How Jfk's Assassination Changed American Politics

Maggie Mixon
English III 5A
Mrs.Selman
March 13, 2014
Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what can you do for your country.” –John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John Kennedy more commonly known as “Jack” or his initials JFK represented youth and an idealistic America. JFK served as the 35th President of The United States from January 1961 until November 1963, when he was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The nation mourned as a whole, and fifty years later, continue to mourn. Kennedy’s presidency was short lived, but his legacy was not.
Kennedy’s presidency was short lived but his administration achieved major goals on both domestic and foreign frontiers. When Kennedy took office the
civil rights movement was in full effect but not getting anywhere. African Americans in the north and south still faced discrimination, segregation, and the right to vote was still unheard of. Kennedy took this matter into his own hands and worked alongside some of the most influential movement leaders of the 1960s. With Kennedy’s help and leadership African Americans gained equality in America, segregation was no longer an issue and the big issue, African Americans gained the right to vote. Although the civil rights movement is the biggest thing Kennedy changed in America, it’s not the only thing. America’s economy in the 60s was at a low because of the recession in the years before. Unemployment was high, taxes were even higher and his belief was that tax cuts were the way to get things back on the right track. Although he didn’t have the opportunity to see the end of his progress, he was right. Over half of the American public favored the tax cuts and still supported big businesses. Along with the tax cuts came more jobs which led to a decrease in unemployment during the 60s.
Kennedy was faced with big decisions when it came to foreign affairs, the biggest being the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis came after the Bay of Pigs when America tried and failed to overthrow the Castro regime. After this, the Soviet Union made a deal with Cuba to construct a nuclear missile site in order to prevent future invasion attempts by other countries. America was informed of this site and Kennedy to action. He worked hand in hand with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ordered Cuba and the U.S.S.R to dismantle the missiles being constructed. Nothing happened for days but finally The White House received a letter from Khrushchev, leader of The Soviet Union at the time, stating that he would agree to dismantle the missiles if Kennedy would agree to not attack and take over Cuba. Kennedy agreed to this and the missiles were dismantled in Cuba and returned to the U.S.S.R under the watch of the United Nations. This event helped Kennedy’s reputation dramatically, from the failed Bay of Pigs attempted, both in America and around the globe. On the other side of the world in Germany, the Berlin Cold War was still in effect and Kennedy was ready to end it. Kennedy attempted to talk to the Soviet Union in order to prevent the Cold War from continuing any further but failed. The Soviets created the Berlin Wall and when President Kennedy tried to resolve the conflict he was met with a stern understanding that it was not his fight. Instead of fighting against the wall, he visited Berlin and gave a speech that would become famous. “Lass 'sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin."
November 22, came as a surprise to people all over the world, and broke America’s heart. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was riding in a convertible limousine along with his wife, Jackie and the Texas Governor, John Connally and his wife Nellie. Kennedy was shot once in the back and once in the head, the fatal shot. He left blood stains and skull fragments in the interior of the car, on the clothes of everyone in the car, and worst of all, his wife, Jackie. Less than thirty minutes later Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President aboard Air Force One. In the days leading up to Kennedy’s funeral nearly one million people lined the streets and visited his guarded casket. The day of the funeral, nearly every adult was tuned in to watch the funeral live. The underlying cause of JFK’s death was concluded to be assassination over a conspiracy theory but in a poll taken in 2013, 78% of Americans believed that his death was a setup and had other causes. What is remembered most about Kennedy’s funeral is the face of Jacqueline Kennedy, calm and composed. She held herself and her children together and in doing so held the nation together. She lit an eternal flame at the grave site of John Fitzgerald Kennedy that still symbolizes what he meant to the nation.
Americans mourned over the death of their fallen president, and still to this day do. Kennedy brought a new outlook on the world when he entered The White House and Americans loved that about him. He was young and energetic, and had an idealistic approach to the presidency and how to tackle the many obstacles America was soon to face. No one can predict what could and would have happened if JFK wouldn’t have been assassinated, if his presidency would have continued, or what it would have meant for the nation. What we do know is that he achieved great things in the short period of time he was in office. He helped lead one of the biggest civil rights movements that has ever taken place in history, he gave African Americans the rights they had long hoped for, helped put America back on the right track to an economic recovery and that’s only on the home front. Jacqueline Kennedy summed it up best with the famous words, “There will be great presidents again, but there will never be another Camelot”.

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