Before you ask who killed J.F.K, you need to understand how I got there in the first place. We started with our history unit about a week ago after finally finishing English 12 and doing our provincial exam. Although, before we started learning about history, we needed to understand the proper way to analyze it.
Analyzing history:
We learned there are 6 important categories we have to look at when interpreting history. We were split into groups and assigned a category. My group included, Stanfield, Kirby and Jayden, and we chose to present on Cause and Consequence. This included making a presentation covering the questions needed to analyze cause and consequence, analyzing 9/11 for cause and consequence, and then quizzing the class on their knowledge.
Here is the script of our presentation:
We finalized our presentation by quizzing the class with a Kahoot!
After a whole week of presentations this are the main points I gathered from each category:
Historical Significance:
- What and who should be remembered in history?
- What was notable?
- Were there consequences? How widespread and lasting was it?
- Was it symbolic of key historical issues and trends?
- How long term consequences and how many people were affected?
Evidence and Interpretation:
- Do the sources provide relevant evidence?
- Can we trust the sources of information?
- Does the evidence support the interpretation offered?
Continuity and Change:
- For each aspect of life how have things changed and how have things stayed the same?
- Were the continuity or changes positive or negative?
- How rapid or slow were these changes?
- Did any of these make turning points in history?
Historical Perspective:
- Understanding cultural social emotional lenses of the time
- Consider what you know from a present perspective
- Identify the values and beliefs from when the event took place
- Determine whether your views of the past were influenced by the present evidence
Cause and Consequence:
- What were the range of factors that contributed to the event?
- Would this event still have happened if these factors hadn’t occurred ?
- What were the intended and unintended consequences of the event?
Ethical Judgement:
Are ethical judgements included in the historical accounts you are studying?- Are the ethical judgements reasonable or justifyable?
Using this knowledge to interpret a specific event:
After learning how to analyze history we were put to the challenge to choose an event and analyze it with our new knowledge.Using all 6 categories and their prompt questions I will analyze the assassination of former American president John F. Kennedy.
A bit of Information :
Here is a short youtube video of the summary of the assasination.
Why did I chose this event? We can look at the first category of how to analyze history, which is historical significance, to see why this seemed like an appropriate event for me to use in my blogpost. After asking myself the questions needed to see why was this event was significant at the time and to this day, I came up with this conclusion;
During the 1960s America was one of the most powerful countries in the world, making their president (J.F.K) possibly one of the most important people in the world. J.F.K’s death affected an incredible amount of people. He was leading america in a very unique way, as he confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere. He also led a renewed drive for public service and later provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement at the time. His death affected the people in America in such way that they wept openly, and gathered in public places to mourn together. Even schools across the country dismissed their students early. His death not only shocked the nation but it also affected our present day. His death had long term effects, as if he hadn’t passed away america would be shaped substantially different than how it is today. Because America is such a pivotal country in the world the death of J.F.K. shaped the world the way it is today. His death left the world with a lot of “what ifs” regarding the wars America was involved with at the time along with other circumstances.
The sources and information provided about J.F.K.’s death were provided by the american government, the secret service, CIA among other reliable sources. The evidence provided includes very detailed information about where the assassin was located(building/floor/exact position in the room), what weapon was used, and later who exactly was the assassin. The evidence provided by the government does support the final interpretation now known by the public and recognized by the world.
We will never know if the continuity and change is positive or negative as we would not have known how differently J.F.K’s presidency would have shaped the country. We know for sure that there was an immediate change in power. The Vice President soon took over the role of president. We forsure know that this event shaped America incredibly, as this presidency had the country headed in a much different way than it did today.
At the time, the American population was shocked with the death, of one of the now seen as, best presidents in U.S. history. He supported equality for African Americans, equality for people with intellectual disabilities, nuclear test bans, improving relations with Latin American countries,which made him extremely popular at the time. Looking through the lense of Americans during the 1960s, the assassination of J.F.K would’ve been incredibly impactful,shocking, and devastating. Today this event is still seen as a very unfortunate and pivotal to shaping the country.
Cause and Consequence:
Here is where things get really tricky, who really killed J.F.K? I could go into deep thought and describe many conspiracy theories as to why everything the government says is a lie and how the government still hasn’t released all the files. But after speaking with Kirby Harris, she shared her wisdom and told me to just go with “the official narrative put forward by the government”. So here is the cause and consequence bit I’ve been dreading to do;
As in every presidential election there are people who disagree with the beliefs, and the way things are being run. Lee Harvey Oswald is the assassin recognized by the CIA.
As seen in the Warren Report we can see that Oswald’s motives include a lot of psychological issues, along with violent behaviour, and most importantly his commitment to communism.
Unfortunately for Oswald, consequences for him literally meant death. Before he could go to trial for killing J.F.K he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby just two days later. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed that Kennedy’s murder was the motive for his action. Some called him a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder. As for America, the loss of Kennedy meant a new leader with new values and a new direction for the U.S.A.
To end this blogpost: