Interview with John Sherman Cooper, June 7, 1980

Interview Summary

John Sherman Cooper begins the interview by describing the circumstances behind his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to India. Cooper discusses his relationship with President Eisenhower, primarily disagreements over TVA programs. Additionally, Cooper explains why he decided to get married once he became the U.S. Ambassador to India. An extensive commentary on the foreign relations of the time follows, particularly with regard to India, Pakistan, and the U.K. Cooper then expresses his views on foreign policy issues of the 1950s, including the U.S. giving arms to Pakistan and foreign aid to India. Cooper details how he and Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, developed a good rapport while Cooper served as the U.S. Ambassador to India. Cooper recalls what Nehru's views of the U.S. were in the mid-1950s. To conclude the interview, Cooper illustrates his role in managing a grain crisis in India, including his diplomatic efforts to obtain more aid for India from American officials.

Interview Keyword

John Kenneth Galbraith Leonid Breshnev Mohandas Gandhi Abraham Lincoln U.S. Ambassador Annie Besant Parliament Cambridge University Campaigns Colonies Partition Dixon-Yates contract John Foster Dulles Genghis Khan Goa Great Britian Herbert Hoover House of Commons George M. Humphrey John B. Hollister Arms Katmandu Khrushchev Krishna Menon Lady Mountbatten Law office Louis Mountbatten Lorraine Cooper Mahommad Ali Jinnah Muslims Navy plane Jawaharlal Nehru Nepalese Pakistan Planning board Prime Minister Sherman Adams State Department Tamerlane Tennessee Valley Authority Tibet Troops Drought William Macomber Dwight Eisenhower

Interview LC Subject

Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991 Cooper, John Sherman, 1901-1991--Interviews Politicians Politicians--United States Politics and government United States--Politics and government Washington (D.C.) International affairs India Pakistan Tennessee Valley Authority Marriage Hindus Muslims Independence Colonies United States United Kindgom United Nations Neutrality Cold War Grain Starvation

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

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