Final Essay-
John F. Kennedy
How did John F. Kennedy really die?
On November 22, 1963, the world believed that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated
John F. Kennedy. Yet two days later, Oswald was killed himself right before his
trail, raising the question of whether or not he was the victim of John F.
Kennedy’s death. Since then, a numerous amount of conspiracy theories on the
assassination of John F. Kennedy came about: Did the mafia shoot John F.
Kennedy? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really kill him? Or did the C.I.A have someone
kill him and cover up the evidence? Let’s take a closer look at these
conspiracy theories individually and determine a possibility on what really
happened.
Who was John F. Kennedy? Ask anyone
in a crowd, and they will tell you that he was the most loved president of all time.
Picture a handsome, young man from Massachusetts: 6’1” and 175 pounds, cool
grey eyes, and light brown hair. (The Presidential Ham). As a brilliant speaker
who inspired a generation of young Americans, a humorous yet hardworking
individual, and the youngest president of the United States (1), John F.
Kennedy fits the image of the American dream.
How did people of the United States
describe their dear President? He was a hero because of these qualities:
leadership, bravery and eloquence, according to HRF. Dionne says, “It tells us
a great deal about the meaning of John F. Kennedy in our history that liberals
and conservatives alike are eager to pronounce him as one of their own.” A 2011
Gallup poll found that he came in fourth when Americans were asked to name the
greatest president of all time, behind Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Bill
Clinton, but ahead of George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, and Thomas
Jefferson.
If the president was loved so much by
the people, what would possibly trigger someone to want to assassinate him?
John F. Kennedy presented himself as a perfect, young, responsible man who only
cared for the well- being of the country (John F Kennedy Personality Traits).
However, behind closed doors, there were many scandals that Kennedy appeared to
be involved him (Preston). There were people who considered Kennedy to be a
trader and arrogant. According to Desert News, it was seen that “before his
assassination, and in between various Cold War crises, John F. Kennedy was in
constant scandal about his supposed relationships with a number of women. From
White House secretaries to supermodel Marilyn Monroe, JFK’s supposed list of
romances was heavily speculated upon, while he was in office and after.” While
the trait of being a compulsive womanizer was blamed on Kennedy’s past
traumatic experiences within his family (Kiger), it began to anger people such
as his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier, because even after he got married, he
continued to involve himself in sex scandals(1). This created a bad image for the president
and had many people questioning whether or not the president was just as
truthful as he made himself appear.
Although the scandals of Kennedy did
arise, and some people showed concern, the wrongs of Kennedy did seem to fade
quickly and were only in the public eye for a short amount of time. (Preston,
Brian). He was forgiven from the crowd because he of “his courageous leadership
in the Cuban Missile Crisis, where he is credited with averting WW3.” (1). Even
though the crowd forgave him for being involved in these sex scandals, it
doesn’t take away the fact that there were individuals who were still hurt that
an ignorant man could get away with taking advantage of young women. (1) Some
of these individuals involved included former White House intern Mimi Alford
who says, “JFK 'took her virginity', told her to perform sex acts on his friend
while he watched, made her take drugs, but never kissed her on the lips. At one
point she thought she was pregnant with JFK's child and he offered to arrange
an illegal abortion,” and “A retired church worker has revealed how John F
Kennedy took her virginity during a debauched 18-month affair while she was a
teenage White House intern.”
Despite his scandals, JFK did make
most people in the United States happy. (“John F Kennedy Personality Traits”).
After getting involved and bringing a positive outcome from the Cuban Missile
Crisis, “risk taker” was added to the list of personality traits that was seen
from the president (1). The most liked trait that came about from President
Kennedy, was that even though he took a lot of risks, he knew when it was
appropriate to. He never tried to put the United States and made sure that the
people in America were always safe (1).
To those who knew John F. Kennedy, it
wasn’t unimaginable why someone would want the president assassinated, but it
did have them questioning who was involved and for what specific reason
(Kiger). Unfortunately, to this day, the answer still remains unresolved, and
no one truly knows how Kennedy had died.
After John F. Kennedy passed away,
many conspiracy theories came about: the mafia shot John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey
Oswald killed him, and the C.I.A had someone kill him and then covered up the
evidence. Which theory best solves the John F. Kennedy conspiracy? Let’s dig
deeper into the evidence and resolve this case.
The first conspiracy theory is that
the mafia shot John F. Kennedy. This theory is believed to be based off of the
fact that the Mafia was furious at John F. Kennedy, as well as Robert Kennedy
for wanting to destroy organized crime (Kiger). The details of what actually
happened on November 22, 1963, the night of John F. Kennedy’s death, are not
exactly clear. What is known is that “Thomas H. Killam, a man who worked for
Jack Ruby, claimed that there was a link between his former employer, Lee
Harvey Oswald and the Mafia.” (“JFK Theory: The Mafia”). Over time, a numerous
amount of people confessed to being a part of the mafia and knowing details
about this crime (Kiger). In October, 1991, Chauncey Holt, “claimed Peter
Licavoli, a leading figure in the Mafia in Detroit, had organized the
conspiracy and named Charlie Nicoletti, Charles Harrelson and Charles Rogers as
the gunmen.” (1). Later to confess, was James Files. “He claimed that two Mafia
leaders, Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli organized the assassination. Charlie
Nicoletti was identified as the other gunman.”(The Murder of JFK: Confession of
an Assassin (1996). Although there were confession from people saying that they
were involved in this crime and knew details about the leader who organized the
assassination, this case has no merit because each person that confessed named
a different leader (1). Many people found it hard to believe that the mafia had
killed John F. Kennedy because the evidence on who killed him wasn’t clear and
the stories didn’t add up. After a survey was conducted at Clear Springs High
School, only six people out of thirty believed that the mafia was involved in
this case.
The second conspiracy theory is that
Lee Harvey Oswald had shot and killed John F. Kennedy. The case ended with
accepting the belief that Lee Harvey Oswald shot three bullets from the window
of the Texas Book Depository and acted alone on this action (Sanders). It was
never clear what Oswald had against Kennedy and the reasoning for wanting to
kill him but it was found that, “He was perpetually discontented with the world
around him. Long before the assassination he expressed his hatred for American
society and acted in protest against it,” (1).
Several theories arose involving Oswald. Some claimed that he worked
alone and other said that he worked with a larger group or organization
(Ayton). One theory in specific claims that, “Oswald was trying to kill someone
else that day – Texas Gov. John Connally rather than Kennedy. It's possible
there were individuals who helped Oswald, but who weren't part of any larger
group or perhaps unaware of what he was planning,” (1). This theory seems to be the most realistic
belief because there was a numerous amount of witnesses. There were two
witnesses who saw Lee Harvey Oswald carrying a bag big enough to fit a rifle in
the day of the assassination, and there were many medical witnesses who
described the bullet hole in the presidents back perfectly to how Oswald was
believed to shot him (1).
The third conspiracy theory is that
the C.I.A. had someone kill John F. Kennedy and then covered up the evidence.
After a report dispersed in 2013 by CIA historian David Robarge, it was
believed that the C.I.A knew more about the situation of John F. Kennedy’s
death than they were sharing. (“We’re learning more about the CIA ‘cover up’
surrounding JFK’s assassination). According to the report, the C.I.A had kept a
numerous amount of information hidden, especially facts that had to do with how
Lee Harvey Oswald spent and lived his life before the death of the president.
(1) The theory is that the CIA thought
John F. Kennedy was going to get rid of them because “he found out the CIA was
trying to kill (Cuban leader Fidel) Castro, and as a result of that, they were
the ones that ordered the killing of Kennedy.” It was believed that Allen
Dulles, the head of the CIA, was the one who was given the task of the killing
(Burgos). The answer over who really shot John F. Kennedy is supposedly hidden
in unreleased CIA files. The unreleased file from the CIA are scheduled to be
released in 2017 “as part of the 1992 Kennedy Assassination Records Collection
Act,” (1). The "CIA has followed the provisions of the JFK Assassination
Records Collection Act, and the National Archives has all of the agency's
documents and files on the Kennedy assassination," said CIA spokesman
Edward Price. "The classified information contained in the files remains
subject to the declassification provisions of the Act,” (1). The theory that
the C.I.A killed John F. Kennedy doesn’t have enough of released evidence for
anyone to truly believe that they were a part of the assassination.
Although no none knows which
conspiracy out of the three is the truth, Lee Harvey Oswald firing at John F.
Kennedy is the most believable because it has the most evidence and witnesses
to back it up.
On November 22, 1963, in Dallas,
Texas, former President, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in a mysterious
way. The results of the president’s death led to three conspiracy theories:
1. The mafia shot John F. Kennedy
2. Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK
3. The C.I.A had someone kill him and
covered up the evidence
In 2017, 54 years after the death of
John. F Kennedy, the mystery of who killed the president remains unsolved. Lee
Harvey Oswald remains to be the main suspect in this case.
Works Cited:
• “Was
Kennedy Tied to the Mob?” National Geographic Channel, 23 Oct. 2013, channel.nationalgeographic.com/killing-kennedy/articles/jfks-secret-mafia-history/.
• The
Dark Side of President John Kennedy, viewzone.com/JFKteen.html.
• “John
F Kennedy Personality Traits.” HRFnd, 9 Apr. 2015,
healthresearchfunding.org/john-f-kennedy-personality-traits/.
• “John
Fitzgerald Kennedy.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Character Traits,
johnfkennedy.weebly.com/character-traits.html.
• (john@spartacus-educational.com),
John Simkin. Spartacus Educational, Spartacus Educational,
spartacus-educational.com/JFKSinvestigation.htm.
• Burgos,
Evan. “An inside Job: CIA a Suspect for Some in JFK's Killing.” NBCNews.com,
NBCUniversal News Group, 20 Nov. 2013,
www.nbcnews.com/news/other/inside-job-cia-suspect-some-jfks-killing-f2D11627219.
• “Lee
Harvey Oswald’s Motives.” Lee Harvey Oswald's Motives in Killing John Kennedy,
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/motives.htm.
• Sanders,
Linley. “Who Killed JFK? A Recap of Assassination Theories and the Timeline.”
Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2017, www.newsweek.com/who-killed-jfk-recap-assassination-trump-reveals-files-693774.
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