The assassination of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy’s assassination was an event in American history that left everyone reeling. The 35th President of the United States was known for many things, including his picture-perfect family, but his assassination is a significant event in history that still leaves people questioning why and what happened.

How it all happened

John F. Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated on 21 November 1963. He, along with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Vice-President Johnson, was on a fundraising trip in Texas for two days. They had planned to tour five cities – San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Austin. The trip aimed to solidify his chances for the upcoming elections.

However, Kennedy never made it to Austin. After Fort Worth, Kennedy and his team took a short flight to Dallas. From the airport, the Kennedys and the Democratic Texas Governor John Connally and his wife made their way to the Trade Mart in a customized convertible.

As JFK’s motorcade was travelling through Dealey Plaza, the motorcade passed by the Texas School Book Depository building. As they went by, shots rang out across the plaza. Governor Connally was shot, the bullet passing through his shoulder, wrist, and thigh. President Kennedy was struck, a moment later, by a bullet in the back of his head.

They were rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital immediately. However, there was no hope, and Kennedy was declared dead half an hour later. Connally managed to survive the shooting.

Over the next hour, the news spread across the country. Law enforcement was on the search for the assailant, and the suspicion fell squarely on Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald had worked at the depository for a month before the assassination. The police circulated his description and Oswald was apprehended 15 minutes after he left the boarding house he had been staying at.

Oswald’s story

Oswald was questioned for two days and two nights before he was transferred to the county jail. He had denied that he was guilty, claiming to be a coward. It was in the basement of the jail that Jack Ruby, a well-known club owner in Dallas, shot Oswald. He reasoned that he did not want Jacqueline Kennedy to go through the pain of testifying at his trial. Oswald was taken to the same hospital as Kennedy and he passed away. Jack Ruby ended up being charged with murder and was later sentenced to a lawful death.

Conspiracy?

From the very beginning, the assassination of JFK has been regarded as a conspiracy theory. Even though there is no evidence that Oswald was working with others, Americans refused to believe that. There were several investigations carried out by the Warren Commission in an attempt to uncover all possibilities. However, nothing has been found that could imply that it was a conspiracy.