1. A MORNING IN DALLAS
Essential Questions:
1. Why did President Kennedy go to Dallas?
2. How did the events before the assassination
unfold?
3. How did Oswald behave after the
assassination?
4. What happened to Lee Harvey Oswald?
5. What was the Warren Commission report and
what did it say?
2. A Trip To Texas
Kennedy went to Texas with three
goals:
Raise money for Democratic
Party;
Begin his quest for reelection;
Kennedy-Johnson ticket had
barely won Texas in 1960
Kennedy wanted to mend fences
Kennedy's trip to Dallas was
announced to the public in
September 1963
Motorcade route was announced
a few days before November 22
October 1963, when on a visit to
Dallas U.N. Ambassador Adlai
Stevenson was harassed, hit by a
sign, and spat upon
Several people, including Stevenson,
warned JFK against coming to Dallas
3. Arrival in Dallas
Friday, November 22, 1963
11:40am, the President, the
First Lady, and the
presidential entourage arrive
at Love Field in Dallas, Texas
Schedule was for the
president to proceed along a
motorcade route through
downtown Dallas
Went from Love Field through
downtown Dallas and end at
the Dallas Business and
Trade Mart
4. Presidential Motorcade
Motorcade began its route
without incident
At 12:29pm, the presidential
limousine entered Dealey
Plaza
President Kennedy slowly
approached the Texas
School Book Depository
Over two dozen amateur
and professional
photographers captured the
last living images of
Kennedy
5. Death in Dallas
Shooting began shortly after the
limousine made the turn from
Houston onto Elm Street
Most witnesses recalled
hearing 3 shots
Not known when each shot was
fired
Most experts agree the first
shot missed
President was hit with the
second shot
Second shot entered his upper
back
Went through his neck and
6. Death in Dallas
Seconds later, the third shot hit
Kennedy point-blank in the
throat/head
The limousine began speeding up
as Mrs. Kennedy terrified and
confused climbed out of the back
seat
Agent Hill climbed on top of the
speeding car and pushed Mrs.
Kennedy down in the back seat
Laid on top of her as the car
sped to Parkland Memorial
Hospital
7. Oswald: The Timeline
Oswald was confronted by a
Dallas policeman in the
depository second floor
lunchroom
Only 74 to 90 seconds after
the last shot
Oswald was identified by the
superintendent of the building
and he was released
Oswald was next seen by a
depository secretary on the 1st
floor carrying a soda bottle
He left the Texas School Book
Depository through the front
door at 12:30pm
8. Oswald: The Timeline
At 1:00pm Oswald arrived at his room after
a bus ride and a taxi ride
Oswald was witnessed offering the taxi
ride first to an elderly woman
At 1:15pm police officer J. D. Tippit was
shot dead less than a mile from Oswald's
home
13 people witnessed Oswald either
shooting Tippit or fleeing the scene
After the Tippit murder, Oswald was
witnessed traveling on foot toward a movie
theatre
Almost two dozen police officers
arrived at the Texas Theatre
Believed Tippit's killer was inside
Oswald resisted and according to the
police, attempted to shoot a patrolman
9. Immediate Aftermath: Kennedy
Meanwhile, the situation at Parkland
Hospital had deteriorated
Doctors worked frantically to save his
life, but his wounds were too great
1:00pm Kennedy was dead
A Roman Catholic priest had been
summoned to perform the last rites
for President Kennedy
The new president of the United
States, Lyndon Johnson, ordered the
announcement of Kennedy’s death
be made only after he left the
hospital
Official announcement would not
come until 1:30pm
10. Lee Harvey Oswald
According to the U.S.
government he was the lone
assassin of President John F.
Kennedy
Former United States Marine
who defected to Soviet Union
He was charged with the
murders of Tippit and
Kennedy later the night of
November 22nd
Oswald denied it all
Oswald never went on trial
11. Oswald Silenced
At 11:36pm Oswald was charged
with the murder of Kennedy
There was no crime for
assassination of the President
at the time
Two days later Oswald was
escorted to an armored van for
transfer
He was shot and killed by
nightclub owner Jack Ruby
Ruby was a nightclub operator in
Dallas
Ruby said he did it to spare
Jackie the ordeal of appearing at
Oswald's trial
12. Return to Washington
Once on Air Force One Lyndon
Johnson was sworn in as the 36th
President
Jackie never left her husband’s side
Exception being when Johnson
was sworn in
Robert Kennedy boarded the plane
and his brother's casket was
removed
Jackie left the plane with Bobby
Her pink suit was still stained with
her husband's blood
Refused to change out of her blood-
stained suit
quot;I want them to see what they have
done to Jack.quot;
13. Warren Commission
First official investigation of the
assassination
Headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren
Known as the Warren Commission
Concluded it could not find any
evidence of a domestic or foreign
conspiracy
Commission found Lee Harvey
Oswald acted alone in the murder of
Kennedy
Informally called the Lone gunman
theory
Commission concluded that only
three bullets were fired during the
assassination
They said all three shots were fired in
a time period ranging from 4.8 to
7 seconds
14. Warren Commission
The commission said that:
One shot likely missed the
motorcade (could not determine
which of the 3)
The first shot to hit anyone struck
Kennedy in the upper back
It exited near the front of his
neck and continued on to
cause all of Connally's injuries
The last shot to hit anyone struck
Kennedy in the head (the kill
shot)
Commission offered the same bullet
that wounded Kennedy also caused
all of Governor Connally's wounds
Became known as the quot;single
bullet theoryquot; or the quot;magicquot; bullet
theory
Nation changed after the
assassination