His life was straight out of a storybook, and storybooks are supposed to have happy endings—not leave the world in shock and tears. That is what happened on Nov. 22, 1963, when the legend of John Fitzgerald Kennedy came to an abrupt end in Dallas, Texas. His death was a pivotal turning point of the 1960s. Nothing would be the same after Kennedy’s murder—yet the years leading up to it were also tumultuous, and the United States was filled with internal strife. But no matter how tough things seemed, Kennedy pointed to better times ahead—a vision that included the triumph of American values, opportunity for all, and a walk on the moon. Most people wanted those things to come true, and were willing to believe that somehow they might with Kennedy leading the way. The idea that a bullet could end all that was disillusioning, demoralizing and terrifying. It took years to come to terms with what actually happened, let alone put the pieces back together. And even today, people obsessively wonder two things about the Kennedy assassination: Why? And what would the world be like if it never happened?
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
ONE MOMENT IN TIME • THE JFK ASSASSINATION WAS THE PIVOTAL MOMENT IN MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY
WHAT WE KNOW • FEW EVENTS IN THE COUNTRY’S HISTORY HAVE BEEN AS FIERCELY DEBATED AND ANALYZED
WHAT HAPPENED • SOME FACTS ARE CONTESTED, BUT THESE ARE WIDELY ACCEPTED AS TRUTH
THE CENTRAL FIGURES • THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION AFFECTED THESE INDIVIDUALS MOST OF ALL
JOHN F. KENNEDY
JACQUELINE KENNEDY
LEE HARVEY OSWALD
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE PRESIDENT • REACTION WAS SWIFT, BUT PROCESSING THE ASSASSINATION WAS SLOW AND PAINFUL
THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES • WHEN SOME SAW FLAWS IN THE WARREN REPORT’S CONCLUSIONS, THEY DREW THEIR OWN
NOT ENOUGH ANSWERS • WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION?
THE WARREN REPORT • THE INVESTIGATION AND ITS CONCLUSIONS WERE SUPPOSED TO GIVE AMERICANS CLOSURE
WHO… AND WHY? • THE MOST FAMOUS KENNEDY ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY THEORIES
THE CIA • THE MOTIVE
CLAY SHAW • THE MOTIVE
SAM GIANCANA, JOHNNY ROSELLI AND THE MAFIA • THE MOTIVE
FIDEL CASTRO • THE MOTIVE
THE WHAT-IFS • HOW MIGHT HISTORY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF JFK HAD LIVED?
THE 1964 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
THE WAR IN VIETNAM
CIVIL RIGHTS
SPACE EXPLORATION
THE COLD WAR
THE ASSASSINATIONS OF 1968
THE LIVES OF BABY BOOMERS
The Kennedy Assassination: 60 Years Later
PHOTO CREDITS
