John F. Kennedy Conspiracy Theories By: Esmeralda Garibay

 

    

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States, devastated people all around America on November 22, 1963 (November 22, 1963: Death of the President). While on his way to speak to the Dallas Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas, the president was shot twice and declared dead almost instantly after (JOHN F. KENNEDY). Shortly after President Kennedy’s death, a man by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for eligibly murdering John F. Kennedy. When Lee was being transferred to a jail for the murder, a nightclub owner named Jack Ruby, shot and killed Lee (JOHN F. KENNEDY). Immediately after this incident, people began to question whether Lee Harvey Oswald had committed this horrible crime alone. Did Lee Harvey Oswald plan and murder the president? Was the plan led by the Mafia, or even the U.S. military? Why was the president killed and was justice going to be given for his tragic death was a question that many wondered?

John F. Kennedy proved that he was capable of leading the nation at only 43 years old, and is known for being the second youngest president of the United States (John F. Kennedy Biography). As it seems, Kennedy was destined to be an important and excellent leader. John was taught at an early age to be extremely competitive and a winner, which played a big role for his success as a president (John F. Kennedy Biography). Kennedy was also known for all his charisma and his great personality, this helped the president not only win his election but also the hearts of many Americans (John F Kennedy Personality Traits). John F. Kennedy touched the hearts of many people throughout his presidency and was loved by the country he led.

Throughout his life, John accomplished many great things as congressman, senator, and eventually as president of the United States. His presidency was full of accomplishments and although there were many things to love about the president, there was some traits that not many agreed with. John broke many rules, as a matter a fact, he seemed to think that rules did not apply to him (JOHN F. KENNEDY PBS). He believed that it was okay to break the rules as long as it was for the good of the people. From the moment of his inauguration, Kennedy showed his determination for bettering the country, in his address he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" (John F. Kennedy Biography).

One of the biggest accomplishments of John’s presidency was associated with foreign affairs (John F. Kennedy Biography). From the moment he won his election, John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps to capitalize his spirt of activism (John F. Kennedy Biography). John also created the Alliance for Progress in 1961, his reasoning for this alliance was to help Latin America with poverty, but more importantly, the president wanted to stop the spread of communism (John F. Kennedy Biography). With this in mind, on April, 15, 1961, the president ordered for 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban refugees to overthrow Cuban leader, Fidel Castro (John F. Kennedy Biography). Although this mission was a fail, John also had great accomplishments, the most important being the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this time, the Soviet Union was said to have sent nuclear missiles to Cuba, which immediately posed a threat to the United States (CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS).  The president acted quickly by enacting a blockade around Cuba with full determination of using military force if needed (CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS).  This crisis caused fear for many Americans, however, major disaster was avoided when the United States and the Soviet leader agreed to remove Cuban missiles in exchange of the United States not invading Cuba and removing missiles from Turkey (CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS).

John F. Kennedy managed to accomplish many things during his time as president of the United States. Unfortunately, his presidency came to an end after being shot and killed in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. So, if he was admired by Americans, why would someone want to kill him?  After being involved with many foreign affairs, it would be reasonable for John F. Kennedy to be faced with external conflicts between people who might have thought he was too corrupt.

There are several conspiracies that have been made about who exactly shot and killed the president of the United States in 1963. The first conspiracy theory, and the most known, is that Lee Harvey Oswald killed John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested soon after the shooting of President Kennedy. He was initially arrested for shooting a police officer 45 minutes after John F. Kennedy was assassinated (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). Soon after Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and brought into the police station, an employee from the Texas School Book Depository recognized Oswald (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). Lee was known to be a different and a loner, "He was an oddball," said one former classmate, "He didn’t mix with other kids in school." (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). At age 17, Lee joined the military where he was ranked as sharpshooter in scoring with a M-1 rifle, but despite this, he was later kicked out for shooting himself and fighting with another soldier (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). Also, in his personal belongings, a letter to the secretary of the Navy was found in which he vowed to “employ all means” to right the wrongs of his undesirable discharge from the Marines (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). Lee Harvey Oswald was a known communist, an active member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and an avowed admirer of Russia and of Cuba's Fidel Castro (“Accused JFK assassin is arrested, then gunned down”). There were many reasons for Lee Harvey Oswald to be the main suspect in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The second conspiracy theory was that the mafia was responsible for murder of the president.

During the time that John F. Kennedy served as president, his brother Robert Kennedy served as General Attorney and was trying to crack down on organized crime (“Who shot JFK? 6 conspiracy theories”). For this reason, it is believed that the mafia was angry and could have possibly planned the assassination of John F. Kennedy. A mafia hit man named James Files confessed to the assassination of the president of the United States (Jim Meyers). Although Files confessed, only two officers believed that his story was in fact credible (Jim Meyers). When confessing, Files told police, "I took the shell casing. I bit down on it. I looked at it and set it on the stockade fence. There was an indentation from my teeth on the shell casing."(Jim Meyers). The fact that Files told a story with great detail made people believe that the mafia was behind the assassination, but even then most people still considered Lee Harvey Oswald as the responsible man. 

The third conspiracy theory about President Kennedy’s death was that the CIA was responsible. So, what exactly was the motive? The CIA could have been upset for the adjustments being made in the agency after the failed attempt of the Bay of Pigs invasion (“Who shot JFK? 6 conspiracy theories”). This conspiracy is popular because many people believe that the government has covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The CIA did not want to Kennedy to discharge the CIA agents if they disagreed with him (“Who shot JFK? 6 conspiracy theories”).

The most reasonable and supported conspiracy is the one of Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswald was known to be a communist and had reason to feel the need to get revenge. Also, Oswald was said not only to kill the president but also to have murdered a police officer soon after Kennedy. This only proves that Lee Harvey Oswald was a dangerous figure who seemed to be against authority and powerful people. After asking students around the college, 13 out of 20 students agreed that John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. Through all the conspiracies, years later, it is still most believed that the man responsible for the 35th president’s death is Lee Harvey Oswald.

         President John F. Kennedy’s death was sudden and a tragedy, and many were left wondering why anyone would murder the president. Americans were devastated and questioned who committed such a horrible crime against the president on November 22, 1963. What had planned to be a great business trip to Dallas, Texas led to Kennedy’s last day as president. Lee Harvey Oswald was soon arrested for murdering John F Kennedy, but his life ended even before he was prosecuted. Oswald’s death left the case unsolved, which led to many conspiracies about the death of John F. Kennedy. Throughout the years, Kennedy’s killer remains a mystery but evidence is provided for the different conspiracies that have been created. The most popular, until this day, is that Lee Harvey Oswald was the one and only killer of John F. Kennedy. The mafia and even the government are said to be behind the death of Kennedy, but even after all these years, Lee Harvey Oswald still has the most evidence toward the death of John F. Kennedy. Even after 52 years of the horrible act, it has never been declared on who exactly was behind the death of Kennedy, who at the time, was the leader of the United States of America. After so long, after all the conspiracies, two questions are still asked today, “Who killed President John F. Kennedy? Why would someone commit such a horrible crime against the president of the United States?”

Works Cited

(1)   "Cuban Missile Crisis." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis>.

(2)   "John F. Kennedy Biography Civil Rights Activist, U.S. Representative, U.S. President (1917–1963)." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/john-f-kennedy-9362930#related-video-gallery>.

(3)   "John F. Kennedy." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/john-f-kennedy>.

(4)   "JOHN F. KENNEDY." PBS. PBS. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/character/essays/kennedy.html>.

(5)   "John F Kennedy Personality Traits - HRFnd." HRFnd. 14 Dec. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. <http://healthresearchfunding.org/john-f-kennedy-personality-traits/>.

(6)   Meyers, Jim. "Mafia Hit Man Confesses to Killing President Kennedy." Newsmax. 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

(7)   Network, Ashley. "Who Shot JFK? 6 Conspiracy Theories." USA Today. Gannett, 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2015

(8)   "November 22, 1963: Death of the President." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx>.

(9)   Smith, Stephen. "Accused JFK Assassin Is Arrested, Then Gunned down." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.