Attribution: JFK limousine by Walt Cisco, 22 November 1963. Public Domain
overview
Attribution: The route taken by the motorcade within Dealey Plaza by Warren Commission, 22 November 1963. Public Domain
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JFK, JFK's wife Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson were on a two-day trip to Texas to aid in JFK’s reelection campaign. On November 22, 1963 in Dallas, JFK, Jacqueline Kennedy, Democratic Texas Governor John Connally and his wife all rode in an open custom convertible to Trade Mart where JFK was supposed to give a speech. As the car passed the Texas School Book Depository building, shots were fired. One went through the president’s throat and, according to the Warren Report, passed through Governor Connally’s shoulder and wrist and ended up in his thigh. JFK was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
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aftermath
Bullet casings were found near a window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building, and a rifle elsewhere on the sixth floor was later proved to have been owned by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald had been working there for about a month and he was seen entering the building and being in the building right after the shooting. Oswald had fled to a boarding house that he was staying at and encountered Dallas Policeman J.D. Tippit whom he killed with a .38 revolver in the presence of multiple witnesses. Oswald pleaded innocent and on November 24, while being transferred from City Hall to county jail, a nightclub owner named Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald in front of the press.
the shooter
Lee Harvey Oswald had a history of violence from a young age; he once even chased his half-brother with a knife. He dropped out of high school and joined the Marines. He was a competent sharpshooter and started expressing pro-Soviet and radical views. Oswald got a secured release from the Marines and 9 days later went to the Soviet Union to become a citizen -- which he did unsuccessfully. Upon his return to the United States, the CIA interviewed him to make sure he wasn't a threat.
When Oswald was living in Dallas, he was actually under active surveillance by the FBI. However, the FBI did not inform the Secret Service, who arranged JFK's visit to the city, about Oswald. |
Attribution: Lee Harvey Ozwald booking photo by 00anders, 23 November 1963. Public domain.
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the warren commission
President Johnson was convinced that JFK’s assassination was a result of a conspiracy but did not want to push action against the Soviet Union until they had solid evidence. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren was the head of the investigation. After 10 months, the commission -- drawing from a long FBI report, eyewitnesses, Kennedy’s autopsy, physical analysis, and a couple of videos shot by citizens at the scene -- concluded that Oswald had acted alone.
believability
After gathering all of this data, it is clear that there are some holes to the official story. It seems suspicious that the FBI did not inform the Secret Service about Oswald. However, the Secret Service did not reveal to the FBI JFK's motorcade route, so the FBI would not have known in the first place to inform them that Oswald worked at one of the buildings that JFK would pass. In this time, the FBI and Secret Service did not have great communication so it does not seem like a good reason to doubt the official story. Another hole to the story is the magic bullet theory, which claims that the same bullet traveled through JFK and into Governor Connally and stayed intact while the other 2 bullets found were not intact. Although this seems far fetched, there were only 3 bullet casings found where Oswald was firing, so if the magic bullet theory is false, then there had to have been a second shooter. The released JFK assassination records actually indicate that there is a significant probability that there was a second shooter. However, there has been no evidence found other than hazy eyewitness testimony and an analysis of a recording of the assassination, which was not enough evidence for the Warren Commission to say that there was a second shooter.
It mainly comes down to believing the magic bullet theory or not. There aren't any other major holes to the official story that could warrant someone not believing in it. But, even the name "magic bullet theory" makes it seem less probable in people's eyes, so the only way for people to make a decision on what they think is to look at all sides, including the conspiracies.
It mainly comes down to believing the magic bullet theory or not. There aren't any other major holes to the official story that could warrant someone not believing in it. But, even the name "magic bullet theory" makes it seem less probable in people's eyes, so the only way for people to make a decision on what they think is to look at all sides, including the conspiracies.
bibliography
Assassination Archive and Research Center. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0372b.htm
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019, November 20). Lee Harvey Oswald. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lee-Harvey-Oswald
Findings. (2015, August 15). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1b.html#search
Wallenfeldt, J. (2019, November 15). Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-John-F-Kennedy/Conspiracy-theories
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019, November 20). Lee Harvey Oswald. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lee-Harvey-Oswald
Findings. (2015, August 15). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1b.html#search
Wallenfeldt, J. (2019, November 15). Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-John-F-Kennedy/Conspiracy-theories