Oral history transcript, James M. Quigley, interview 1 (I), 10/25/1968, by David G. McComb

Title:

Oral history transcript, James M. Quigley, interview 1 (I), 10/25/1968, by David G. McComb

Number of Pages:

45

Description:

Biographical information; how Quigley became a Democrat in 1949; family political history; Quigley's congressional campaign in 1950 and election in 1954; Quigley's campaign losses in 1950 and 1956; Quigley's work for Senator Joe Clark and Quigley's 1958 election to Congress; JFK's role in Quigley's 1960 congressional election defeat; how JFK's Catholicism was viewed by Pennsylvania voters; the new House Committee on Science and Astronautics and why Quigley was interested in it; Quigley's opinion of Sam Rayburn and politicians in general; Quigley's work on the House Judiciary Committee; how Quigley became a member of a subcommittee investigating the Civil Aeronautics Board and Federal Communications Commission; the Texas table in the House Dining Room; the 1960 Democratic National Convention and Quigley's view of LBJ at that time; JFK's decision to ask LBJ to be his vice-presidential running mate and LBJ's decision to accept; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Abraham Ribicoff; Quigley's work as assistant secretary of HEW; the independent nature of agencies under HEW; Anthony Celebrezze as secretary of HEW; JFK's underestimation of the impact HEW programs could have had; JFK's legislative failures; contrasting how JFK and LBJ dealt with Congress; Quigley's decision to stay at HEW after JFK was assassinated; how LBJ handled his transition to the presidency; Quigley's work with pollution, specifically the Clean Air Act and water pollution after the 1961 Water Pollution Control Act; Quigley's work on civil rights; LBJ's growth and sincerity regarding civil rights; civil rights in the Kennedy Administration; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and HEW's submission of ideas for the Act; 1963 events in Birmingham as a turning point in civil rights legislation; Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; LBJ's involvement in the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights bill; Quigley's history of involvement with pollution control legislation; the Water Quality Act of 1965; LBJ's, Joe Califano's, and Charles Schultze's understandings of pollution control; the decision to move the Water Pollution Control Administration from HEW to the Department of the Interior; Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and Secretary of HEW John Gardner; how Quigley became the first commissioner of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration in 1966; setting water quality standards; the debate over degrading streams; Quigley's conflict with Frank DiLuzio; Quigley's decision to leave the federal government.

Contributor:

Quigley, James M.

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with James M. Quigley

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details