The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
When Americans think of a politician assassinated, they usually think of John F. Kennedy. After all, he was the President of the United States and his death caused a huge controversy potentially linking it to a conspiracy. But what about his brother, Robert F. Kennedy? After the world was slowly getting over the death of the first Kennedy brother, the death of another Kennedy brother shocked the world. The Kennedy brothers’ deaths have one major thing in common: they were both considered a conspiracy. In this paper, I will discuss the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the conspiracies linked to his death. Robert F. Kennedy was born November 20, 1925 (Knight 1971, 179). He was the seventh of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy (Knight 1971, 179). In the view of some, he had risen to power on the coattails of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, who made him U.S. attorney general in a blatant act of nepotism (Moldea 1995, 17). Others insist that Robert Kennedy had become the greatest crime fighter in American history, beginning with his baptism as the chief counsel of the Senate Rackets Committee from 1957 to 1960, where he earned his reputation as a fearless enemy of mobsters and labor racketeers (Moldea 1995, 17). Once his brother died, Robert changed dramatically. Once an “insider” with his brother’s presidency, he quickly became an outsider once Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency (Moldea 1995, 18). Looking for another power base, Kennedy was elected as a U.S. Senator from New York (Moldea 1995, 18). In March of 1968, Kennedy announced his candidacy for President (Moldea 1995, 19). He campaigned hard for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
The Scene On Tuesday, June 4, 1968, Kennedy was in California for primary election day. Kennedy was awaiting the elections results at the Ambassador Hotel (Moldea 1995, 24). With the election still in doubt and Kennedy running behind, he went to his suite and remained there, hoping that
References: Ayton, Mel. 2005. “The JFK and RFK Assassination and the Bogus ‘Manchurian Candidate’ Theories.” Retrieved from http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/Manchurian.htm on April 22, 2010.
Ayton, Mel
Barbassa, Juliana. 2006. “RFK’s Killer Up for Parole Today; Governor’s Ties to Kennedy Eyed.” The Boston Globe. March 15, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com on April 22, 2010.
Geringer, Joseph
Knight, Janet M. ed. Three Assassinations: The deaths of John &Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. New York, New York, Facts on File, Inc. 1971. Print.
Kolowski, Carl
Lewis, David K. 1998. “The RFK Assassination.” April 1, 1998. Retrieved from http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~dlewis/crime.htm on April 21, 2010.
Melanson, Phillip
Moldea, Dan E. The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity. New York: W.W. Norton &Company, 1995. Print.
Pease, Lisa
Rothfeld, Michael. 2009. “Sirhan Sirhan Moved to Coalinga Prison.” L.A. Now November 2, 2009. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/sirhan-sirhan-moved-to-different-prison.html on April 20, 2010.