On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. He became the fourth president to be assassinated while in office (after Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley).
While the four preceding cases were almost immediately resolved, Kennedy’s assassination left many questions unanswered, and the mystery around it only intensified when Oswald was killed. We review the various theories about JFK’s assassination, which is considered one of the most significant events of the 20th century.
November 22, 1963
John and Jackie Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, on a political mission to raise more funds for the Democratic party and to heal the divide within in. The President and the First Lady rode in an open-top 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine alongside Texas Governor John Connally and the First Lady of Texas, while Vice President Johnson and the Second Lady rode two cars behind.
The planned route starting at Dallas Love Field was supposed to reach the Trade Mart in approximately 45 minutes to allow all spectators to see the President. The route was published in Dallas newspapers beforehand.
There were massive crowds along the road and the First Lady of Texas commented, “Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you”, to which Kennedy replied, “No, you certainly can’t” – these were his last words.
As the limousine passed the Texas School Book Depository, three shots were fired. The first shot didn’t do anything. The second one penetrated Kennedy’s neck and exited, striking Connally in the upper back. The third shot hit Kennedy’s head. Kennedy was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 1:00 pm.
Oswald
Various people who worked at the Texas Book Depository claimed they heard gunshots coming from above them. They said that a man (Oswald) was looking out the window on the sixth floor. Police officer J.D. Tippit attempted to apprehend Oswald a few miles away from the scene, but Oswald escaped and shot the policeman four times. He was later caught hiding in the Texas Theatre.
Two days later, on November 24, Oswald was being transferred from the city jail to the county jail when he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner. Ruby explained that he killed Oswald to spare Mrs. Kennedy the pain from attending her husband’s murder trial.
Theories
There are many theories as to why Kennedy was assassinated, and numerous Gallup polls over the years show that Americans across the political spectrum believe that there was a big conspiracy involving many players, rather than the lone-wolf scenario.
In 2017, President Trump ordered the declassification of JFK’s files. The National Archive released 19,045 documents relating to the case, although that’s not the full release. These files, however, provided more evidence to study, which we will use in the following section.
Jack Ruby and the Mafia
There are many theories about the man who killed Oswald. Despite trying to portray himself as a patriot who avenged the President’s death, Ruby’s background pointed towards something else. Ruby was rumored to have a connection to the Chicago underworld as evidenced by a recently released memo dictated by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
Moreover, Hoover also confessed that the previous day (November 23), the FBI Dallas office received a call from a man claiming to work for an organization that plans to kill Oswald. Hoover alerted Dallas’ deputies to heighten the security, which they didn’t.
Oswald is said to have been paid by the mob to execute Kennedy. He was then killed by Ruby to prevent him from testifying. The mob had every reason to order the assassination. John and Robert Kennedy, cracked down on organized crime from day one and they might have become their targets. Frank Ragano, lawyer of the mobster Jimmy Hoffa, claims that Hoffa confessed to his role on his deathbed.
This claim, along with many others, are unproven, and the committee overlooking mafia’s involvement in JFK’s assassination found no traces of involvement from any mobster family. If they did, the authorities would have undoubtedly pressed charges as they continuously try to indict mafia members.
Jack Ruby and LBJ
Another curious angle to the Ruby affair is his supposed involvement with Vice President Johnson. Roger Stone, an official in the Nixon administration, claims that Nixon hired Ruby as an informant for the House Un-American Activities Committee back in the 1940’s on behest of Lyndon Johnson.
A document from 1947 mentions Jack Rubenstein (Jack Ruby’s full name) of Chicago in relation to the committee. Some dispute the authenticity of this document, while others point to another Jack Rubenstein from Chicago who was an avowed communist.
This theory relates to the idea that Johnson orchestrated the assassination to become the president. Madeline Brown, an alleged mistress of Johnson, claimed he told her about his plans at a party attended by Nixon and Hoover the day before. It was proven that Johnson didn’t attend that party.
CIA
The third and perhaps most prominent theory is that JFK was killed in a CIA plot. There are three main reasons why. First, JFK was said to consider ending the war in Vietnam, which angered war-hawks in the agency. Secondly, the President also allegedly wanted to put an end to the Cold War, for which he was branded a traitor by the CIA.
Finally, there were allegedly talks of disbandment of the CIA after Kennedy became disillusioned with them.
Lone-Gunman?
The CIA theory is loosely supported by another theory – the multiple shooters one. Witnesses at the scene have said that they heard more than three shots, and some thought there were multiple gunmen as Oswald only produced three shots.
Moreover, the idea that the second shot alone injured both the President and the Governor so heavily has been contested. Parkland Hospital was not allowed to proceed with the autopsy as Kennedy’s body was sent to Bethesda instead. The doctors there weren’t experienced to perform autopsies.
Finally, when the bullet was retrieved, it was in pristine condition, which is impossible considering its impact with two bodies (tests proved the same). And so, the theory goes that the assassination was an inside job orchestrated by the CIA and all these little details were not really considered by the commission investigating the murder in order to hide the traces.
According to the commission, Oswald acted alone and he was the lone gunman.