennedy’s older brothers was future U.S. President John F. Kennedy. When Robert’s father, Joseph Sr., became a U.S. ambassador to Britain, the family moved to England.

Who was Jacqueline Kennedy?

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, noted for her style and elegance, was the wife of President John F. Kennedy and a U.S. first lady. After Kennedy's death, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

Who was the chief counsel for the Democratic minority?

In 1954 Kennedy joined the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as chief counsel for the Democratic minority. Kennedy aptly expressed his approach to helping minorities achieve equal rights in a speech to South African students: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

What is the job of the Attorney General?

Kennedy is certain of. More than any other executive officer, he is required to regard means as above ends, process above result. The Attorney General exercises the only civilian control over the FBI, whose vast files contain much unprocessed “knowledge.” He presides as a judge—very often as a court of last resort—over myriad deportation cases. He decides in uncontrolled discretion whom to prosecute and when, and that is a quasi-judicial function. On the record, Robert F. Kennedy is not fit for the office.

Why did Kennedy not plead it selectively?

Mr. Kennedy knew why not. Because as the law of the Fifth Amendment stands, a witness is not permitted to plead it selectively. If he answers some questions, he loses the Amendment’s protection in respect to all other connected ones and must answer them also. And if he wishes to exercise his judgment in the course of a hearing and decide that a given question is so remotely connected to other ones that he should answer it, he does so at his peril. Hence such exchanges as:

What is the sum of it all?

The sum of it all is that Mr. Kennedy appears to find congenial the role of prosecutor, judge and jury, all consolidated in his one efficient person. At any rate, we know that he played it lustily when no extrinsic restraint prevented. There is no warrant whatever for impugning his motives. No doubt he sought to serve the public interest as he saw it. The question is merely how truly he sees it. And the answer on the record is that he has tunnel vision; he sees the public interest in terms of ends with little appreciation of the significance of means. Mr. Kennedy, performing the thoroughly legitimate functions of a legislative investigation was able to convince himself that Beck and Glimco and Hoffa et al. were very bad men who should be destroyed. It was apparent to him that he was in a position to accomplish their destruction, and so he went ahead and tried. He rather thought that Joe Louis deserved a reprieve, and so he stayed his hand. It never gave him pause that his power had been confided to him for other purposes, and that the inner restraint of this realization was relied upon to preserve the integrity of the intricate and ancient process that our government owes those on whom it visits its punitive force.

What amendment did Glimco pleaded?

Starting with the very first question, which dealt with his acquisition of American citizenship, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment: “I respectfully decline to answer because I honestly believe my answer might tend to incriminate me.” Ghief Counsel Kennedy then began putting to Glimco, question by question and in some considerable detail, what the record that I have referred to above tended to show. Climco pleaded the Fifth all along. Mr. Kennedy also put to Glimco, here and there, what was merely suspicion, surmise or opinion:

What did Joe Kennedy say about Bobby?

Joe Kennedy had a saying about Bobby: “When Bobby hated you, you stayed hated.”

What is an AG job?

The AG job is a political appointment & need to be approved by the Senate. So I infer that they are all qualified for the job, if not the Senate would not approve the appointment.

Did the mob have a vested interest in JFK?

The Mob also had the CIA that they partnered with, from running guns to attempting to kill Castro. Both the CIA and the Mob had a vested interest in seeing JFK gone, along with LBJ and J Edgar Hoover.

Did Robert Kennedy's father want his brother to be an attorney general?

When JFK appointed Robert Kennedy as Attorney General he joked that his father wanted his brother to get some legal experience. But RFK had plenty of experience, aside from being considered one of the best campaign managers of his era, he had a distinguished legal career (see below).

Did Robert Kennedy agree with the Commission?

Robert Kennedy himself publicly agreed with the findings of the Commission, but privately, he called it a ‘shoddy piece of craftsmanship’ and wanted to probe into the matter further, had he been elected President in ’68 and ensure justice is delivered, for his brother who he so dearly loved and a President we adored and still do.

Is Kennedy's security pulled back?

Security around Kennedy was pulled way back, an ideal cross angle shooting site with SS not approved 90 degree bends selected over the straight through route.

Was RFK an AG?

His Kennedy sibling status rendered RFK unqualified to be AG, while JFK was president.

Why did JFK nominate RFK?

Now we’re into such partisanship that the most minor defect is objectionable. Possible benefit is we’ll never see nepotism again, at least not in this partisan atmosphere. JFK when asked why he nominated RFK, said he’s a new attorney and “he needs to practice law,” giving new meaning to the expression “practice” law. Anyone a victim of legal or medical malpractice knows that phrase all too well, “practice medicine,” or “practice law.” Like hit & miss, and miss too all often. Even back then, in the era of good feelings, and Senatorial deference to presidential nominations, the RFK nomination was the most controversial, but as it goes, not controversial enough to prevent it.

Who did RFK go after?

Now RFK - decided to go after organized crime and he decided to go after people he considered corrupt and criminal such as Jimmy Hoffa… He was good at his job, perhaps so good at his job that he might have had some part in the murder of his Brother…

What was the saving grace of RFK?

The sole saving grace for the appointment was that RFK had extensive, for his age, experience in the justice department and was a top flight thinker in civil rights, and area that JFK was intent on pushing. There was problems with the brothers being in those offices in that RFK had to recuse himself from many oversight duties, but this was common of many DOJ people in the era and not unusual or even much discussed.

Why did Joe Kennedy make a pact with the mob?

Old Joe Kennedy had made a pact with the mob to get his son elected, not to have the government go after them. This was why RFK needed to be the Attorney General, to leave the mob alone, not to control Hoover, which old Joe actually liked.

Why did John appoint Bobby?

John did appoint Bobby for only one reason; his Father (Joe) told him to appont the runt because Joe did not want Bobby to be the family embarrassment while John was POTUS.

Was RFK mocked?

Yes and yes. RFK was mocked for his youth and inexperience more than his fraternal connection. Keeping Hoover’s mouth shut was an administration goal. Hoover was a Mafia denier and RFK was on the tracks.

Did Ken Starr find anything Clinton had done wrong?

I am, of course, mindful that Ken Starr never found anything that Clinton had done wrong besides canoodle with Monica Lewinsky. Spare the ref

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Overview

Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also referred to by his initials RFK or by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was, like his brothers John and Edward, …

Early life and education

Robert Francis Kennedy was born outside Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925. He was the seventh of nine children to businessman/politician Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and philanthropist/socialite Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. His parents were members of two prominent Irish-American families in Boston. His eight siblings were Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen,

Naval service (1944–1946)

Six weeks before his 18th birthday in 1943, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve as a seaman apprentice. He was released from active duty in March 1944, when he left Milton Academy early to report to the V-12 Navy College Training Program at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His V-12 training began at Harvard (March–November 1944) before he was relocate…

Further study, journalism, and marriage (1946–1951)

In September 1946, Kennedy entered Harvard as a junior, having received credit for his time in the V-12 program. He worked hard to make the varsity football team as an end; he was a starter and scored a touchdown in the first game of his senior year before breaking his leg in practice. He earned his varsity letter when his coach sent him in wearing a cast during the last minutes of a game against

Senate committee counsel and political campaigns (1951–1960)

In November 1951, Kennedy moved with his wife and daughter to a townhouse in the Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and started work as a lawyer in the Internal Security Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He prosecuted a series of graft and income tax evasion cases. In February 1952, Kennedy was transferred to Brooklyn, and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York to help prepare fraud cases against former officials …

Attorney General of the United States (1961–1964)

After winning the 1960 presidential election, President-elect John F. Kennedy appointed his younger brother attorney general. The choice was controversial, with publications including The New York Times and The New Republic calling him inexperienced and unqualified. He had no experience in any state or federal court, causing the president to joke, "I can't see that it's wrong to give him a littl…

Vice presidential candidate

In the wake of the assassination of his brother and Lyndon Johnson's ascension to the presidency, with the office of vice president now vacant, Kennedy was viewed favorably as a potential candidate for the position in the 1964 presidential election. Several Kennedy partisans called for him to be drafted in tribute to his brother; national polling showed that three of four Democrats wer…

U.S. Senate (1965–1968)

Nine months after his brother's assassination, Kennedy left the cabinet to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York, announcing his candidacy on August 25, 1964, two days before the end of that year's Democratic National Convention. He had considered the possibility of running for the seat since early spring, but also giving consideration for governor of Massachusetts or, as he p…

Early Life

Washington Career

  • Kennedy joined the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice in 1951. In 1952, his older brother, Congressman John F. Kennedy, successfully ran for the U.S. Senate. Robert Kennedy then resigned from the Justice Department. He was hired as a staff attorney for the U.S. Senate committee run by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Kennedy worked for McCarthy's committeefor five …
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Kennedy vs. Jimmy Hoffa

  • At the Rackets Committee, Robert Kennedy focused on investigations of the Teamsters Union, which represented the nation's truck drivers. The union's president, Dave Beck, was widely assumed to be corrupt. When Beck was replaced by Jimmy Hoffa, who was rumored to be deeply associated with organized crime, Robert Kennedy began to target Hoffa. Hoffa had grown up po…
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Attorney General

  • When John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, his brother Robert served as his campaign manager. After Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon, he began to select his cabinet, and there was talk of picking Robert Kennedy to be the nation's attorney general. The decision was naturally controversial, as it sparked charges of nepotism. But the new preside...
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Senator from New York

  • Following his brother's violent death in November 1963, Robert Kennedy went into a period of mourning and sadness. He was still the nation's attorney general, but his heart wasn't in the job, and he was not happy working with the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. In the summer of 1964, Kennedy began to seriously think of running for a U.S. Senate seat in New York. The Kennedy fa…
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The Anti-War Candidate

  • Another Democratic senator, Eugene McCarthy, had entered the race against President Johnson and nearly beat him in the New Hampshire primary. Kennedy sensed that challenging Johnson was not an impossible quest, and within a week he entered the race. Kennedy's campaign immediately took off. He began attracting large crowds at campaign stops in states holding pri…
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Death

  • After celebrating his victory in a Los Angeles hotel ballroom, Kennedy was shotat close range in the hotel's kitchen in the early hours of June 5, 1968. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of a head wound on June 6, 1968. After a funeral mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, Kennedy's body was taken to Washington, D.C., by train on Saturday, June 8, 1968. In a scene re…
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Sources

  1. Edelman, Peter. "Kennedy, Robert Francis." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s, edited by William L. O'Neill and Kenneth T. Jackson, vol. 1, Charles Scribner's S...
  2. "Robert Francis Kennedy." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 8, Gale, 2004, pp. 508-509.
  1. Edelman, Peter. "Kennedy, Robert Francis." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s, edited by William L. O'Neill and Kenneth T. Jackson, vol. 1, Charles Scribner's S...
  2. "Robert Francis Kennedy." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 8, Gale, 2004, pp. 508-509.
  3. Tye, Larry. Bobby Kennedy: the Making of a Liberal Icon. Random House, 2016.