John F. Kennedy’s assassination, in 1963, is perhaps the most investigated murder of the last decades. Some also believe it is the most investigated assassination in the world history, given that a lot of ink has been spent, and various technological tools have been applied with tremendous zeal and scrutiny, so to analyze and study the events that had finally led to Kennedy’s murder. Interestingly, Kennedy was the first man to have been elected president of the United States at the young age of 43, and his presidency has definitely left a valuable legacy. He was a very well-liked president, who had failed to deal with the Congress effectively, but achieved much, in America’s most turbulent times, with democracy and communism each fighting to prevail, racial tension, and two world superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, with so much nuclear in their possession that could wipe everybody from the face of Earth. He possessed no particular great strengths; however, his death had a profound impact, not only to the United States, but the rest of the world.
The response in Kennedy’s Assassination
- The American people
- The political world
Apart from the citizens of the United States, the entire political -and not only- world was reported devastated. Indicatively, in the Soviet Union, the Moscow Radio stopped tis transmission and funeral music filled the airwaves, while Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev rushed to the US Embassy in the Soviet Union, to discuss the negative impact Kennedy’s death would have the Soviet-U.S relations (George 95). The exact same thing happened with the Germans, probably because of Kennedy’s affinity for the city of Berlin, which was divided at that time. Upon the announcement of his death, more than 60,000 people marched through the city of Berlin, to memorialize Kennedy (George 95). Pope Paul VI expressed his sorrow in front of an American TV crew, thousands of Italian soccer players and common people observed a moment of silence in Kennedy’s memory (George 95). In London, Queen Elizabeth’s coachmen wore black armbands, in order to display mourning, while The House of Honors attributed Prime-Minister-like honors to Kennedy, and adjourned the day of his funeral, leaving the British flags to fly at half-staff (George 95). The world landscape was distinguished by a floating sense of grief, as well as tense for what the next day will bring. According to General Maxwell Taylor, Kennedy had become some sort of a symbol to people, and “with all the strength of the United States behind him, every country felt it had a stake in him” (George 94).
Effects of Kennedy’s assassination
- Loss of Faith and Hope
Kennedy’s assassination had an effect on American children of the early 1960s. He was very well-known to children, for more reasons than one. For example, youngsters of that time knew that Kennedy was the president who wanted to send Americans to the moon, and his actions towards meeting this goal left everybody with a great sense of pride and anticipation (George 97). Also, many would be tested in school playgrounds on the Presidential Standards, to see if the Physical Fitness Program’s goals were met (George 97). Polls showed a continuous appreciation on behalf of the children of the US, towards Kennedy’s election to the White House, in 1960. Finally, children did not share the same political opinion with their parents and actually thought of politicians as benevolent people, with the President being the most prominent of all, mainly due to Kennedy’s profile (George 97). Upon Kennedy’s assassination, people, including children, seem to have lost their faith on the “goodness of the United States” (George 100) and that they believed Kennedy’s assassination “was a major loss of innocence”, which signaled “the end to an era of hope” (George 102).
- Civil Rights and Full Legal Equaity
Baby Boomers were actively motivated by Kennedy’s calls for activism, and although the movements for civil rights, peace, and feminism, among others, faded away by early 1970s, the effect on the American public policy was significant (George 103). With the Baby Boomers’ struggles, the first African American president in the American history has been elected; they have also managed to put an end to the military draft; girls’ sports at school received equal funding with boys’ sports; and unleaded gasoline has now been used, so to protect the environment and reduce air pollution (George 103).
Full legal equality for the African Americans was a dream that came true during Kennedy’s presidency. Before Kennedy’s election, the African Americans were deprived of the right to vote, and were subjected to insult and injustice, as well as discrimination in regards education, employment, and housing, among others (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum). Civil rights protests were intense and to a large extend. Upon Martin Luther King’s arrest –the leader of civil rights movement- in Atlanta, in 1960, it was the Kennedys’ personal intervention (both John and Robert Kennedy) that secured the safe release of King. The Civil Rights Commission was strengthened, and African Americans were appointed to high-level positions, while Kennedy was trying to drive public view towards the desegregation of schools, busses, restaurants, and restrooms (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum). The comprehensive civil rights bill that Kennedy was struggling to pass in Congress, in 1963, won the endorsement of Senate and House Republican leaders, but although it was not passed until late summer 1964, meaning after President Kennedy’s assassination, the Civil Rights Act is considered a huge step towards full legal equality among people (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum).
- International Diplomatic Achievements
The Cuban missile crisis was one of the most serious and threatening events for the world, during the Cold War, and the most dangerous episode President J.F. Kennedy had to deal with. When the Russian missiles were set in Cuba, in 1962, Kennedy had to find a way to prevent a possible nuclear war and remove the Russian missiles from Cuba, while making sure peace was maintained. It was the point of time when the two super powers of the world, the United States and The Soviet Union, came so close to a nuclear irruption. Kennedy decided for a naval quarantine -and not a blockage that would mean war- of the Soviets, for which he also got the approval and support of the Organization of American States (US Department of State Office of the Historian). With his actions, Kennedy managed to make the Soviets remove all IL-28 bombers from Cuba, which did not only strengthen his political profile worldwide, but also helped prevent a potential nuclear outburst (US Department of State Office of the Historian). Under such significant threat, and to prevent it from reoccurring, the White House and Kremlin had established a direct telephone line between the two of them, also known as Hotline. Furthermore, the Cuba crisis and how it was resolved, made the two superpowers reconsider their stance towards the nuclear arms race, and take the first initiatives to sign the Test Ban Treaty (US Department of State Office of the Historian). Had it not been for Kennedy’s strategic moves and diplomatic efficiency, the world as we know it today might not exist.
- The Peace Corps and its Effect on the World
During his presidential campaign, in 1960, John F. Kennedy was the first to announce the idea of setting up an organization that would help the world understand the US culture, while helping Americans to comprehend the cultures of other countries at the same time. That organization he named Peace Corps, and was destined to meet a series of serious controversy over its use and effectiveness, while attempting to change the world landscape. Kennedy’s famous quote “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (The Avalon Project), could be considered the foundation of the mission statement of Peace Corps. The organization officially started on March, 1, 1961, when Kennedy signed the Executive Order 10924 (Contrubis). Kennedy saw the Third World’s revolutionary sentiment growing larger, and the Peace Corps as a way to effectively restore the world’s opinion on Americans, who were described with the pejorative term “Ugly American” (Richards). Americans used to be referred as Ugly Americans, mainly in the post-colonial Asian and African nations, due to their ethnocentric behaviors when outside the borders of the United States, as well as for their thoughtless, arrogant, and ignorant way of behaving both at home and abroad (Richards). Recruiting started in July 1962, and by June 1966, more than 15,000 volunteers were serving more than 55 countries (Peace Corps/ 1960s).
Despite the increased controversy the organization received during its first year, the Peace Corps has become a great helping hand for the world. Indicatively, the malaria control efforts in Africa have been crowned with success, in 2011, and the Corps now comprises of volunteers in more than 20 countries in the African peninsula (Hessler-Radelet and Ziemer). The Corps also offered environmental programs, which include effective park management, farming, environmental education, and recycling, among others (Peace Corps). Volunteers in Peace Corps work towards teaching resource conservation, such as wildlife preservation, and the proper use of forests and marine resources. For these reasons, they try to raise funds through various activity-creation. All communities that face environmental problems, considering income and farming, are listed under the umbrella of the Environment Education or Awareness program, where volunteers teach in secondary and elementary schools and help educate farmers on farming-related matters, including forestry and soil conservation (Peace Corps/ Environment Education and Awareness).
- How breaking national news stories are being delivered
Before Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, broadcast television news had been doing some substantial groundbreaking work, such as presenting images from the World War II, from London rooftops (Sneed). At a coverage level, breaking national news stories, from Kennedy’s assassination until the 9/11 attacks, are unparalleled to what was delivered on television before November, 1963. Robert Thompson, pop culture and television professor at Syracuse University says, “It accelerated the learning curve and established the norms for how breaking news was going to be covered in the last half of the 20th century and into 21st century" (Sneed). Networks expanded their 15-minute night broadcasts, to 30-minute programs, after September, 1963, while the CBS Evening News, were aired on a 120-minute long special, by November 1963 (Sneed). Kennedy’s assassination was followed by a deluge of coverage that the nation had never experienced before, until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. The television industry is now suffering dramatic fragmentation with cable news stations broadcasting news non-stop, and delivering breaking stories, as well as the competition from the social media and the Internet. Undoubtedly, it is highly unlikely there will ever be any news coverage with such profound impact on the public, or any other news story that will draw people’s attention to the extremes, like the Kennedy assassination.
Conclusion
John F. Kennedy was all Americans ever wanted from their president. Kennedy was a leader, a good diplomat, and a man with a vision that he never managed to fulfil at its fullest. His assassination was extensively analyzed, and countless books have been written, as a means to explain what lies behind his murder. During Kennedy’s presidency, Americans were full of pride and faith in the goodness of the US; they saw a man that inspired hope. All these were lost that day in Dallas, in 1963, when he was shot dead. Children also had a saying in Kennedy’s assassination. They stopped seeing politicians as benevolent individuals anymore, but held close Kennedy’s call for activism. Maybe that is what put strength in the hands of Baby Boomers to claim civil rights, fair and equal treatment, and other fundamental human rights.
Kennedy’s presidency and decisions made during which have also prevented the world from a potential nuclear war, when the globe was holding its breath, during the Cuba missile crisis. Finally, the Peace Corps is an organization that has offered quite a few to the world, trying to help people and countries have a better life, in balance with the environment.
Works Cited:
Contrubis, John (1999). “Executive Orders and Proclamations”. CRS Report for Congress #95-722A.
George, Alice (2013). “The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Political Trauma and American Memory”. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-89556-9
Hessler-Radelet, Carrie, and Ziemer, Tim (2013). "Peace Corps Volunteers Extend Malaria Efforts to Villages and Towns Across Africa", Huffington Post. Web. April 4, 2014 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carrie-hesslerradelet/peace-corps-volunteers-ex_1_b_3146460.html>
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (n.d). “Civil Rights Movement”. Web. April 4, 2014 < http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-Movement.aspx>
Office of the Historian (2013). “Milestones: 1961–1968: The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962”. Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Web. April 4, 2014 <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis>
Peace Corps (2014). “"Environment ". Web. April 4, 2014 <http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/learn/whatvol/env/>
Peace Corps (2014). “Environment Education and Awareness”. Web. April 4, 2014 <http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/learn/whatvol/env/enved/>
Peace Corps (2013). “1960s”. Web. April 4, 2014 <http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/decades/1960/>
Richards, Erin (2006). Are you the ugly American? CNN Travel. Web. April 4, 2014 < http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/10/31/cultural.etiquette/>
Sneed, Tierney (2013). “How John F. Kennedy's Assassination Changed Television Forever”. USA News. Web. April 4, 2014 < http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/11/14/how-john-f-kennedy-assassination-changed-television-forever?page=2>
The Avalon Project (1997). "Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy". The Avalon Project at Yale Law School.
