JFK Assassination Basic Facts
To help you make sense of the JFK assassination, here is a series of concise explanations of the central topics and arguments. Each article is fully referenced and contains links to online copies of official documents:
The Shooting in Dealey Plaza
Three people were shot in Dealey Plaza. A rifle and three bullet shells were found in the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald owned the rifle and worked in the TSBD. There are only two realistic solutions: either Oswald did it or he was framed.
Did Lee Harvey Oswald Kill President Kennedy?
Some of the evidence implicated Oswald, but other evidence appeared to exonerate him. Much of the general public remained unconvinced that Oswald alone had committed the crime. The Warren Commission was set up to help the media persuade the public of Oswald’s sole guilt.
How Did Oswald Shoot JFK?
The case against Oswald: all the shots came from the sixth floor; Oswald brought a rifle to work; he was on the sixth floor during the shooting; and the bullet shells matched the wounds.
The Single-Bullet Theory
Arguments for and against the plausibility of the single-bullet theory, that all of President Kennedy’s non-fatal injuries, as well as all of Governor Connally’s injuries, were caused by one bullet.
Read: The Single-Bullet Theory
The Rifle and Paraffin Tests
The case against Oswald was weakened by tests carried out on two further areas of evidence. The rifle found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository could not be aimed accurately. Paraffin tests suggested that Lee Oswald had not fired a rifle on the day of the assassination.
Was Lee Harvey Oswald Framed?
At first glance the so-called magic bullet, Commission Exhibit 399, implicated Oswald as the lone assassin of President Kennedy. But it also suggested that Oswald had been framed: the bullet had sustained too little damage to have caused Connally’s wounds, and was probably not found on Connaly’s stretcher.
“A Little Incident in Mexico City”
Seven weeks before the assassination, Oswald appears to have been impersonated in Mexico City, in a way that implied Soviet or Cuban involvement in the assassination.
Silvia Odio’s Visitors
At about the time Oswald was supposed to have been en route from New Orleans to Mexico City, he appears to have visited Silvia Odio, an anti-Castro activist in Dallas.
Read: Silvia Odio’s Visitors
The Career of Lee Harvey Oswald
Oswald had a remarkable career. His defection to the Soviet Union in 1959, his activity in New Orleans in the summer of 1963, and his interest in purchasing guns, all indicate some level of involvement with US intelligence.
The Verdict: Guilty or Not Guilty?
For Oswald to be guilty of the JFK assassination, numerous witnesses must have been mistaken and several physical and chemical tests must have been carried out incompetently.
Conspiracy Theories
There are problems with all the main conspiracy theories and supposed perpetrators: anti-Castro Cubans, pro-Castro Cubans, the Soviet regime, the CIA, Lyndon Johnson, and the mafia.
Read: Conspiracy Theories
The Political Context
President Kennedy’s policies did little to antagonise domestic elites. Had he done so, those elites would have been able to replace him peacefully. The fact that he was killed shows that any domestic conspiracy originated some way below the top of the internal power structure.
Read: The Political Context