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November 22nd 1963 is a very somber date in American
History. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, was
assassinated that Friday afternoon in Dallas, Texas.
The United States had great optimism when John F. Kennedy
was sworn into office in 1961. His election symbolized the passing of power
to another generation. He is still the youngest person ever elected
President at age 43. The greatest setback of the Kennedy Administration was
the Bay of Pigs Invasion, when a failed attempt was made to invade
Cuba by CIA guided insurgents. The greatest achievement of the Kennedy
Administration was resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the
United States blockaded Cuba by sea to prevent nuclear missiles from being
placed there by the former Soviet Union (unknown at that time, the missiles
were already in place).
Lesser known about the Kennedy Administration was
that it was fiscally conservative. JFK believed in a strong dollar and in
controlling Federal spending. With large sums of capital being
exported to Europe in 1962, a 7% Domestic Investment Tax Credit was
enacted to stimulate the construction of factories at home. There was
great fear that massive job exportation would undermine domestic
manufacturing. JFK was thinking long term, but his life was cut short, and
by the 1970s just about all manufacturing jobs in the consumer electronics
industry were lost.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald at
Dallas. The President's motorcade slowed, and turned twice as it made its
way through Dealey Plaza. From a 6th floor window of the Texas Book
Depository Building, Oswald fired three shots at the President, two of which
struck and killed him. News about the assassination spread frenetically,
with the entire nation in shock. November 22nd 1963 is one of few dates in
American History that provokes a reaction of instant recall for many of
those who lived through it.
Several investigations into the assassination immediately
ensued. In 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had
acted alone. Many conspiracy theories were then generated, from an
Oswald-CIA connection to a Cuban plot to cause chaos, and the commission's
conclusions were mocked by skeptics. A single bullet had struck both JFK and
Texas Governor John Connally Jr., which became known as
The Magic Bullet due to its great velocity and damage it had
done.
In recent years, feasibility studies have been done to
deduce if Oswald had the time and means to carry out the assassination all
alone. Oswald owned the weapon, and was an excellent marksman. Later
marksmen have replicated the firing of a similar weapon in the same amount
of time. Oswald had access to the building, and had enough time to walk
downstairs to the lower floor where a policeman spotted him after the deadly
shots were fired. He also had time to later walk to the nearby theater and
still fit the time parameters. Oswald's brother described him as lonely,
frustrated, and capable of such a crime.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy was an extremely
somber and tragic event. Along with JFK, many "high hopes" were dashed as
the country entered into the tumultuous 1960s. The United States Of
America eventually
accomplished JFK's ambitious dream of safely landing a man on the moon by
the end of the decade, achieved on July 20th 1969.
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