Delaney Campbell
Professor Hammett
ENGL 1301
September 25, 2018
President
John F. Kennedy
On
November 22, 1963 the 35th president of the United States, John
Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. John F. Kennedy landed in Dallas, TX in
the early morning while thousands of people waited at the airport for their
arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy greeted the citizens of Texas and walked to the
motorcade for John F. Kennedy to give his speech. “Crowds of people lined the
streets to wave to the Kennedy’s. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey
Plaza around 12:30 pm” (JFK Library). Bullets struck John F. Kennedy in the
neck and also the governor who was driving the vehicle. Kennedy was pronounced
dead and the governor made a recovery. Shortly, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn
into office. Heads turned to Lee Harvey Oswald who later was arrested for the
assassination of the President. Since President Kennedy’s assassination several
conspiracy theories developed:
1. Was
there multiple gunman?
2. What
was the CIA doing?
3. Was
Lyndon B. Johnson up to no good?
Let us take a look into
the day of John F. Kennedy and the conspiracy theories surrounding his death.
There are
several conspiracy theories of how John F. Kennedy died. But first before we
jump into the conspiracy, let’s dive a little deeper into his life and see what
kind of person he built up to be.
Who was John F. Kennedy? Kennedy was a man who was 6’1,
greyish green eyes, and 172 pounds. Most people considered him a handsome
president at 46 years old (“Fast Facts about John F. Kennedy” 2). When
John F. Kennedy was elected as President of the United States later in life, he
was the youngest but also handsomest and most charming President. This helped
him win the election because he was a popular politician and knew the American
people (“Life of John. F Kennedy” 4). Also, he stole the hearts of the American
people which led them to trust him with political decisions.
He was known as the warrior baby because when he
was born, he battled the following diseases: whooping cough, measles,
chicken pox, and the most contagious of all scarlet fever (“Life of John F.
Kennedy” 1). After battling with all the diseases this is
where John F. Kennedy developed his courageous trait.
John F. Kennedy had a huge family. In all there was
seven children. He had an older brother named Joseph who brought out the
competitiveness in John F. Kennedy. His father had very high expectations when
it came to the brothers. His father wanted the boys to win at everything they
tried (Life of John F. Kennedy 2). This connects later when he was running for
President. “He put his heart and soul in what he did” (John F. Kennedy
Personality Traits).
John F. Kennedy was also smart. He went to a
college-preparatory school in Wallingford, Connecticut (“Choate Rosemary Hall”
1) and was very popular when he attended school. At Choate, they stated “You
can be: curious and confident, bold and fearless, strong and determined,
critical in thought, and goal-driven” (“Choate Rosemary Hall”). He played numerous of sports including:
tennis, basketball, football and golf and enjoyed reading (“Life of John F.
Kennedy” 2). John F. Kennedy graduated and entered Harvard in 1963 were his
brother Joe attended and were they played football together (“Life of John F.
Kennedy” 3). John F. Kennedy
built these traits up while attending Choate Rosemary Hall because that is what
their “core values” are.
You can say so far in John F. Kennedy’s traits are
very strong and seems to be like his big brother Joe. John had to live up to
big expectations from his father. He grew traits that would help him be
successful in the future. For example, he is very smart, brave, and courageous
to help all his brothers and sister out while their father was out battling.
Joe and John were the men of the family helping their mother. After both John
and Joe graduated from Harvard University, they both enlisted into the
Navy. After John got home from the
Navy, he was honored an award for his leadership and courage on the
battlefield.
John F. Kennedy was never a selfish person. He
always cared for others and always put people before himself. When he
returned home from the Navy, John and one of his brothers Joseph, sat down and
had a very serious conversation about what John future holds. Joe had a tragic
death and that changed everything for John. This conversation led himself into
falling in love with politics. Joseph convinced him to run for Congress
in Massachusetts's eleventh district and John was determined to win. This
was the start of his political career and was determined to run for President
in the future. Having this
determination helped him win the election.
When
he given his Inaugural Address in 1961 he stated one of the most driven quotes,
“Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your
country.” (“President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address 1961”). This quote
made the citizens believe that he will do anything for his country and will do
actions needed to make the country better. This showed good character because
he is trying to improve the country’s political image.
In the event of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, several
conspiracy theories are highlighted. The first conspiracy theory is there were
multiple gunman. Lee Harvey Oswald was one of the shooters in this act and when
he fired both Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Connally. “In 1976, the Select Committee on
Assassinations, which reinvestigated JFK’s killing as well as Martin Luther
King Jr.’s concluded there was “probably” a second shooter on the “grassy
knoll,” a hill overlooking the site where Kennedy was killed” (“Hallemann”). Some
citizens believe it was a magic bullet or another gunman (“Victor”). The Warner
Commission believes that there was no second gunman and Lee Harvey Oswald acted
alone, but the citizens of the United States think otherwise, and the theory
still lives on that there was a second gunman (“Hallemann”).
This theory may work because there is no way Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. He
must have had a partner to assist him in the act. This partner must have had a
clean line of sight because where Oswald was there is no view of the president.
The second conspiracy theory is that the CIA was up to no
good. “Supposedly Kennedy was
fed up with the shenanigans that the CIA was pulling” (“Patterson”).
Theories state that the CIA was mad at President John. F Kennedy because he
refused to offer air support for the Bay of the Pigs Invasion, a mission sponsored
by the CIA to overthrow Fidel Castro (“Weller”). Kennedy already planned to disband the CIA. Being the
CIA, they planned to get rid of John F. Kennedy before he did anything to
jeopardize the CIA as a whole and gave orders to Lee Harvey Oswald to make sure
this happened. This theory could be very true to the fact that the CIA could’ve
used Lee Harvey Oswald as a cushion to protect the CIA and no fingers could be
pointed at them instantly.
The third conspiracy theory is that the newly sworn
Lyndon B. Johnson had something to do with the assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson
was the Vice President when Kennedy was in office. “Johnson plotted the
assassination because he “disliked” the Kennedy’s” (“Findings”). Several hours
after Kennedy was pronounced dead, Johnson got sworn into office on Air Force
One. One motive that Johnson might have had is when he found out that Kennedy
wanted to drop his Democratic ticket in favor for another candidate (“John F.
Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories”). According to Evelyn Lincoln JFK’s
secretary, Kennedy planned to replace Johnson as Vice President. He told her
three days before he was assassinated (“Weller”).
Johnson was possibly plotting revenge and just overall hurt when he found out
the news and decided to take matters into his own hands. This theory is a
strong idea because he wasn’t hurt or shocked when the President got killed.
All of these conspiracy theories
tied together make a good, solid case that others were involved in the
assassination of JFK. They all state that
Lee Harvey Oswald had some sort of help for the assassination of John F.
Kennedy. Based on a survey, students and citizens believe that the CIA had some
sort of influence on Lee Harvey Oswald to commit this act. In fact, 47% of the
votes on the social media network, Twitter, said that the CIA was involved
somehow. These conspiracy theories may never be solved but we will always have
that question in the back of our mind, what really happened on November 22,
1963?
Famous words from John
F. Kennedy; “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than
the long-range risks of comfortable inaction” (Mittal). After JFK’s
assassination several conspiracy theories arose.
Was
there multiple gunman?
Was
the CIA up to no good?
Was
Lyndon B. Johnson up to no good?
After
diving into each conspiracy theory, evidence shows that the CIA was up to no
good and may be a part of John F. Kennedy’s assassination process.
Works
Cited
F. Kennedy", "Life of John. “Life of John F. Kennedy.” John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 1917,
www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Life-of-John-F-Kennedy.aspx.
“Findings.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records
Hallemann,
Caroline. “The Kennedy Conspiracy Theories That Still Endure 50 Years After
JFK's Death.” Town
& Country, Town & Country, 11 Apr. 2018,
Inaugural Address (1961), "President John F. Kennedy's. “President
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961).” Our Documents - President
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961), 1961,
www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=91.
“John F. Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, 21
Oct. 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination_conspiracy_theories#Ly
don_B._Johnson_conspiracy.
Mittal, Tarun. “35 Quotes on
Politics, War, and Life by John F Kennedy on His 100th
Birthday.” YourStory.com,
Yourstory, 28 May 2017, yourstory.com/2017/05/quotes-by-john-f-kennedy/.
Network, 21 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/us/jfk-assassinationconspiracytheories-debunked/index.html.
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Personality Traits.” HRF, 9 Apr. 2015,
healthresearchfunding.org/john-f-kennedy-personality-traits/.
"Personality
Traits of John F, Kennedy", Admin. “The D Level | College Sucks.” The D
Level
College Sucks, 2014,
www.dlevel.com/2014/02/23/personality-traits-of-john-f-kennedy/.
Patterson,
Thom. “One JFK Conspiracy Theory That Could Be True.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 21 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/us/jfk-assassination-conspiracytheories-debunked/index.html.
Rosemary,
Choate. “About.” Choate Rosemary Hall, 1940, www.choate.edu/about.
Victor,
Daniel. “A J.F.K. Assassination Glossary: Key Figures and Theories.” The New York
Weller,
Chris. “No One Knows for Sure Who Was behind JFK's Assassination - Here Are the Top Theories.” Business Insider, Business
Insider, 25 Oct. 2017,
www.businessinsider.com/top-theories-about-the-jfk-assassination-2017-10.
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