John F Kennedy Assassination

John F Kennedy Assassination

Introduction

On November 22, 1963, the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, toured Dallas, Texas, on an open convertible to host the state for Democrats in the impending presidential polls. Sadly, Kennedy did not make it back to White House as he was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, a loyalist and staunch follower of Fidel Castro, who had been in the Soviet Union for some period. The murder of President J.F. Kennedy by an opinionated communist supporter coupled with the widespread chaos in the nation in the aftermath of the assassination pumped panic in the heart of Americans, leading to both immediate and across-the-board political and social impacts. Socially, Americans lost their sense of security and hope, while politically, they the vise president LBJ prolonged Kennedy’s policies, but assumed a diverse approach for foreign affairs of the nation. The present paper provides a detailed account of the events leading to the assassination of President JKF, his funeral, and the conspiracy theory attached to the murder.

Events Leading to the Assassination

By the fall of 1963, President JKF and his political advisers were making preparations for the upcoming presidential elections. Even though he had not formally announced his candidacy, it was apparent that he would run and looked assured of his second re-election. A month after touring west, speaking in nine different states within a week, he addressed Democratic gatherings in Philadelphia and Boston. On November 12, he hosted the first political plan session for the next elections. At the meeting, JKF stressed on the significance of winning Texas and Florida and mentioned his plans to visit both states in the coming two weeks.

In the company of his wife, JKF took a tour to Texas, which marked her initial extended public appearance since the demise of their baby, Patrick. On November 21, the President and the first lady left on Air Force One for a two-day, five-city tour in Texas. The President was aware that a feud among leaders in Texas would narrow his prospects of carrying the state in 1964 and focused on a trip to make Democrats organized. He also understood that a small group of radicals contributed to political turmoil in Texas and would probably make his presence felt, especially in Dallas, where Adlai Stevenson, US Ambassador to the UN, had been attacked while making a speech.

On the morning of November 22, a light rain was falling in Fort Worth, yet a gathering of several thousand stood in the parking lot outside the Texas Hotel, where the President had spent the night. A platform was erected and JKF, wearing no protection against the weather, walked out to make his remarks. The audience applauded the President, and he reached out to shake hands. The presidential party left the hotel and headed to Dallas and found a crowd that had gathered. The procession travelled ten miles via a road to downtown Dallas to trade Mart where the President planned to speak at a luncheon. As the car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. he waved to crowds. As it was going past Texas School Book Depository, shooting of guns abruptly resounded in the plaza. Bullets struck the head and neck of the President, and he slumped over toward his wife. The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital, but little could be done to save the President’s life. At around 1:00 p.m., JKF was pronounced dead.

JKF Funeral

On the same day, President’s flag-draped casket moved from White House to the capital on a caisson drawn by six horses and accompanied by on a riderless black horse. On Monday, November 25, President JKF was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after mourners of about 250,000 viewed his body for within 21 hours in the Capitol Rotunda. Several heads of states attended the funeral and representatives from more than 100 nations, with other millions watching on television.

The Conspiracy Theory

After the assassination of President JKF, Americans hold on to conspiracy theories relating to his death. In 1964, the Warren Commission deduced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, yet most people appear to denounce that the assassination was the work of a lone assassin. A Select Committee on Assassinations reinvestigated the death of JKF, concluding that there was potentially a second shooter on the grassy knoll, a hill overlooking the site where the President was shot in his motorcade. A different committee examined the evidence in 1982 and found that reliable acoustic data do not support a deduction that there was a second shooter. The conspiracy of the umbrella man, Louie Steven Witt, appeared to raise the black umbrella into the air as the President’s car drove to the venue. Some have proposed that he provided a signal while others think he could have shot a poison dart from the umbrella. Perhaps, the terrifying theory in public is that the Kennedy assassination was an inside job. The theory postulated that some rogue elements within the CIA acted out of anger over the Bay of Pigs or at the behest of the vise president JLB.

Conclusion

The death of President JKF perhaps remains one of the most successful political assassinations in the world. The events leading to his death, including the political tour, could have contributed to his murder. Numerous theories exist to justify his killing, but many believe Oswald never acted as a lone gunman. After many years, the case remained closed, but many questions continue to linger.