The Assassination Of John Fitzgerald Kennedy - 2088 Words

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was not the first US president to be murdered, three presidents before him had died after being shot by an assassin. They were Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, and William McKinley in 1901. Kennedy’s death seemed particularly shocking because he was still young and seemed to have so much still to do as a President, there seemed to be no motive for his killing. The Kennedys came from Boston, Massachusetts. John was born 29th May 1917, the second of nine children born to Joseph Kennedy and his wife Rose Fitzgerald. Before the Second World War Joseph Kennedy, a millionaire, had been America’s ambassador to Great Britain. During that war, John Kennedy served in the US Navy, skippering a patrol boat in†¦show more content†¦1963 was an important year in American politics. Kennedy wanted action on civil rights and other issues, he promised to put an American on the moon by 1970 to beat the Russians to it. Kennedy spoke of a ‘new frontier’, with better schools, hospitals and welfare for all Americans. The next presidential election was due in November 1964, and the southern states were already a big worry. This is why Kennedy headed for Texas, he wanted four more years to achieve his goals. November 21, 1963 was the first day of a political trip to Texas for the Kennedy s. They would visit San Antonio and Houston, then fly to Fort Worth to spend the night and then travel to Dallas the next day. Kennedy was considering the upcoming 1964 Presidential election, and he knew that his re-election was not secure. Kennedy had lost a substantial amount of support in the southern states because of his civil rights bill and would need to make up these electoral votes. It was thought that if Kennedy did a non- political tour of the western-states he would gain more support. No Democrat had ever won a presidential election without winning in Texas, Kennedy had also come to Texas to reconcile differences between opposing factions of the Democratic Party in the state. Kennedy knew that there was a chance that a motorcade with his popular wife might sway a few voters without him saying a word. The President and