«assassination Of John F. Kennedy» Research Paper Example

John Fitzgerald Kennedy is an American politician, the 35th US president (1961 -1963). In today's public consciousness Kennedy is most often associated with its mysterious murder that has shaken the whole world, and numerous hypotheses that were made by different researchers. John Kennedy was World War II veteran that had promoted to the rank of "lieutenant" during the War, Kennedy was participant of the Solomon Islands campaign, and led the team torpedo boat. For bravery during the war, he has won many awards.
In 1947, immediately after the war, he has begun his political career, he was elected in Massachusetts state as the member of the US House of Representatives, where he stayed until 1953 when he became a senator of Massachusetts and held this position until 1960. During three terms in the House of Representatives (1947-53), Kennedy was a member of the Committee on Labor and Education.
In November 1952 he successfully ran for the Senate. As a senator (1953-61) Kennedy gradually inclined (although he was accused of connivance McCarthyism) to liberal positions, especially on the issue of civil rights and liberties. He was a member of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, and since 1957 the influential Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In 1960 on the next presidential election, 43-year-old Democrat John Fitzgerald Kennedy with a slight margin defeated Republican Richard Nixon, thus becoming the only US president-Catholic and the first president that has born in the XX century.
When John F. Kennedy, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, won the election of 1960, he was 43 years old. When in early 1960 Kennedy formally announced his candidacy for the democratic primaries he opposed Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Adlai Stevenson the former Governor of Illinois.
Start of the Kennedy presidency has coincided with the phase of the cyclic rise in the economy. However, by the spring of 1962 the economic situation considerably complicated: the growth rate slowed down, the level of the unemployment was estimated at around 5.5%, and decreased the amount of new investment. In May has happened the fall of the stock exchange - the sharpest since 1929. One of the priorities of the new administration was to end the recession, but Kennedy has lost the confidence of the business community, because of the efforts of administration in 1962 to reduce the price of steel, which the government believed was excessive. The administration came into confrontation with the steel companies led by United States Steel Corporation, which, despite the insistence of the administration that has forced their steelworkers limited their demands for higher wages under the "guidance", went on defiantly sharp increase of steel prices. Only set in motion all the leverage, the White House has managed to overturn this decision at the cost of worsening relations with the monopolies.
President Kennedy has achieved the nearest goal, but lost the strong support of industrialists. For example, in January 1963, Kennedy sent Congress a program to reduce taxes on corporate profits (from 52 to 47%) and lower rates of income tax from the citizens (from 20-91 to 14-65%) for a total of about $ 10 billion with actual refusal from the tax reform. However, when Kennedy tried to push through Congress a law on tax cuts to stimulate the accumulation and revive the economy, the conservative opposition robbed him of any hope for adoption of the law creating the budget deficit. At the same time, he promised to cut government spending on social services and to balance the federal budget.
Despite some successes, the Kennedy administration as a whole cannot be considered as successful in terms of legislation. He hasn't received any new appropriations for the development of education and health care for the elderly, and the minimum wage has risen slightly. Thus, the extension of unemployment benefits in the 1961-1962 haven't affected more than 3 million unemployed; increase the minimum hourly wage (up to $ 1.15. in 1961 and $ 1.25. in 1963) affected only 3.6 million of the 26.6 million low-wage workers. Government measures to combat unemployment - the law of 1961 on assistance to areas of depression, the law of 1962 on retraining laid-off workers, allocations for public works and so on haven't led to significant improvements in the area of employment. The movement for reduction (35 hours) of working week has become more popular than before. Also, Kennedy stood for equal rights for blacks, taking the model of Abraham Lincoln, has supported Martin Luther King, and met him in Washington in 1963.
One of the major decisions of President Kennedy was the discontinuation of issue of silver coins and certificates in connection with the constant rise in price of silver. In 1963, on his initiative, Congress passed Public Law 88-36, allowing the Federal Reserve System of the United States to issue banknotes in denominations of 1 and $ 2 and prohibiting the Treasury to issue silver certificates.
Also, Kennedy has advocated the improvement of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, but his reign was also marked by a great foreign policy tensions: an unsuccessful landing in the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin crisis, the Cuban missile crisis. In foreign policy, Kennedy has faced a big test: the Berlin crisis (August 1961) and the Cuban missile crisis contributed to the manifestation of his best qualities: responsibility and realism. These crises have unleashed his diplomatic and political instincts
Also, it should be noted that Kennedy has increased US intervention in the civil war in South Vietnam; in 1961 he was sent to South Vietnam first regular units of the armed forces of the United States (before there were serving only military advisers). By the end of 1963 the United States spent on the war in Vietnam three billion dollars.
In March 1961, was created by an organization called Peace Corps that was volunteer organization and helped people in developing countries in literacy, elementary receipt of skills and knowledge.
On March 13, 1961 Kennedy proclaimed the program "Alliance for Progress" to promote economic and political development in Latin America. The official goals of the program were: to provide in Latin America annual growth of industrial production for at least a year, eliminate illiteracy on the continent and to carry out agrarian reform. To fund this program during the period of ten years was planned to allocate 20 billion dollars, which is almost ten times greater than the entire amount of US aid to Latin America from 1945 to 1960.
Also, it should be noted that John F. Kennedy did a lot for space exploration program run by initiating "Apollo." Moreover, he proposed the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Khrushchev to join efforts in the preparation of the flight to the Moon, but Khrushchev refused.
In Moscow, on August 5, 1963 was signed the agreement between representatives of the USSR, the US and the UK on the prohibition of nuclear weapons tests in three areas - in the air, on land and under water. On October 17 representatives of the USSR and the United States voted unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly decision to prohibit the placing in orbit of objects carrying nuclear weapons on board.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963 in Dallas (Texas). Weather in Dallas on that day was sunny and warm. Plastic removable roof of the presidential car was removed so the citizens could see their president. Moving along Main Street, the motorcade drove to the area of ​​Dallas called Dealey Plaza and turned right on Houston Street. Then limousine turned left onto Elm Street. After limousine drove past located on the corner of Houston Street and Elm Street School Book Depository, exactly at 12:30, shots rang out. Most witnesses say they heard three shots, although some witnesses spoke of two or four, or maybe even five or six shots.
The first bullet hit the president in the back of the neck and exited the front of the throat, the second hit in the head and caused the destruction of the bones of the skull in the back of the head, as well as damage to the brain substance. Immediately after the shots from the other car jumped agent Clint Hill, who caught up with the presidential limousine and tried to jump into the car. He managed to do so only after the second shot.
The president's motorcade sped up immediately and five minutes later Kennedy was taken to Parkland Hospital, located four miles from the crime scene. Doctor looked around Kennedy and determined that he was still alive, and took the first steps to provide emergency assistance. A little later came the personal doctor of the president Kennedy George Gregory Barkley, but at this point it was already obvious that the attempts to save Kennedy were in vain. President Kennedy was taken to the operating room, where after half an hour after the shooting was pronounced dead. In addition, was seriously wounded riding in the same car Texas Governor Connolly, lung injury has also got one of the passers-by in Dallas.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, was shot dead two days later at the police station by Jack Ruby resident of Dallas, who also later died in prison. The official report of the "Warren Commission" on the investigation into the assassination of Kennedy was published in 1964; According to the report Oswald was murderer of the President Kennedy, and all the shots were fired them from the top floor of the building. Any plot to murder, according to the report, could not be detected.
Official data on the assassination of Kennedy contradictory and contain some "white spots." Despite the subsequent official investigations have confirmed that the killer was Oswald, but perhaps some of them were the conspirators. There are a number of conspiracy theories, questioning the findings of the Warren Commission and representing alternative versions of the murder, including conspiracy American or Soviet secret police, but none of them has been proved. Opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans (over 70%) do not believe in the official version of the assassination. Also, there are many different conspiracy theories about who exactly fired at the car at all, or that Oswald was the only shooter. Suggests a connection with the murder of various kinds of large figures of politics and business, is seen deliberate elimination of witnesses, and so on.
Thus, summarizing all the mentioned above it should be stated that the President John Kennedy was the prominent US leader, great diplomat that has ruled the country in the time of crises. The assassination of the President Kennedy has shocked the United States the entire world society. Despite, the official report of the Warren Commission and the fact that have passed more than 50 years since assassination, the disputes about the murder of the President Kennedy lasts till our days.

Works Cited

Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963. New York: Back Bay Books, 2004.
MURPHY, JARRETT. 40 Years Later: Who Killed JFK? 20 11 2003. 5 4 2015.
Reeves, Richard. President Kennedy: Profile of Power. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Warren Commission. "The Warren Commission Report: The Official Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy." 1992.