The Loss Of A President Essays - CubaUnited States Relations

The Loss Of A President November 22, 1963: The Loss of A President On November 22, 1963 at 12:30 P.M., the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed while riding through the streets of Dallas, Texas in an open limousine with wife Jackie Kennedy, and Governor John Connally. This single event in history has created more controversy than any other. Still today, more than 27 years after the shooting, there is still speculation as to who killed John F. Kennedy. Today, so many possible theories remain, it is hard to determine what actually happened. Today many people believe that it was Lee Harvey Oswald that killed JFK. They believe that he was just a lone nut acting out of his own feelings, and he was not influenced by anyone else. Many others believe there was a conspiracy set up by the CIA to kill President Kennedy, and others believe that it was Communist Russians. In my paper I will try to explain some of the theories as clear as possible, and let you decide for yourself what you believe happened November 22, 1963. If Lee Harvey Oswald was not the assassin as thought, who else would possibly want the president dead? The Mafia Anti-Castro Cubans The CIA Communist Russians. When John F. Kennedy became president, he had many great ambitions. He wanted to pull more troops out of Vietnam and lessen the war effort, cut back on organized crime, end the Cuban Missile Crisis, and limit the power of the CIA. With these ambitions it is no surprise he made so many new enemies, some even being in the US government itself. Many of these new enemies he had found were very powerful, and would stop at nothing to see his new ways come to an end, even if it meant killing him. Shortly after the incident, the government founded the Warren Commission, and a government investigation began on the assassination. The Warren Commission was a group made of outstanding citizens to ascertain, evaluate and report upon the facts relating to the assassination ... and the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination Lee Harvey Oswald. The Commission was instructed by the government to examine evidence brought forth to them by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), or and any other organization or person. With the examination of the evidence, the Commission was then to make a decision on exactly what occurred that day. In under a week the Commission was able to come to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswold was the lone assassin of the president. His actions were based on his personal instincts, and he was not working in anyway for any person or organization, whether it being a government agency or personnel. It was determined by the Commission that Oswold fired three shots at President Kennedy from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The three shots were fired in a time period of 5.6 seconds, using a bolt-action 6.5 Italian Carbine rifle. The first shot Oswald fired was the magic bullet. The bullet was fired from Oswalds gun downward at a 17 degree angle, and hit Kennedy about halfway down his back. The bullet then moved upward where it exits through Kennedys throat, and then turns right and hits Connally behind his right armpit. It then moves downward, breaking and fragmenting part of his fifth rib, and then exits his chest from the right side. Then the bullet enters Connallys wrist and severs the Ulna nerve, exits his wrist and then gets lodged in Connallys thigh. All together the magic bullet made 7 wounds on President Kennedy and Governor Connally. The second shot fired missed Kennedy completely and hit an unsuspecting bystander, badly wounding him in the cheek. The third shot taken hit Kennedy in the back of the head, fatally wounding him. Many people believe this theory to be true, but still others are skeptical, and for good reason. On November 23, the paraffin test performed on Oswald came out negative for his right cheek but positive for his hands. The results of this test show that it is highly unlikely that Oswald had recently fired a gun. Also, no one had seen Oswald on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository after 11:55 A.M. At roughly 12:31, 90 seconds after the shooting had taken place, Oswald was seen on the second floor of the building. This means that in under 90 seconds, Oswald would have