Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 145

8
The areas of focus for this author-developed case study are:
W Kennedy in November 1963
W Death of a president: Dallas, Texas, 22 November 1963
W Impact and aftermath of the Kennedy assassination
W The Warren Report evidence and conspiracy theories
The assassination of
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Source 8.1
A famous photograph of the Kennedy family at the funeral on 25 November 1963
of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John Kennedy Jnr, on his third birthday,
salutes his fathers cofn as it leaves St Matthews Cathedral.
* This author-developed case study of Kennedys assassination provides some background from which to embark
on the study of the History Extension topic on Kennedys presidency.
KEY CONCEPTS
Key concepts relevant
to this chapter are:
W communism W democracy
W racism
KEY DATES
1961
January John F. Kennedy
becomes 35th US President
1963
22 November Assassination
of President Kennedy
24 November Jack Ruby
kills Lee Harvey Oswald
25 November
Presidents funeral
1964
24 September
Warren Commission
Report published
1967
DA Jim Garrison charges
Clay Shaw with conspiring
to kill Kennedy
1976
September House
Select Committee on
Assassinations (HSCA)
appointed to review
evidence
1979
Committee delivers
conclusions
1991
Oliver Stone releases
movie JFK
1992
President John F. Kennedy
Assassination Records
Collection Act
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
Retrospective 146
Introduction
Where were you when you heard the news of . . . ?
There are events in world history that are so
dramatic, unexpected, shocking and/or momentous
that people for years afterwards remember where
they were and what they were doing when they
heard the news, and how they and others around
them felt and reacted.
On 11 September 2001, there was
the terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center in New York. On 31 August 1997,
there was the car accident in Paris
that resulted in the death of Princess
Diana. In November 1989, people
all over the world watched in
amazement at the fall of the Wall
that had divided Berlin for over
28 years. On 5 September 1972, members
of the Black September organisation took
hostage, and ultimately murdered, 11 Israeli
athletes and coaches at the Olympic village in
Munich. On 22 November 1963, at 12.31 pm, in
Dallas, Texas, there was the assassination
of US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Source 8.3
An extract from a 2003 interview on CBSs The Early Show
in which renowned US broadcaster Walter Cronkite, around the
fortieth anniversary of Kennedys assassination, recalls
making the announcement on 22 November 1963
Most people old enough to remember the third week of November in 1963 can recall
the exact moment they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
And for millions, the word came from CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite . . .
[The soap opera] As The World Turns was interrupted by a CBS special bulletin.
The anchor, Walter Cronkite, said: Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas,
Texas, three shots were red at President Kennedys motorcade in downtown
Dallas. The rst reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded
by this shooting. . . .
[Cronkites] composure wavered only once: at the moment when the
unthinkable was conrmed . . .
His report: From Dallas, Texas, the ash apparently ofcial President
Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. Central standard time, 2 p.m. Eastern standard time,
some 38 minutes ago.
Cronkite tells The Early Show, My gosh, the presidents dead. John Kennedy,
this young president, is cut down, is dead. And it hit me pretty hard, just for that
moment, while I gathered myself together, and went on again, beginning to think
about, now where do we go? . . .
Extract from CBS News, Cronkite Remembers JFK, New York, 20 November 2003.
assassination W the murder of
someone important, usually
someone powerful in the
political world. The assassins
purpose might be the pursuit
of an ideological or political
goal or revenge.
assassination W the murder of
someone important, usually
someone powerful in the
political world. The assassins
purpose might be the pursuit
of an ideological or political
goal or revenge.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What does source 8.3
indicate about Walter
Cronkites attitude at
the time of delivering the
news bulletin announcing
Kennedys death?
2. Where were you and what
were you doing when you
heard news of the attack
on the World Trade Center
in 2001? How did you feel
about this?
3. Survey five people of
different age groups,
asking them to name two
events (other than 9/11)
that they remember as
being momentous historical
events. Ask what it was
about these events that
made them so memorable.
Share your findings with
the class.
Source 8.2
Photograph of the terrorist
attack on the World Trade
Center, New York, on
11 September 2001
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 147

Kennedy in November 1963
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the thirty-fth president of the Unit
ed States. He belonged to the Democratic Party and came from a wealthy and
powerful Massachusetts family.
In November 1963, Kennedy had been in ofce for almost three years and
was beginning to campaign for a second term. He projected an image of style,
charm, wit, good humour and intelligence. At 43, he was a relatively young
president, married to a glamorous young wife, Jacqueline, with two young
children, Caroline and John.
Many Americans found Kennedy to be an inspiring leader. They admired
the values in his 1961 inaugural address and in his New Frontier program;
his leadership skills, especially at the time of the 1962 confrontation between
the US and the Soviet Union known as the Cuban Missile Crisis; and his
determination to have an American on the moon by the end of the decade.
Kennedy was not universally popular. Many people in the southern states
of the US disliked him, partly because of his support for the Civil Rights
Movement. Many right-wing groups there (and elsewhere) judged him to be
soft on communism.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. From sources 8.3 and
8.4, describe the general
reaction to news of John F.
Kennedys assassination.
2. Ask people aged at least 50
how they heard the news
of Kennedys assassination
and what they felt about it.
Source 8.4
A photograph from 22 November
1963 of New Yorkers crowding
around a convertible to hear
breaking news on the radio of the
assassination of the President
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. From sources 8.3 and
8.4, describe the general
reaction to news of John F.
Kennedys assassination.
2. Ask people aged at least 50
how they heard the news
of Kennedys assassination
and what they felt about it.
Source 8.4
A photograph from 22 November
1963 of New Yorkers crowding
around a convertible to hear
breaking news on the radio of the
assassination of the President
SOURCE QUESTION
White House photographers
took sources 8.5 and 8.6 in the
White House in October 1963.
How do you think critics of
Kennedy would have reacted
to these photographs?
Source 8.5
Photograph showing President
Kennedy with his son, John, in
the West Wing colonnade of the
White House on 10 October 1963
SOURCE QUESTION
White House photographers
took sources 8.5 and 8.6 in the
White House in October 1963.
How do you think critics of
Kennedy would have reacted
to these photographs?
Source 8.5
Photograph showing President
Kennedy with his son, John, in
the West Wing colonnade of the
White House on 10 October 1963
communism W a political
ideology and economic system,
developed by Karl Marx
(18181883), in which people share
equally the ownership of their
societys resources, contribute to
its work according to their
abilities and are provided for
according to their neeeds
communism W a political
ideology and economic system,
developed by Karl Marx
(18181883), in which people share
equally the ownership of their
societys resources, contribute to
its work according to their
abilities and are provided for
according to their neeeds
Source 8.6
Photograph
showing
President
Kennedy
signing the
Limited
Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty
in the White
House on
7 October
1963
Source 8.6
Photograph
showing
President
Kennedy
signing the
Limited
Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty
in the White
House on
7 October
1963
Retrospective 148
Death of a president: Dallas, Texas, 22 November 1963
President Kennedys two-day trip to Texas in November 1963 was part of
a strategy, in the build-up to the 1964 presidential election, to improve his
popularity in the South. His Vice President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, a proud
Texan and former senator for that state, accompanied Kennedy.
At the time of the presidential visit, the John Birch Society placed an anti-
Kennedy advertisement in the Dallas Morning News. Other right-wing groups
distributed leaets labelling Kennedy a traitor for his attempts to improve
the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union and Cuba.
The Citizens Council of Dallas, dominated by businessmen active in the oil
industry, was very powerful. It wanted the US democracy to serve its inter-
ests. It resented Kennedys conciliatory attitude towards communist powers
and his agreement with the Soviet Union to ban nuclear weapons testing.
John Birch Society W an ultra
right-wing society founded by
Robert Welch in 1958. Named
for John Birch, who had been
killed by Chinese communists
in 1945, it was against
communism, liberalism, civil
rights, the UN and John
Kennedy. In 1964, it employed
200 people and had a budget of
US$3 million at its disposal.
John Birch Society W an ultra
right-wing society founded by
Robert Welch in 1958. Named
for John Birch, who had been
killed by Chinese communists
in 1945, it was against
communism, liberalism, civil
rights, the UN and John
Kennedy. In 1964, it employed
200 people and had a budget of
US$3 million at its disposal.
Source 8.7
Handbill entitled Wanted for
Treason that Kennedy critics
distributed in Dallas at the time
of the Kennedy visit
Source 8.7
Handbill entitled Wanted for
Treason that Kennedy critics
distributed in Dallas at the time
of the Kennedy visit
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What was the traditional
use of Wanted posters?
2. What evidence does source
8.7 provide of the authors
attitude towards Kennedy?
3. Which groups in the
United States might have
supported this viewpoint?
Which groups might have
been hostile to it?
4. What arguments should a
newspaper editor consider
when deciding whether or
not to publish material of
this kind?
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What was the traditional
use of Wanted posters?
2. What evidence does source
8.7 provide of the authors
attitude towards Kennedy?
3. Which groups in the
United States might have
supported this viewpoint?
Which groups might have
been hostile to it?
4. What arguments should a
newspaper editor consider
when deciding whether or
not to publish material of
this kind?
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 149
On 22 November, Kennedys day began with breakfast at Fort Worth, a
seven-minute plane ride from Dallas. He discussed the dangers he might face
and commented that the Secret Service could not really protect him against
an assassin: All one had to do was get a high building some day with a
telescopic rie.
SOURCE QUESTION
What caption would you create for this photograph in view of the fact that Kennedy
was assassinated less than an hour later? What would this reveal about your
perspective?
Source 8.8
Photograph showing President
and Mrs Kennedy on their arrival
at Love Field airport, Dallas,
Texas, on 22 November 1963
Source 8.8
Photograph showing President
and Mrs Kennedy on their arrival
at Love Field airport, Dallas,
Texas, on 22 November 1963
Retrospective 150
After a ight to Dallas and a motorcade through the town, the Presi-
dent was due to go to the Dallas Trade Mart for a luncheon with over 2500
supporters. The presidential party arrived at Love Field airport, Dallas, at
11.38 am. After meeting with local ofcials, the group took their seats for the
motorcade, which comprised over twenty cars and buses interspersed with
an escort of Dallas police on motorcycles.
The rst car carried Dallas police observers. Then came the lead car with
police ofcials and Secret Service agents. After this was the presidential car
an open-top Lincoln limousine. President and Mrs Kennedy sat in the back
seat, Texas Governor John Connally and his wife sat in front of them and the
driver and another Secret Service agent occupied the front seat. Eight Secret
Service agents (two on each of the running boards) travelled with White House
ofcials in the next follow-up car. Vice President and Mrs Johnson were in the
next car and after them their follow-up car and the remainder of the group.
At 11.50 am, the motorcade set off. Many workers had come out at lunch-
time to see the President. People crowded the Dallas pavements, eagerly
waiting for the motorcade to pass.
SOURCE QUESTION
What does this photograph indicate about the difculties involved in ensuring the
Presidents safety?
Source 8.9
Photograph showing President
and Mrs Kennedy in the
presidential limousine with
Governor and Mrs Connally,
shortly before the assassination
Source 8.9
Photograph showing President
and Mrs Kennedy in the
presidential limousine with
Governor and Mrs Connally,
shortly before the assassination
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 151
In the downtown area, large crowds of spectators gave the President a
tremendous reception . . .
Mrs. Connally, elated by the reception, turned to President Kennedy and said,
Mr. President, you cant say Dallas doesnt love you. The President replied, That
is very obvious.
At 12:30 p.m., e.s.t., as the Presidents open limousine proceeded at approximately
11 miles per hour along Elm Street toward the Triple Underpass, shots red from a
rie mortally wounded President Kennedy and seriously injured Governor Connally.
One bullet passed through the Presidents neck; a subsequent bullet, which was
lethal, shattered the right side of his skull. Governor Connally sustained bullet
wounds in his back, the right side of his chest, right wrist, and left thigh . . .
Mrs. John F. Kennedy, on the left of the rear seat of the limousine, looked
toward her left and waved to the crowds along the route. Soon after the
motorcade turned onto Elm Street, she heard a sound similar to a motorcycle
noise and a cry from Governor Connally, which caused her to look to her right. On
turning she saw a quizzical look on her husbands face as he raised his left hand
to his throat. Mrs. Kennedy then heard a second shot and saw the Presidents
skull torn open under the impact of the bullet. As she cradled her mortally
wounded husband, Mrs. Kennedy cried, Oh, my God, they have shot my husband.
I love you, Jack.
Governor Connally was certain that he was hit by the second shot, which he
stated he did not hear ...
Roy Kellerman, in the right front seat of the limousine, heard a report like a
recracker pop. Turning to his right in the direction of the noise, Kellerman heard
the President say My God, I am hit, and saw both of the Presidents hands move
up toward his neck. . . . Kellerman grabbed his microphone and radioed ahead to
the lead car, We are hit. Get us to the hospital immediately.
Special Agent Hill . . . jumped from the follow-up car and ran to the Presidents
automobile. At about the time he reached the Presidents automobile, Hill heard a
second shot, approximately 5 seconds after the rst, which removed a portion of
the Presidents head.
In the nal instant of the assassination, the Presidential motorcade began a
race to Parkland Memorial Hospital, approximately 4 miles from the Texas School
Book Depository Building . . . the Presidential limousine arrived at the emergency
entrance of the Parkland Hospital at about 12:35 p.m. . . .
In the absence of any neurological, muscular, or heart response, the doctors
concluded that efforts to revive the President were hopeless . . . At approximately
1 p.m., after last rites were administered to the President by Father Oscar L.
Huber, Dr. Clark pronounced the President dead . . . the time was xed at 1 p.m., as
an approximation, since it was impossible to determine the precise moment when
life left the President. President Kennedy could have survived the neck injury,
but the head wound was fatal. From a medical viewpoint, President Kennedy was
alive when he arrived at Parkland Hospital; the doctors observed that he had
a heart beat and was making some respiratory efforts. But his condition was
hopeless, and the extraordinary efforts of the doctors to save him could not help
but to have been unavailing . . .
At approximately 1:20 p.m., Vice President Johnson was notied by ODonnell
that President Kennedy was dead . . .
Extracts from The Assassination, chapter 2 of the Report of the Presidents
Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Warren Commission
report), US Government Printing Ofce, 1964.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Use the information in
source 8.10 to create a
timeline of the sequence of
events it relates.
2. What information does
source 8.10 provide
regarding the nature and
source of the wounds
sustained by President
Kennedy and Governor
Connally?
3. Which witnesses does the
source cite and what does
it indicate is common to the
experience of all of them?
4. What information does the
source provide about the
efforts and conclusions
of the doctors treating
Kennedy?
5. Which parts of this account
appear to be fact and which
opinion?
6. What do you think was
the writers aim in the
information provided
on events in Parkland
Memorial Hospital?
7. Go to the website for
this book and access the
Warren Commission weblink
for this chapter (see
Weblinks, page viii). Use it
to read the full account of
the motorcade and events
at Parkland Hospital. What
additional information does
this provide?
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Use the information in
source 8.10 to create a
timeline of the sequence of
events it relates.
2. What information does
source 8.10 provide
regarding the nature and
source of the wounds
sustained by President
Kennedy and Governor
Connally?
3. Which witnesses does the
source cite and what does
it indicate is common to the
experience of all of them?
4. What information does the
source provide about the
efforts and conclusions
of the doctors treating
Kennedy?
5. Which parts of this account
appear to be fact and which
opinion?
6. What do you think was
the writers aim in the
information provided
on events in Parkland
Memorial Hospital?
7. Go to the website for
this book and access the
Warren Commission weblink
for this chapter (see
Weblinks, page viii). Use it
to read the full account of
the motorcade and events
at Parkland Hospital. What
additional information does
this provide?
Source 8.10
Extracts from the 1964
Warren Commission Report
(see page 158) describing the
events and journey of the
motorcade through Dallas
Source 8.10
Extracts from the 1964
Warren Commission Report
(see page 158) describing the
events and journey of the
motorcade through Dallas
Retrospective 152
Kennedy had no chance of surviving his head wound. Hospital staff
declared him dead at 1 pm CST (Central Standard Time). At 1.33 pm CST,
White House Acting Press Secretary, Malcolm Kilduff, announced ofcially
that the President was dead.
At 2 pm CST, Secret Service men placed Kennedys body in a cofn and
delivered it to the presidential plane, Air Force One, at Love Field. Shortly
afterwards, Vice President Johnson took the oath of ofce, making him the
Source 8.11
A 1967 aerial photograph of
Dealey Plaza in Dallas where the
Presidents motorcade travelled.
It shows the Texas School
Depository, a square brick
building at top right (with the
Hertz sign on the roof), and Elm
Street, in front of it, leading to
the Triple Underpass under the
freeway
Source 8.11
A 1967 aerial photograph of
Dealey Plaza in Dallas where the
Presidents motorcade travelled.
It shows the Texas School
Depository, a square brick
building at top right (with the
Hertz sign on the roof), and Elm
Street, in front of it, leading to
the Triple Underpass under the
freeway
Source 8.12
A frame from the Zapruder lm
(see page 160) showing
President Kennedy reacting
to the rst shot that hit him
in the neck
Source 8.12
A frame from the Zapruder lm
(see page 160) showing
President Kennedy reacting
to the rst shot that hit him
in the neck
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Use sources 8.10 and 8.11
to work out the route the
presidential motorcade
took on 22 November 1963.
2. Identify and explain the
actions you think security
personnel needed to take
to ensure the Presidents
protection along this route.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Use sources 8.10 and 8.11
to work out the route the
presidential motorcade
took on 22 November 1963.
2. Identify and explain the
actions you think security
personnel needed to take
to ensure the Presidents
protection along this route.
SOURCE QUESTION
In what ways does
source 8.12 support the
description provided in
source 8.10?
SOURCE QUESTION
In what ways does
source 8.12 support the
description provided in
source 8.10?
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 153
thirty-sixth President of the United States (see source 8.13). The plane then
departed Love Field for the journey back to Washington DC, where doctors
at the Bethesda Naval Hospital would perform an autopsy on the Presidents
body. Dallas police had protested the removal of the body. They argued that
Texas law required that the Dallas City Coroner perform an autopsy on the
body before it left Texas jurisdiction.
From the time of the assassination onwards, the actions and motivations
of everyone around Kennedy that day potentially became the subject of sus-
picion, analysis and controversy. In the years that followed, people came to
question the role of the Secret Service; the actions of the doctors who treated
Kennedy; the accuracy of the autopsy report; the rationale for not having
it performed in Dallas; the nature and efciency of police and government
enquiries; and the use made of eyewitness testimony.
The impact and aftermath of the Kennedy
assassination
The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy had a similar impact on the
public to that of the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. People
sat watching their TV sets for the latest updates on events. Regular program-
ming ceased. Television stations embarked on what became four days of
virtually around the clock coverage of the impact of the assassination and
hastily assembled tributes to Kennedy. Many (even those who had not been
Kennedy supporters), both in the United States and around the world, felt a
sense of shock and loss and felt that the world would not be the same again.
People had difculty in thinking of Lyndon Johnson as the new President of
the United States.
Source 8.13
Photograph taken on
22 November 1963 showing
Lyndon Baines Johnson taking
the oath of ofce aboard Air
Force One at Love Field, Texas,
with his wife Ladybird Johnson
shown at left and Jacqueline
Kennedy at right
Source 8.13
Photograph taken on
22 November 1963 showing
Lyndon Baines Johnson taking
the oath of ofce aboard Air
Force One at Love Field, Texas,
with his wife Ladybird Johnson
shown at left and Jacqueline
Kennedy at right
SOURCE QUESTION
What messages could be taken
from this photograph?
SOURCE QUESTION
What messages could be taken
from this photograph?
Retrospective 154
Lee Harvey Oswald
The Dallas Police Department (DPD) arrested and later released several sus-
pects. At about 1.50 pm, 80 minutes after the assassination, police arrested Lee
Harvey Oswald in a cinema. They believed he had killed a policeman, J. D.
Tippit, over an hour earlier. When they learned that Oswald worked in the Texas
School Book Depository, from where witnesses reported shots had been red,
they began to suspect him of the Kennedy assassination. They found a rie and
spent bullets on the sixth oor and claimed that these were Oswalds.
At 7 pm on 22 November, the DPD charged Lee Harvey Oswald with the
murder of Tippit and, with FBI and Secret Service representatives, interrog-
ated him for several hours over Kennedys assassination. Oswald claimed he
was a patsy that he was innocent and had been framed. It was not until
days later that Captain Fritz, the main interrogator, wrote up notes of his
interrogation of Oswald. There were no written transcripts or voice record-
ings of Oswalds interrogation.
Source 8.14
A photograph showing New York
commuters studying the
newspapers following the shock
assassination of the President
Source 8.14
A photograph showing New York
commuters studying the
newspapers following the shock
assassination of the President
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What could you conclude
from source 8.14 about
the way the people of
New York felt about the
Presidents death?
2. What do you think was the
photographers purpose in
taking the photo?
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What could you conclude
from source 8.14 about
the way the people of
New York felt about the
Presidents death?
2. What do you think was the
photographers purpose in
taking the photo?
Source 8.15
A photograph showing Oswald in
police custody on 23 November
after he was arrested and
interrogated in relation to the
assassination of President
Kennedy. The photograph shows
him with a cut on his forehead
and a blackened eye.
Source 8.15
A photograph showing Oswald in
police custody on 23 November
after he was arrested and
interrogated in relation to the
assassination of President
Kennedy. The photograph shows
him with a cut on his forehead
and a blackened eye.
SOURCE QUESTION
What questions would you ask
the Dallas Police Department
in response to this photograph
of Lee Harvey Oswald?
SOURCE QUESTION
What questions would you ask
the Dallas Police Department
in response to this photograph
of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 155
Oswald never came to trial on charges related to the assassination. On
24 November 1963, police (with NBC providing live TV coverage of the event)
were transporting him via the DPD basement car park to the Dallas County
Jail. Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, came forward and shot Oswald
in the stomach. Oswald died following surgery at the Parkland Memorial
Hospital and was buried on 25 November 1963, the same day as the Presi-
dent. In the absence of anyone else, journalists served as his pallbearers.
SOURCE QUESTION
What different responses might people have had to the event portrayed in
source 8.16?
Lee Harvey Oswald was 24 years old when he died. In early October 1963,
he had gained temporary employment at the Texas School Book Depository
in Dallas. On 22 November, he carried a long parcel into work. He said it was
curtain rods. A work colleague later reported seeing Oswald by himself on
the sixth oor of the Book Depository, 35 minutes before the assassination.
Police, FBI and Secret Service sources suggested that he was emotionally
troubled with passiveaggressive tendencies and had trained in the Marine
Corps (from where he was dismissed as undesirable). Sources also sug-
gested that he spoke Russian, had lived in the Soviet Union for nearly three
years and attempted unsuccessfully to gain Soviet citizenship, had tried to
murder US General Edwin Walker (a member of the John Birch Society) and
was a committed supporter of Cuban communist leader, Fidel Castro. The
implication was that he had assassinated Kennedy because of his own mental
instability, or because he wanted to show support for the Soviet Union, or
because he was one of many people angered that Kennedy approved a 1961
CIA attempt to overthrow Castro.
Source 8.16
A photograph showing the scene
(broadcast live) in the DPD car
park as Jack Ruby (in right
foreground) lunges forward to
shoot Lee Harvey Oswald
Source 8.16
A photograph showing the scene
(broadcast live) in the DPD car
park as Jack Ruby (in right
foreground) lunges forward to
shoot Lee Harvey Oswald
Retrospective 156
Source 8.17
Extracts from the 1964 Warren Commission Report (see page 158) outlining parts of the
evidence regarding Lee Harvey Oswalds movements around the time of the Presidents
assassination on 22 November 1963
Additional testimony linking Oswald with the point from which the shots were
red was provided by the testimony of Charles Givens, who was the last known
employee to see Oswald inside the [Texas School Book Depository] prior to the
assassination. During the morning of November 22, Givens was working with the
oor-laying crew in the southwest section of the sixth oor. At about 11:45 a.m.
the oor-laying crew used both elevators to come down from the sixth oor.
The employees raced the elevators to the rst oor. Givens saw Oswald standing
at the gate on the fth oor as the elevator went by. Givens testied that after
reaching the rst oor, I discovered I left my cigarettes in my jacket pocket
upstairs, and I took the elevator back upstairs to get my jacket with my cigarettes
in it. He saw Oswald, a clipboard in hand, walking from the southeast corner of the
sixth oor toward the elevator . . .
Givens said to Oswald, Boy are you going downstairs? ... Its near lunch time.
Oswald said, No, sir. When you get downstairs, close the gate to the elevator.
Oswald was referring to the west elevator which operates by pushbutton and only
with the gate closed. Givens said, Okay, and rode down in the east elevator. When
he reached the rst oor, the west elevator the one with the gate was not there.
Givens thought this was about 11:55 a.m. None of the Depository employees is
known to have seen Oswald again until after the shooting.
The signicance of Givens observation that Oswald was carrying his clipboard
became apparent on December 2, 1963, when an employee, Frankie Kaiser, found
a clipboard hidden by book cartons in the northwest corner of the sixth oor at
the west wall a few feet from where the rie had been found. This clipboard had
been made by Kaiser and had his name on it. Kaiser identied it as the clipboard
which Oswald had appropriated from him when Oswald came to work at the
Depository. Three invoices on this clipboard, each dated November 22, were for
Scott-Foresman books, located on the rst and sixth oors. Oswald had not lled
any of the three orders . . .
Extracts from The Assassin, chapter 4 of the Report of the Presidents Commission
on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Warren Commission report),
US Government Printing Ofce, 1964.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What is the message of source 8.17 and what evidence does it provide
in support of this?
2. Identify the Warren Commission Report evidence in source 8.17 supporting
the view that Oswald assassinated Kennedy. Visit the website for this book
and click on the Warren Commission weblink for this chapter. What other
supporting evidence did the Warren Commission Report provide?
In particular, check what it said about:
(a) Oswalds shooting ability and his willingness to use violence
(b) the weapon used and its links to Oswald
(c) inaccuracies in the testimony Oswald gave during his interrogation
(d) the reliability of the information provided.
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 157
The funeral of President John Kennedy
President John F. Kennedys funeral was an international event with rep-
resentatives of 90 countries, including heads of state, key politicians and
members of royal families all in attendance. His casket was placed in the
East Room of the White House early on Saturday 23 November and family
members, friends, foreign diplomats and politicians came there to pay their
respects. On Sunday 24 November, Kennedys body lay in state at the US
Capitol so that members of the public could le past. Despite bitterly cold
weather, 250 000 people waited as long as 10 hours for their opportunity to
show their respect.
President Johnson declared 25 November the day of the funeral a
National Day of Mourning, so that only people in essential or emergency
services were expected to go to work. One million people waited along the
funeral route and millions more followed the proceedings on their television
screens. A military guard took the casket rst back to the White House, then
on to St Matthews Cathedral for a requiem mass (see source 8.1, page 145)
and nally on to the burial site at Arlington National Cemetery. Jacqueline
Kennedy lit an eternal ame to burn continuously over her husbands grave.
SOURCE QUESTION
What image of Kennedy does this source suggest and what would be the value of
linking him to Lincoln with the inclusion of the riderless horse following the casket?
(Read more about Black Jack by accessing the website for this book and clicking on
the Black Jack weblinks for this chapter.)
Source 8.18
A photograph of Kennedys
horse-drawn casket and
funeral procession arriving at
Arlington National Cemetery on
25 November 1963. Behind the
casket was a riderless horse,
Black Jack, with the boots
placed backwards in the stirrups,
symbolic of the death of a fallen
leader one of many elements
modelled on the April 1865
funeral of Abraham Lincoln.
Source 8.18
A photograph of Kennedys
horse-drawn casket and
funeral procession arriving at
Arlington National Cemetery on
25 November 1963. Behind the
casket was a riderless horse,
Black Jack, with the boots
placed backwards in the stirrups,
symbolic of the death of a fallen
leader one of many elements
modelled on the April 1865
funeral of Abraham Lincoln.
Retrospective 158
The Warren Report evidence and conspiracy theories
On 29 November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) appointed a nine-
member commission, headed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl
Warren, to investigate the assassination. On 24 September 1964, the Commis-
sion submitted 26 volumes, known as the Warren Report, containing its nd-
ings and sources of evidence (see sources 8.10 and 8.17 for extracts). President
Johnson ordered that the Warren Commission les remain sealed until 2039
that is, 75 years later. The Warren Report concluded that:
Lee Harvey Oswald had killed Kennedy using the 6.5 mm Mannlicher-
Carcano rie found on the sixth oor of the Texas School Book Depository
he had acted alone
Oswald had red three shots, one of which had missed. The three bullets
had all been red from behind Kennedy and from the Texas School
Book Depository.
the bullet that rst wounded Kennedy had struck him in the back, exited
his throat and had then gone on to hit Governor Connally in the back,
from where it travelled through Connallys chest and right wrist before
settling in his left thigh
another bullet was the one which caused Kennedys fatal head wound
one bullet missed its target
the Secret Service had failed to take essential security precautions and as
a result had facilitated the assassination
the open car in which the President travelled had not provided him
with any protection and he should have been provided with an enclosed
bulletproof car
Oswald, while trying to make a getaway, had killed Ofcer J. D. Tippit
Jack Ruby had shot Oswald in order to save Jacqueline Kennedy the
ordeal of Oswalds trial
Ruby had not, as some conspiracy theorists claimed, acted to prevent
Oswald revealing that he had been hired by someone else to do the killing
Ruby had not needed any help to get into the underground car park
where he killed Oswald. He had just walked down the ramp.
Jack Rubys murder of Lee Harvey Oswald meant that there was no court
case through which evidence about Oswalds actions could be put forward and
tested. Conspiracy theories ourished in the years following the assassination.
Critics accused the Warren Commission of having failed in its methodology
and failed to address the issue of why government ofcials had destroyed or
not retained some potentially key evidence. For example, staff members organ-
ised the cleaning of both Connallys suit and the presidential limousine before
forensic experts could examine them. Some autopsy photographs have been lost,
as has the ofcial record of Lee Harvey Oswalds service in the Marine Corps.
Over time, a number of key questions took hold in the public imagination:
Was Lee Harvey Oswald guilty or just a patsy as he had claimed?
Had gunshots come from more than one direction and therefore from
more than one shooter?
Did Jack Ruby kill Oswald to prevent him revealing other peoples
involvement in the assassination?
The growth of conspiracy theories challenging the Commissions nd-
ings was a symptom of the publics increasing scepticism especially in the
Vietnam War era about the degree to which the US government could be
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
conspiracy W a secret
agreement between two or
more people to commit an
illegal act
conspiracy W a secret
agreement between two or
more people to commit an
illegal act
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 159
trusted to tell the truth. This trend also reected the fact that many people
did not believe one person alone could have carried out the assassination.
In September 1976, the US House of Representatives created the House
Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) to review the evidence and con-
clusions of the initial investigation. Its initial ndings supported the Warren
Commission view that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone. Many of its nd-
ings differed from those of the Warren Commission. It concluded that:
Kennedys death was the result of a conspiracy (possibly from within the
Maa), not the desire of a lone assassin
there were four shots red and that one of these, coming from the area
known as the grassy knoll, did not reach its target
the recording from the dictabelt of a nearby patrolman supported this to
the level of 95 per cent certainty. (Note that, in 1992, the US government
accepted critics view that this evidence was unreliable.)
Jack Ruby had possibly been hired to make a hit on Oswald. Ruby
had links with the Maa and therefore a possible motive to prevent
Oswald from talking.
Ruby entered the DPD car park from somewhere other than the ramp and
was perhaps assisted by someone on the police force itself
Ruby had frequently made telephone contact with and visited someone in
communist Cuba in the weeks preceding the assassination and had later
lied about this to the Warren Commission
the CIA, the FBI and the Warren Commission had all failed to investigate
all the evidence and theories that might have revealed the motives for
and perpetrator(s) of the assassination and, in the case of the latter two,
had failed to supply all the evidence available to them
security for the motorcade had been inadequate
the autopsy of Kennedys body had not been either sufciently thorough
or well-documented
photographic evidence indicated that Kennedy must have been hit by a
bullet coming from the sixth oor of the Texas School Book Depository,
even if the gunmans vision would have been obscured by an oak tree at
the time the shot was red
that one bullet had caused Kennedys back and throat wound as well as
all of Connallys injuries
that Oswald killed Tippit.
W
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W
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W
W
W
W
W
W
dictabelt W a device that
records sound for playback
at a later time
dictabelt W a device that
records sound for playback
at a later time
Source 8.19
Diagram included as an exhibit
for the House Select Committee
on Assassinations in 1976.
The diagram indicates the
Warren Reports nding that
a single bullet had caused all
of Governor Connallys wounds
and one of Kennedys.
SOURCE QUESTION
What is the lower part of the
diagram shown in source 8.19
indicating in relation to the
single bullet?
Source 8.19
Diagram included as an exhibit
for the House Select Committee
on Assassinations in 1976.
The diagram indicates the
Warren Reports nding that
a single bullet had caused all
of Governor Connallys wounds
and one of Kennedys.
SOURCE QUESTION
What is the lower part of the
diagram shown in source 8.19
indicating in relation to the
single bullet?
Governor
Connally
President Kennedy Texas School
Book Depository
Grassy knoll area
Governor
Connally
President Kennedy Texas School
Book Depository
Grassy knoll area
Retrospective 160
Jim Garrisons 1967 conspiracy case
In 1967, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison charged Clay Shaw,
a prominent local businessman, with having conspired to kill President
Kennedy. The ensuing court case is the only one in which anyone has
ever been tried on any charge related to Kennedys assassination. The case
attracted huge publicity and provided more sources of enquiry for conspiracy
buffs. While the jury acquitted Shaw, the case brought to public attention a
key piece of evidence the Zapruder lm.
The Zapruder film
On 22 November 1963, Abraham Zapruder, owner of a Dallas clothing store,
positioned himself on a concrete pergola in the area of Elm Street known as
the grassy knoll. This elevated position enabled him to get a good view of
the Kennedy motorcade and record it through the zoom lens of his Bell and
Howell movie camera.
The Zapruder lm, effectively an 8 mm colour home movie, contains the
clearest and most complete known footage of the assassination itself. It com-
prises 486 frames, each lasting about one-eighteenth of a second (see source
8.12). The lm follows the presidential limousine turning into Elm Street
until the disappearance of the motorcade under the railway overpass. The
sequence lasts 26.6 seconds and the presidents car is visible in 18.7 seconds of
these. At the time Kennedy received the fatal head shot, the car was virtually
level with Zapruder. Researchers have since labelled every frame using the
letter Z followed by the relevant number in the frames sequence.
Observers of the lm argue about frames Z140 to Z313. Some say the lm
proves the presence of two or more gunmen; others support the Warren
Commissions interpretation that it shows evidence of only one. The HSCA
identied four places where the lm showed evidence of shots being red:
Z157161, Z187191, Z295296 and nally the head shot at Z312320. Had there
been a lone gunman, as the Warren Report concluded, the lm shows that he
would have had between 5.6 and 9 seconds to get off three shots, depending
upon when the rst one was actually red. The Warren Commission believed
the rst shot came at Z210 and that the second shot failed. This would mean
that the gunman had red all three shots in 5.6 seconds something others
argued required a better rie than a Mannlicher-Carcano and a more skilled
marksman than Lee Harvey Oswald.
In the Clay Shaw court case, Jim Garrison used frames Z313320 to argue
that the direction of Kennedys response to the shot showed that it had not
come from behind thus suggesting the presence of another gunman on
the grassy knoll.
Zapruder originally sold his lm to Life magazine for $US150 000 (now
nearly one million US dollars). Life sold it back to him for $1 in 1975 and
the US government purchased it from the Zapruder family for $16 000 000
in 1998. The lm, deemed culturally signicant, has been entered into the
National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Since 1963, writers, researchers, makers of lms and documentaries have
all addressed the publics ongoing interest in the subject of who had killed
Kennedy and what had been the motivation. Oliver Stones 1991 lm JFK
based its plot on information provided in the HSCA report and also on Jim
Garrisons 1988 book On the Trail of the Assassins and Jim Marrs 1989 book
Crossre: the Plot that Killed Kennedy. Critics panned its allegations of a con-
spiracy involving Lyndon Johnson, the FBI, the CIA, the Maa, pro Castro
supporters and weapons manufacturers.
Visit the website of this book
and click on the Zapruder
lm weblink for this chapter,
to view each frame.
Visit the website of this book
and click on the Zapruder
lm weblink for this chapter,
to view each frame.
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 161
[The] Kennedy assassination remains one of the murkier chapters of American
history. Almost all the crucial facts are open to dispute, with everyone from
coroners who were on the scene to forensic specialists from across the country
arguing over the veracity of the autopsy photos and the correct interpretation
of Abraham Zapruders horrifying 5.6-second lm of the mortal wounding of
Kennedy. Much of what passes for evidence such as the magic bullet that
struck Kennedy, changed directions twice and then hit Governor John Connally
Jnr., whod been sitting in front of Kennedy dees logic . . .
If there was more than one shooter, there was a conspiracy of some kind, and
consequently also a cover-up . . .
I believe the Warren Commission [nding] is a great myth, and in order to ght
a myth, maybe you have to create another one, says [JFK director Oliver] Stone.
The Warren Commission [report] was accepted at the time of its release for its
soothing Olympian conclusion that a lone nut committed this murder. I suppose
our movie is a countermyth: that the man was killed by larger political forces, with
more nefarious and sinister objectives . . .
From Jennet Conant, The man who shot JFK,
in GQ magazine, January 1992, pp. 617.
SOURCE QUESTION
What, according to source 8.20, were Oliver Stones goals in making his 1991 movie
JFK? How would this affect the value of JFK as a historical source?
Conspiracy theorists continued to question the validity of the Warren Com-
missions ndings. They generally came to believe one or more of the following:
Lee Harvey Oswald had either not committed the assassination or had not
acted alone. They stated that he lacked the shooting ability to re three
shots within six to nine seconds and have two of them hit a moving target
one shot had come from in front of the limousine perhaps from the
grassy knoll
several bystanders on the grassy knoll claimed to have seen gunsmoke
there and smelled gunpowder and believed that a shot had been red
from there. This would at least mean that Oswald had had an accomplice.
that it was ludicrous to think that there had been a magic bullet that
could travel in a number of different directions to inict the damage that
it had supposedly inicted on Kennedy and Connally (see source 8.21)
the autopsy report had covered up evidence of a large wound in the right
rear of Kennedys head. Many members of the Parkland Hospital staff
and security personnel had apparently witnessed this. The location of the
wound would prove that Kennedy had been shot from the front.
Oswald had been set up over a period of months to prevent suspicion
falling on the real assassin(s). This had been done by having people
posing as Oswald to create the impression that he was pro-communist
and hostile to Kennedys 1961 attempt to overthrow the Cuban communist
leader, Fidel Castro.
the Zapruder lm shows evidence of there having been more than three shots
ofcials had cooperated in a cover-up of the nature of the assassination
and the identity of the assassin in order to maintain the illusion that only
one assassin had killed Kennedy.
In 1992, Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records
Collection Act (the JFK Act). Its purpose was to address public concerns that
the government was hiding the truth about Kennedys assassination,
especially in view of the allegations made in Oliver Stones movie JFK.
W
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Source 8.20
Extract from Jennet Conants
1991 article The man who
shot JFK, in which lm director
Oliver Stone provides his
interpretation of the story
Source 8.20
Extract from Jennet Conants
1991 article The man who
shot JFK, in which lm director
Oliver Stone provides his
interpretation of the story
Source 8.21
Diagram showing the path of
the single bullet as interpreted
by conspiracy theorists who
labelled it the magic bullet
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Why do you think this
gained the label of the
magic bullet theory?
2. What does this indicate
that some people believed
in relation to this aspect
of the Warren Commissions
The magic bullet:
1 enters Kennedys back,
14.5 cm below collar
2 exits through knot in tie
3 enters Connallys back
near right armpit
4 exits right side of chest
5 shatters right wrist
6 wounds left thigh.
1
2
3
5
6
4
Governor
Connally
President
Kennedy
Source 8.21
Diagram showing the path of
the single bullet as interpreted
by conspiracy theorists who
labelled it the magic bullet
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. Why do you think this
gained the label of the
magic bullet theory?
2. What does this indicate
that some people believed
in relation to this aspect
of the Warren Commissions
The magic bullet:
1 enters Kennedys back,
14.5 cm below collar
2 exits through knot in tie
3 enters Connallys back
near right armpit
4 exits right side of chest
5 shatters right wrist
6 wounds left thigh.
1
2
3
5
6
4
Governor
Connally
President
Kennedy
Retrospective 162
Congress addressed these concerns by advancing the release date of sources
of evidence that would allow the public to decide for itself. All remaining
documents will be released by 2017. In 1998, the Assassination Records
Review Board reported this had made considerable progress in addressing
the excessive secrecy of the past and restoring public condence in the gov-
ernment. In the mid twenty-rst century, the Kennedy Library will release an
oral history of the event that Jacqueline Kennedy made shortly before her
death in 1994.
Postscript: Camelot and the shaping of history
Jacqueline Kennedy was determined that history portray her husband as a
heroic president. She invited journalist Theodore H. White to write up an inter-
view with her for publication in Life magazine. The interview, on 29 November
1963, took place over four hours at her home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
The theme of the interview
was that Kennedys presi-
dency had been one brief
shining moment in US
history. The phrase came
from the theme song of
the popular 1960 musical
Camelot (see source 8.22).
This play, based on the novel
The Once and Future King,
depicted the noble ideals
that united the legendary
ruler, King Arthur, and his
Knights of the Round Table.
At 2 am, after taking
45 minutes to put the story
together, White rang through
the article to the Life editors.
They had been holding up
publication, at overtime costs
of $30 000 an hour, so that
the story, For President Ken-
nedy: An Epilogue, could be
included in their next issue.
White later admitted that
he had allowed his work to be the vehicle for Jacqueline Kennedys attempt
to shape the historical interpretation of John Kennedy and his presidency. In
the ensuing years, many writers viewed Kennedy through the rose-coloured
glasses of the Camelot view. This view was well received in the atmosphere
of emotive pro-Kennedy nostalgia that, after the assassination, came to per-
meate many interpretations of the Kennedy presidency. For many historians,
the question of how and why Kennedy died developed into the question of to
what extent emotional responses to the tragic manner of his death mitigated
against objective analyses of the nature of the Kennedy presidency.
ARTHUR:
Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask evry person if hes heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a eeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot . . .
Camelot! Camelot!
Now say it out with pride and joy!
TOM:
Camelot! Camelot!
ARTHUR:
Yes, Camelot, my boy!
Where once it never rained till after sundown,
By eight a.m. the morning fog had own . . .
Dont let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.
1960 Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe For Australia And New Zealand: Alfred
Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd.
ARTHUR:
Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask evry person if hes heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a eeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot . . .
Camelot! Camelot!
Now say it out with pride and joy!
TOM:
Camelot! Camelot!
ARTHUR:
Yes, Camelot, my boy!
Where once it never rained till after sundown,
By eight a.m. the morning fog had own . . .
Dont let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.
1960 Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe For Australia And New Zealand: Alfred
Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What message might
people take from this
song in relation to
Kennedys presidency and
assassination?
2. How would the
circumstances of
Kennedys death influence
peoples willingness to
accept this message?
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1. What message might
people take from this
song in relation to
Kennedys presidency and
assassination?
2. How would the
circumstances of
Kennedys death influence
peoples willingness to
accept this message?
Source 8.22
The words of the reprise of the
theme song of Alan Jay Lerner
and Frederick Loewes 1960
musical Camelot, based on
Terence Hanbury Whites novel
The Once and Future King. King
Arthur, facing battle, speaks to a
young boy whom he charges to
carry on his legacy.
Source 8.22
The words of the reprise of the
theme song of Alan Jay Lerner
and Frederick Loewes 1960
musical Camelot, based on
Terence Hanbury Whites novel
The Once and Future King. King
Arthur, facing battle, speaks to a
young boy whom he charges to
carry on his legacy.
Chapter 8 W The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 163
Meeting objectives and outcomes
Key features, issues, individuals and events
P1.1 and P1.2
1. Describe the role of each of the following in the aftermath of the
Kennedy assassination. (P1.1)
(a) Lyndon Baines Johnson
(b) Jacqueline Kennedy
(c) Lee Harvey Oswald
(d) Jack Ruby
(e) Earl Warren
2. If you were asked to write a news article for the rst anniversary
of John F. Kennedys assassination, what features and/or issues
related to this event would you want to highlight? Give reasons
for your answer. (P1.2)
Change and continuity over time
P2.1
3. Research and report on the extent to which there has been change
and continuity in the ofcial ndings on the assassination of John
Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The process of historical inquiry
P3.1P3.5
4. What questions do you consider to have been essential to ask
(and investigate) in relation to the assassination of President
John Kennedy? (P3.1)
5. Copy and complete the following table to identify and evaluate ve
different types of sources on the Kennedy assassination. Be sure to
provide detailed information under each heading. (P3.2P3.5)
Source Content Author and perspective Usefulness Reliability
6. Collect 1020 visual sources that you can use to explain the main
events related to the Kennedy assassination. Present your selection,
with appropriate oral commentary, to a small group. (P3.5)
7. Conduct your own investigation of sources on the Kennedy
assassination and answer the following question: To what extent does
the evidence support the view that President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, a lone gunman? (P3.1, P3.5)
8. The Warren Commission Report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald
assassinated President Kennedy and that, in doing so, he had acted
alone. You can view the Report on the US Governments National
Archives website. Go to the website for this book and click on the
Warren Commission Report weblink for this chapter.
Work in pairs or small groups to investigate different sections of
this Report using the following guidelines.
Retrospective 164
(a) Click on Chapter 3 and use the references shown in brackets
below to nd out the main points it provides in answer to the
following questions.
(i) What led the Commission to conclude that the shots had
come from the Texas Book Depository? (pages 61, 635, 68,
701)
(ii) What was the evidence that shots had also come from other
areas and why did the Warren Commission reject this?
(pages 68, 702, 76)
(iii) What evidence did investigators produce regarding the
weaponry and bullets used in the assassination and where
did they nd it? What did the Warren Commission conclude
from this? (pages 79, 81, 8495)
(b) Click on Chapter 4 and use the references shown in brackets
below to nd out the main points it provides in answer to the
following questions.
(i) What led the Commission to conclude that Lee Harvey
Oswald was the owner of the assassination weapon and that
he had used it to kill Kennedy? (pages 11819, 1215, 12731,
1337)
(ii) What was the importance of the sixth oor of the Texas
Book Depository and what evidence from there also seemed
to incriminate Oswald? (pages 141, 1437, 149, 152, 156)
(iii) What did the Report state that Oswald did in between the
assassination and his arrest? (pages 157, 15963, 1659, 1712,
1756, 17880)
(iv) What parts of Oswalds testimony to the Dallas Police did
the Warren Commission nd to be untrue? (pages 1803)
(v) What information does the Report provide about Oswalds
Prior Attempts to Kill and what was the signicance of
this? (pages 1839)
(vi) What did the Warren Commission conclude regarding Lee
Harvey Oswalds ability to assassinate the President using
the Mannlicher-Carcano rie found at the Texas Book
Depository? (pages 18995)
(c) Discussion topic: Based on your shared answers to these
questions, if there had been a trial of Lee Harvey Oswald,
which case do you think would have been easier to argue
the case for the defence or the case for the prosecution?
Give reasons for your answer.
Communicating an understanding of history
P4.1, P4.2
9. Essay topic: Explain why the Kennedy assassination has remained
a source of interest for many people.
Your response should be about three A4 pages in length.
Remember to incorporate appropriate historical terms and concepts.
(P4.1, P4.2)