Kennedy_Assassination

The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy On November 22nd 1963 our nation was shaken to its core as President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Several months later the Warren Commission found that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. Since the Warren Report was released millions of Americans believe that there was in fact another shooter. Although the government is sticking to the original findings of the Warren Report, the public has manufactured hundreds of conspiracy theories and some actually have some validity. The assassination of President Kennedy is one of the most tragic events in our nation’s history, however, many people argue about what actually happened that day. There are many places where one can find information on what happened in Dallas that day. Personally, I found the library here on campus to be very useful. Also, magazines such as Time and Newsweek have articles in their archives that were published shortly after Kennedy was assassinated. These articles really help to give one an insight to how the nation was reacting right after Kennedy died. There are also many sights that one can find on the internet that give detailed descriptions of multiple conspiracy theories. One method that I found very effective to finding primary sources was to check the archives of newspapers and other journalistic publications. However just typing my topic into search engines proved to be far less useful, and most of the sources that it came up with were very unreliable. One way I found to test the credibility of a source is to ask myself a series of questions. The questions that I would typically ask myself were “was/is this source published in a credible journal/paper'” or, “Has this source come from a government agency'”. Another question I would ask is “When was this source published' And how does it coincide with the date of the incident'.” I found that this was the best way to find if a certain source is credible. My father was just a kid when JFK was assassinated but yet he still has a vivid memory of that day and the days to come. My dad at the time was living in Seattle, and he was eleven years old at the time. He told me that he remembers waking up to go to school and my grandmother sitting in silence watching TV as the news was coming through that Kennedy had been shot while in Dallas. My father also said that one of the more powerful things from that day that he can remember is when Walter Cronkite, who was usually so calm, cool, and collected had to fight back tears as he announced to the nation that our 35th President had died that day in Dallas. He also told me that although he knew that what had taken place was both tragic and shocking, yet he said he really didn’t understand the full magnitude of the situation until a couple years later once people started to criticize President Johnson. Another thing that my dad told me is that there is only one other event that he could think of that could describe the shock across the nation that day, 9/11. He said that it is one of those events in our country’s history that one will never forget where they were and what was going on when they heard that news. After talking to my father my belief was reaffirmed that the Kennedy assassination was an event in our nation’s history that will never be forgotten. One final memory that he has of those events is the funeral that took place several days later in Washington D.C. He told me that the funeral was one of the most somber moments our nation has ever gone through. The whole country tuned in to watch Kennedy’s funeral. My dad also told me that one of the most somber, iconic photos of that day was when JFK Jr. stepped forth and saluted his father’s coffin. As far as my father’s beliefs towards the conspiracy theories he believes that Oswald acted alone. He said that many of these conspiracy theories have stemmed from people not wanting to believe that one crazed lone gunman could have killed our President. Making up these conspiracies helps Americans to believe that something greater had to have been working against Kennedy that day. “Nation: The Assassination” Time Magazine Friday November 29, 1963 This was an article written in Time Magazine less than a week after President Kennedy was assassinated. This article gives a vivid description of the events of the day Kennedy was assassinated. I found this article in the archives on www.time.com. Although the article gives no authors name, I trust that it is a primary source due to the fact that it was in a major publication less than a week after the murder. The author does a good job showing no bias in the story. He also gives details to how a priest came to give Kennedy his last rights and absolves him of his sins. These are details that add to the somber mood of the article. This article is relevant to the topic because it allows the reader to feel as though they were there on the day Kennedy was killed. It also adds to the tone of the nation’s grief during this tragic event. “The Day Kennedy Died” Newsweek Magazine December 2, 1963 This is another article that was found in the archives of a major magazine. This article helps the reader to understand the chaos the country went through during the days following the Kennedy assassination. The author says it best “In one sudden, swift, awful convulsion of history last week, the majesty and the burdens of the Presidency of the United States shifted from one man to another… In the brief span of 30 minutes, incredibly, this tanned, vigorous, hale young man—the youngest ever elected President—was dead…In just 98 minutes more, standing aboard the President's Air Force jet with Mr. Kennedy's ashen widow at his side, Lyndon Baines Johnson recited the 34-word oath of office and became the 36th President of the U.S.” Once again no author’s name was given. This article is still a credible source due to the fact that it was published in a trusted, major news magazine. “The Day Kennedy Died” is a primary source due to the fact that it was written just a week after the President was brutally gunned down. The author does a good job removing all bias from their article and instead just focus’ on the nations reaction to Kennedy’s death. This is relevant to the topic because of the fact that it allows the reader to feel the hysteria in our nation. It also gives the writer of the research paper good information about what our country was going through at that time. Anders, Pat “ An Introduction to JFK Conspiracy Theories” http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/electronic-publications/stay-free/4/jfk.htm This article is simply a list of a few of the many conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. Pat Anders, who graduated from UNC-Law, wrote this article. Although Anders has no expertise in the subject, he simply wrote a collection of theories, which requires little knowledge. This article however, does give the reader an insight to some of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. This article is technically a primary source for conspiracy theories. Even though some of the theories Anders talks about were formulated a couple decades ago new theories are still very common and since none of them, no matter how ridiculous, can’t be disproven, this article is still very current. This article is relevant to the topic because of the fact that it gives a researcher some theories that have become very popular throughout the country. Krajicek, David. “JFK Assassination” http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/jfk/12.html This article is an online version of a book written by David Krajicek. In this article Krajicek consults with numerous JFK assassination experts. This article is a secondary source due to the fact that it was written forty years after the assassination took place. However, lots of great information can be found in this article making it a great resource for any researcher. As mentioned before many of the people consulted in this book are experts in this field making their opinions very credible. One example of these experts is John McAdams, who teaches a class on the Kennedy assassination at Marquette University. This adds a lot of credibility to this source. Another bonus to this source is that the author himself adds no bias and only gives the reader the opinions of those whom he has interviewed. Krajicek’s article is extremely relevant to the topic because it’s a twelve-chapter article filled with expert opinions on the assassination. Reading this article can greatly help one formulate or change their original thesis because of the fact that it is filled with loads of great information. McAdams, John “The Kennedy Assassination” http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm This source is a vast database of all things having to deal with the Kennedy Assassination. The man who created this database is John McAdams. McAdams teaches a class on the Kennedy assassination at Marquette University. This database contains everything that someone researching the Kennedy assassination could ask for. McAdams provides every detail, every angle, and every possibility that could have happened that day in Dealy Plaza. Though McAdams does show some bias due to the fact that he strongly believes that Oswald acted alone, the reader can tell that McAdams in a way belittles those who believe in the conspiracy theories. However he does provide numerous studies attempting to prove his point. This is a secondary source for the assassination; however, it is a very good one. McAdams compiled this data from 1995 to 2008. This source is incredibly relevant to the topic because not only does it give heaps of information, but it also gives 3D diagrams of Dealy Plaza and videos of experiments that were conducted to either prove or debunk many of these theories. After browsing through this website one’s opinion on what actually happened to Kennedy will either be strengthened or changed, but this website definitely gives all the information any one would need on the Kennedy assassination.