Oral history interview with John Joseph Moakley (OH-001)

Oral history interview with John Joseph Moakley (OH-001)

2001

Congressman John Joseph Moakley, who served the Ninth District of Massachusetts from 1973 through 2001, discusses his life and political career. This interview covers what it was like to grow up in South Boston in the thirties and forties; his military service in the Navy during WWII; how he became involved in local politics in the fifties; his career as a member of the Massachusetts General Court during the fifties and sixties; his memories of Suffolk University Law School and his law practice; his late wife Evelyn; how the city of Boston has changed during his career in public office; his thoughts regarding the Boston school desegregation in the seventies; his campaigns for congressional office; his career working in Washington D.C.; his work in El Salvador as chairman of a special task force following the murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter; and his work to help improve conditions in Cuba. He ends by remembering important figures that helped shape his career and giving his own advice for future elected officials.

Moakley Oral History Project

Copyright Suffolk University. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the John Joseph Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.

Moving image

Video recordings

MOV (quicktime)

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English

OH-001

Allison, Robert J.

McEttrick, Joseph

Moakley, John Joseph, 1927-2001

1:48:47