JFK Student Activities
Investigating the Assassination of President Kennedy
Important Issues
1. The Warren Commission claimed that the actions of Lee Harvey Oswald during 1963 suggest that he was preparing to kill President John F. Kennedy. Others have argued that these actions suggest that he was being set-up as a patsy.
Read Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.
(a) Make a list of the evidence that suggests that Oswald was preparing to kill President Kennedy.
(b) Make a list of the evidence that suggests that Oswald was being set-up as a patsy.
(c) Study these two lists and explain whether you think Oswald was planning to kill President Kennedy.
2. Study sources B2-B4 of the Assassination of JFK. Who was involved in the planning of the trip to Texas and the presidential motorcade in Dallas. Do all three sources agree on this subject?
3. Study sources B4-B12. What evidence is there that there were gunman firing at President Kennedy from behind and in front of the presidential limousine.
4. How many of the witnesses in this unit supplied evidence that supported the conclusions of the Warren Commission (B27)? How many of the witnesses contradicted the conclusions of the Warren Commission?
5. How many of the witnesses in this unit supplied evidence that supported the conclusions of the House Select Committee on Assassinations (B28)? How many of the witnesses contradicted the conclusions of the House Select Committee on Assassinations?
6. Study sources C1-C14 of Murder of J. D. Tippit. Use the evidence to describe the murder of J. D. Tippit. Do you think Lee Harvey Oswald murdered Tippit?7. Read Jack Ruby and the Mafia. Describe the evidence that suggests that Jack Ruby was linked to the Mafia. Why did Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald?
8. Study sources E1-E9 of the Mannlicher Rifle. What evidence does the Warren Commission Report (E4) provide to support the theory that Lee Harvey Oswald used a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle to kill President Kennedy? What criticisms do Matthew Smith (E1 and E3), James H. Fetzer (E5), Michael Kurtz (E8) and Ronald F. White (E9) make of this theory?
9. Read Kennedy's Autopsy. (a) Select those sources that suggest that President Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman from the sixth-floor of the Texas Book Depository. (b) Select those sources that suggest that President Kennedy was killed by gunman firing from in front and behind the president's limousine.
10. Read Kennedy's Autopsy. Select those sources that suggest that John F. Kennedy was killed by a dum-dum bullet.
Who Killed President Kennedy?
There are several theories concerning who killed President Kennedy. In the opinion of the Warren Commission Kennedy was killed by one man, Lee Harvey Oswald. Other theories have involved different organizations and groups of individuals. Eight of the theories are listed below:
2. The Mafia
7. Central Intelligence Agency
Read each theory in turn. Also look at the sources that are provided. The questions that follow the sources should help you understand the relevance of this information.
With each theory do the following:
(a) Describe the possible motivation for the assassination.
(b) Comment on how likely this theory is to be true.
(c) Rank the eight theories in the order you think they are likely to be true.
(d) Explain who you think organized and carried out the killing of President Kennedy. You can, if you wish, combine more than one theory in your answer.
If you have ever been tempted to believe that President Kennedy was killed by a lone, demented gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald, then Assassination Science is the one book which will convince you, beyond any reasonable doubt, that there was indeed a conspiracy and a cover-up. Completely lacking the wild speculations that have marred some books on the shooting of Kennedy, Assassination Science sticks to the hard facts, interpreted by medical and scientific expertise. (James H. Fetzer, Catfeet, ISBN 0 8126 9366 3, £9.00)
