JFK's+assassination

Ari Slifstein & Kirill Dubrovsky Mr. Burkhart American History 5/20/11 __**﻿The Assassination of John F. Kennedy**__ __**Background / Overview of Topic**__ On November 23, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a young president who was loved by all, was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, a twenty-four year old marine who spent time in the USSR. President Kennedy had flown to Texas on November 21st to help solve conflicts between the liberal and conservative wings of the Democratic Party and to win Texas for the upcoming presidential election in 1964. After visiting San Antonio, Huston, and Fort Worth, President Kennedy flew from Fort Worth to Dallas where he was scheduled to speak at the Dallas Trade Mart. In Dallas, Kennedy was riding in an open car motorcade with his wife Jacqueline, Texas governor John Connally, and his wife Nellie. As the president’s car was ready to enter an expressway, at least three shots had been fired. The first shot hit Kennedy in the neck, and the second shot missed Kennedy but hit governor Connally in the back, thigh, and wrist. The third shot hit Kennedy in the head. After the three shots were fired the car rushed away and both men were rushed to Parkland Hospital. Governor Connally survived, but President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. On 2:38 pm. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President of The United States of America on Air Force One. During this time period Texas police were looking for the killer. Later that evening, Lee Harvey Oswald was found in a movie theater and was arrested after shooting and killing a police officer. On November 23rd, Oswald was pronounced guilty and charged with the murder of president John F. Kennedy. The following day as Oswald was being taken from the city jail to the county jail, the owner of a Dallas nightclub, Jack Ruby, was waiting in a crowd at the basement of the jail. He shot and killed Lee Oswald. President Johnson created the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination. After a ten month long investigation, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald was the only one to be involved in the murder. No one can provide enough evidence that proves Oswald was the only one to be involved or the only one who fired shots.



//Picture to the left: Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as president on Air Force One, Lady Bird Johnson (to his right) and Jakie Kennedy (to his left). This moment was filled with mixed emotions with the new presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson but also the death of the loved president John F. Kennedy.// //Picture to the right: After Kennedy was shot, an agent in the car behind got off of his car, ran to Kennedy's car, and jumped on. Then they proceeded to speed off quickly to safe cover.//

=__**Important Key Figures:**__ =

==**John Fitzgerald Kennedy:**  == John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th president of The United States of America. Although he had a short life (died at the age of forty-five) he was one of the most loved presidents of all time. Kennedy was born in Massachusetts on May 29, 1917 into a large, Irish Catholic family. Ever since he was young he suffered many illnesses preventing him from living a normal life. He was surrounded by many books and was in his bed sick most of his early child hood life. Being around books all the time and having a father that instilled good morals made Kennedy a very smart man. After dropping out of The London School of Economics and Princeton because of illnesses he finally graduated from Harvard in 1940. His senior essay, // While England Slept, // for a short period of time became a best-selling book. Kennedy enlisted in the army in 1941 but was rejected due to a back injury but eventually enlisted in the navy. After the torpedo boat he was commanding was sunk by the Japanese, he bravely saved one of his crew members, but in the process miss-aligned his back and almost died from malaria. After winning the campaign against Nixon, Kennedy became the youngest president in history. In his moving inaugural one of his most famous lines was "Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country." Kennedy a brave, intelligent, courageous, and determined man was one of our country's best presidents to this day.

** Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: **
 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a key figure to help restore the dignity and hope of the American people after her husbands death. Onassis showed courage, dignity, and hope for America and helped preserve the image of her beloved husband, John F. Kennedy. She was born in Southampton Long Island, New York on July 28, 1929. Her father was a stock broker an both her parents came from a very wealthy family. She had a younger sister named Caroline Lee. Jacqueline always had an appreciation for horses and for the arts. After studying in France her junior year of College, she returned to America and was awarded the //Vogue Prix// de Paris for her writing, sketching, and fashion but declined the offer to work with the magazine for a year and instead decided to take a turn to journalism. Her job was to interview people and ask them typical questions which is where she interviewed her future husband, Senator Kennedy. After the death of President Kennedy she remarried a Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis. In 1975 she was widowed again and moved back to The United States where she built houses in Martha's Vineyard and New York. In 1994 she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She died on May 19, 1994 in her New York apartment surrounded by her loved one's.

**Lee Harvey Oswald:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was the gruesome killer of John F. Kennedy, our 35th president. Lee Oswald's father, Robert Edward Lee Oswald, passed away two month before Lee was born ( October 18, 1939 in New Orleans). His mother, Marguerite Frances Claverie, had to raise Oswald and his two older siblings alone. Not having a father in his life obviously left a great impact on him. Oswald left school in 10th grade to work. He re-enrolled only to later join the Marines. Oswald was a great marksman but got himself into trouble with higher authorities and eventually got him self a dependency discharge. Soon after Oswald went to Moscow. There he was interviewed by the KGB right before his green card expired. He was told to leave and his response was to slit his left wrist and got himself put into a psychiatric ward. The doctors analyzed him and concluded he did so to further delay his departure. After he was released he was told he cold stay in The Soviet Union and was sent to work at Minsk, where he met Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova, who he instantly fell in love with and married her on April 30, 1961. After he tried to get an exiting visa but it took a while and during that time had his first child, June Lee. The assassination of Kennedy was not his first.On April 10, 1963, he made a failed attempt to assassinate Gen. Edwin Walker. The initial reason for Oswald's arrest at Dealey Plaza was for killing J.D. Tippit, about 40 Minutes after the attack on Kennedy. Officer Tippit overheard a description of Oswald on the radio and approached him. Oswald shot the officer with a revolver and fled to a movie theater where he was then found and taken to the police headquarters. When being transported from police headquarters to the county jail, he was shot and killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Just as Kennedy's death had been caught on tape, so was his. It was in full view of television cameras and was broadcast live. The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald fired 3 shots at Kennedy, with no one else involved.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Governor John Connally:**
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**  John Bowden Connally was a three-term governor of Texas (January 1963 to January 1969). He defeated George Bush, ** ** his Republican opponent, **** in his 1964 term. ** Connally was born on February 27, 1917 in Floresville, Texas. His parents were John and Lela Connally, and he had four brothers and two sisters. The tragedy in Dallas profoundly affected the course of public affairs in Texas and around the world. Connally claims that he heard three shots fired at Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was not the only one seriously injured. Connally was hit by one of the bullets fired that day. The bullet passed through his back, came out of his chest, passed through his wrist, and landed in his thigh. In the election of 1966, Connally, who had kept his promise to appoint black executives, was elected overwhelmingly for a third term. In 1968, both Connally and Lyndon B. Johnson announced that they would not seek reelection. From 1971 to 1972, Connally served as Nixon's treasury secretary. In 1973, he became a Republican and ran unsuccessfully for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. Connally died on June 15, 1993 at the age of 76.

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Howard Brennan:** <span style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Howard Brennan (March 20, 1919 – December 22, 1983) is a witness of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination. He had a clear view of the depository and claimed he saw a man walk from the window of the sixth floor a few times.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">" Well, then something, just right after this explosion, made me think that it was a firecracker being thrown from the Texas Book Store. And I glanced up. And this man that I saw previous was aiming for his last shot. . . . Well, as it appeared to me he was standing up. and resting against the left window sill, with gun shouldered to his right shoulder, holding the gun with his left hand and taking positive aim and fired his last shot. As I calculate a couple of seconds. He drew the gun back from the window as though he was drawing it back to his side and maybe paused for another second as though to assure himself that he hit his mark, and then he disappeared."

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Brennan reported what he saw as soon as he could to police officers. Later in the evening he identified Oswald in a police lineup but could not provide a clear identification. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 30px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__**When?**__ John F. Kennedy was shot 3 times at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 22, 1963. He later was confirmed dead at 1:00 p.m. The President was buried on November 25th on that followin Monday in Arlington Cemetary

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__** Where?**__ John F. Kennedy was hit by three bullets at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Right after, he was rushed to Parkland Hospital where a tracheostomy and other emergency surgeries did not succeed in keeping the President alive. After being confirmed dead, his body was flown back to Washington on Air Force One. This is also where Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President of The United States. Aboard Air Force One was Kennedy's wife Jacqueline, his successor President Lyndon Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson. President Kennedy's autopsy was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital, and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetary.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__**What Happened?**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While President Kennedy was driving in a motorcade with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy and Texas governor John Connally through the street at Dealey Plaza, he was fatally shot at by an assassin named Lee Harvey Oswald. Through eyewitnesses, the Warren Commission determined that three shots were fired. The first one hit Kennedy in the upper back and exited his throat. The second missed Kennedy and hit Governor Connally in the back, came out of his chest, went through his wrist, and finally hit the thigh. The final hit Kennedy in the head. However, there are many conspiracies formed from this event. Was there more than one assassin? Were the medical records faked or real? Was the 7.65 Mauser the sniper that killed Kennedy or the 6.5 Italian Mannlicher Carcano? Why was the parade route changed at the last minute? These questions make people wonder wether or not the government had anything to do with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__**Conspiracy Theories:**__
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">If the bullet that hit Kennedy in the back did not exit his throat, he must have been hit in the back and the throat by separate bullets. If a bullet exiting Kennedy's throat did not hit Connally, another bullet from behind must have hit him.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The rifle found at the Texas School Book Depository was identified as the 7.65 Mauser by Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone and Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman. But investigators later identified the rifle as a 6.5 Italian Mannlicher Carcano.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Three shots were said to be fired from the Depository, but many witnesses have reported hearing shots come from 2 directions or more.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Along with many others, three tramps were taken into custody after the assassination. They were found in the train yards close to Dealey Plaza. They were questioned by the Sherriff but there were no arrest records found. Nobody even knew if anything was recorded on the matter.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__**Impact (significance) of the topic?**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The assassination of president John F. Kennedy was a hard blow to the morals of the American people. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__**References/Works Cited**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">“The JFK Assassination.” //www.maryferrell.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.maryferrell.org/‌wiki/‌index.php/‌JFK_Assassination>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">McAdams, John. “The Three Tramps.” //mcadams.posc.mu.edu//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/‌3tramps.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"John F. Kennedy: assassination." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 17 May 2011.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"John F. Kennedy motorcade." Image. Library of Congress. //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 18 May 2011.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Assassination of John F. Kennedy." //Crime and Punishment: Essential Primary Sources//. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 110-113. //Gale U.S. History In Context//. Web. 18 May 2011. <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19px; padding-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"John F. Kennedy." //<span style="background-color: transparent; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 May 2011.

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis." //<span style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 May 2011.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">Brennan, Howard. “Testimony of Howard Brennan.” Interview by Belin. //www.aarclibrary.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"><http://www.aarclibrary.org/‌publib/‌jfk/‌wc/‌wcvols/‌wh3/html/‌WC_Vol3_0076a.htm>.

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Lee Harvey Oswald." //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-origin: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 May 2011. <span style="color: #121917; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"John Connally." //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-origin: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 May 2011.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__** Picture Links **__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Johnson being sworn in: http://ph.cdn.photos.upi.com/Archives/9c35760859362747dfb793292bcadfe0/Vice-President-Lyndon-B-Johnson-is-sworn-into-the-office-of-the-Presidency-aboard-Air-Force-One-hours-after-the-assassination-of-President-John-F-Kennedy_8.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Kennedy: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UoXygw19ss8/TTCtN3tmF_I/AAAAAAAABQY/pEeokCp9DeI/s1600/jfk-quotes.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Inside motorcade after shot:http://www.facts-are-facts.com/magazin/2-jfk.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Kennedy with presidential seal behind him: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kC5MT2r5U8s/TThvmL1NPrI/AAAAAAAARzM/6HDVcMGEUzc/s1600/john+f+kennedy.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Jacueline: http://rlangdon49.blogspot.com/2011/01/jacqueline-kennedy-woman-of-poise-class.html <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Oswald: http://crujonessociety.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lee-harvey-oswald-mug-shot.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">John Connally: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/1/16/20091110081925!John_Connally.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Depository: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/HowardBrennan.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Arlington Cemetary: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zOH417XH_BQ/TYWCs2BVrGI/AAAAAAAABi0/FY28lB90Jns/s1600/arlington-cemetery-615-778694.jpg <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Kennedy's Brains: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RwmGaB6TA0s/TT6IOcuOXhI/AAAAAAAAMmY/meM48QFibyg/s1600/colour+autopsy+photo+01.jpeg