The Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This paper explores the historical event of the assassination of  John F. Kennedy the 35^th President of the United States who  was fatally shot in a car whilst being accompanied by his wife Jacqueline. This was a shattering event at the time and the ramification was felt throughout the world. It heralded a number of conspiracy theories and was later made into a feature film.  JFK was a greatly admired President and viewed as a beacon of new hope and prosperity for the American people. The paper addresses the question of – Do we really know who was responsible for the presidential assassination and do we believe the findings of the Warren Commission?

Introduction

President Kennedy had arranged a presidential visit to Dallas for three main reasons: (1) It was the start of his presidential campaign for re-election as President (2) to help in the fund raising efforts for the Texas Democratic Party and (iii) to mend some political fences that had occurred with the Texan Democratic Party. There were concerns about the security arrangement for the President long before his arrival in Dallas.  The concept of Presidential assassination is not new to American History and one remembers the fall of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865.  This brought about a poem of lament of the death of Lincoln called “O Captain My Captain” (George, 2003). For those who lived through this period many will remember what they were doing at the time of the Presidents assassination.  The UK witnessed a similar public outrage when Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris also in suspicious circumstances with a conspiracy theory developing.  When the news unfolded. John F Kennedy will be remembered for a number of significant events in his Presidency.  These include the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that came into being in 1963.  The development of the Peace Corps that took volunteers in order to help underdeveloped countries. He was also noted for his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs.

The Assassination

In the early days “the assassination of John F Kennedy was thought to be the work of a lone gunman seeking the attention of others” (James W. Pennebaker, 1997).  However it was later discovered that the President was killed by a number of different assassin’s bullets. “A number of observers lay witness to the fact that they witnessed firing from different areas” (Carter, Was Lee Harvey Oswald the real killer of President Kennedy?, 2009)

On that fateful day “Bullets struck the President’s neck and head and he slumped over toward Mrs. Kennedy. The Governor was also hit in the chest.” (November 22, 1963: Death of the President, 2010).  It was at  1.00pm  that a Catholic Priest administered the last rights and announced the death of the President.   The Governor, despite his serious wounds, later recovered.  A short time later “It was Lyndon B Johnson who took the oath of office to be elected the next US President  and within the hour the police had made the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman and assassin of the President.  (November 22, 1963: Death of the President, 2010).  Next Sunday morning Oswald was being taken from Police Headquarters to the County Jail but before he could make it he too was gunned down “Viewers across America watching the live TV coverage suddenly saw a man aim a pistol and fire at point blank range. The assailant was identified as Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner. Oswald died two hours later at Parkland Hospital.” (November 22, 1963: Death of the President, 2010).

Warren Commission

This was established in order to investigate and the assassination of the President and will be remembered for the result of its findings: “It issued its now-famous finding that Lee Harvey Oswald, alone and unaided, killed President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963. It further found that Jack Ruby’s murder of Oswald, while Oswald was in police custody, was also not part of any conspiracy” (History Matters, 2010).

Over 50,000 documents were numbered and investigated as part of the examination of the events leading towards the Presidents death.  What is significant is that the commission stated that Oswald was the lone gunman who killed the President.  It ruled out the “grassy knoll” theory and secondary gunmen in the plot.  It also stated that the killer of Oswald (Jack Ruby) was not implicated or part of a conspiracy  There later followed a number of conspiracy theories and this started on the assumption that the President was killed by two bullets that were shot from different angles Later ballistics reports confirmed this “

Many of the public believed that the CIA was involved in a plot to get rid of the President because of his handling of the ‘Bay of Pigs’ affair. Whilst others state that it was his opposition to the Vietnam War where Lyndon B Johnson was implicated.  Many different conspiracy theories started to emerge. “A 2003 ABC News poll found that 70% of Americans believe Kennedy’s death was the result of a broader plot. (Time, 2010).

The Public became much more distrustful of the political scene as the Vietnam War took place and later the Watergate scandal “New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison stepped into the fray in 1967, using the loose ends of Oswald’s life to speculate that the CIA had somehow been involved. (Hall, 1998). There was also the thought that JFK was against Israel building a nuclear weapons program and secretly opposed this. As such the Israeli intelligence service, in collaboration with the CIA wanted him removed from the scene.  The CIA wanting the Vietnam war to take place, which Kennedy also opposed “New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, had privately concluded that the Mossad was ultimately the driving force behind JFK’s murder?” (Piper, 2010)

Interpretation of the Event

In general terms the international community was saddened and extremely shocked at the death of the President.  Many saw Kennedy as the bright hope for the American future and an ambassador for peace.  This particularly so in the UK and Europe.  The author Michael Collins in his novel did not pull any punches in implicating Israel stating that they were the driving force , in consortium with the CIA, in developing the assassination plot. (Piper, The Missing Link in the JFK Assassination Conspiracy , 2005).

Israel was known to be disappointed with Kennedy in his non-support of their nuclear arms program development.  Israel, in secret, began working with China on the development of its’ own nuclear program “China conducted its first nuclear test in October, 1964.with Israel following along shortly thereafter. (Piper, The Missing Link in the JFK Assassination Conspiracy , 2005).

The CIA was considered to be very interested in Israel’s activities with the Chinese and watched developments very carefully.  This together with the spread of communism and the looming Vietnam War made for interesting days for the intelligence services and a President who supported non-nuclear proliferation and the development of a peaceful world.

Despite Kennedy having a relatively peaceful stance on the world stage, nevertheless he did adopt a very hard line towards communism and its threat to democracy.  In this regard he supported American involvement in Vietnam stating “During this period Kennedy made it clear that he intended to continue the policy of supporting the South Vietnam’s government.” (Spartacus Educational, 2010).  The death of Kennedy was interpreted by the American people, in general terms, as a conspiracy with 70% disputing the Warren Report and claiming collusion or a conspiracy  by the Government or CIA.  The film made by Oliver Stone called JFK went on to develop the conspiracy theory in great detail and to a large extent is still supported by American today.  The French remained concerned about the USA and its position with regard to Vietnam, particularly after their terrible time in that region “President Charles De Gaulle of France, warned him that if he was not careful, Vietnam would trap the United States in “a bottomless military and political swamp(Spartacus Educational, 2010).

Conclusions

It is unlikely that the world will ever reveal the true events causing the death of  the  President.  This was a time of the cold war and many other countries re-positioning themselves on the world stage for power.  One thing is certain and that is the Kennedy dynasty was important in the formulation of the American political scene. The assassination of Kennedy also threatened to slow down the progress of the Civil Rights movement in addition to hamper the peace efforts after the cold war. It was Kennedy and his administration that publicly committed to a civil rights bill and offered his endorsement to the civil rights movement. It was Lyndon B Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy as President, who signed the Civil rights Act into Law on July 2^nd 1964.  Tragically on 5.9.1968 John Kennedys Brother Robert was assassinated by a Palestinian Arab “a Palestinian Arab, Sirhan, stepped forward and fired a .22 revolver at the Senator. Although Sirhan was quickly subdued, Kennedy and five others were wounded, although only Kennedy was fatally wounded” (RFK Assassination, 2010).

Works Cited

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American History. (2010). John F. Kennedy assassination. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from American History: http://www.historymania.com/american_history/John_F._Kennedy_assassination#Background_to_the_Texas_trip

Carter, R. (2003). Where were you when President Kennedy was killed? New York Amsterdam News, 44-45.

Carter, R. (2009). Was Lee Harvey Oswald the real killer of President Kennedy? New York Amsterdam News, 1.

Cook, F. J. (1971). The Irregulars take the field. The Nation, 40-45.

George, P. B. (2003). Elegy for a Fallen Leader. American History, 53.

Hall, P. C. (1998, 11). The Conspiracy Theories. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from Texas Monthly: http://www.kenrahn.com/jfk/conspiracy_theories/Texas_Monthly/Texas_Monthly_The_Consp_Theories.html

History Matters. (2010). Warren Commission. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from History Matters: http://www.history-matters.com/archive/contents/contents_wc.htm

James W. Pennebaker, D. P. (1997). Collective memory of political events: social psychological perspectives . New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Piper, M. C. (2005). The Missing Link in the JFK Assassination Conspiracy . New York: America First Books.

Piper, M. C. (2010). Hushed-up: The Missing Link to JFK Assassination. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from Facts are Facts: http://www.facts-are-facts.com/magazin/2-jfk.ihtml

RFK Assassination. (2010). RFK Assassination. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from RFK Assassination: http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~dlewis/index.html

Spartacus Educational. (2010). John F Kennedy. Retrieved 10 12, 2010, from Spartacus Educational: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkennedyJ.htm

Time. (2010). The JFK Assassination. Time, 1-10.