4 June 2025
The following analysis is a review of the political climate and historical record of the United States in the mid 20th century. This journalistic essay takes an investigative look from the lens of observation outside America with a back facing view into history with the vantage of today. Shantel Tyne is a versatile journalist with a passion for truth and discovery. After studying journalism in Zimbabwe, Shantel has become broadly published internationally and brings us her insight. -Jaco
John F. Kennedy’s political environment that preceded and led up to his assassination.
Having won against Richard Nixon in the 1960 elections as the 35th American president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) took the oath of office with an aura that ignited hope in American citizens, while becoming unpopular among fellow members of his party, and other various groups which existed during his time.
Sworn into power on the 20th of January in 1961, Kennedy was just 43 years old making him the second young president to rule in America. When he came into power after Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kennedy was met with the Cold War, the tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. As if that was not enough, he had to deal with social changes and diplomatic challenges that required his immediate attention. The political environment has made others believe that they were the cause of his death.
Civil Rights according to Kennedy were not just a constitutional issue, but a moral issue. African Americans contributed at least 70 percent towards Kennedy’s votes in the presidential election and they expected his loyalty when he came into power.
Caught in between supporting the civil rights movement and not wanting to alienate his support from Southern Democrats, Kennedy had to play it safe on both sides. Unfortunately time was not a luxury he possessed, as he was lagging on civil rights legislation, millions of African Americans engaged in violent protests as a way to instill pressure on Kennedy’s administration.
His push for civil rights legislation created tension with Southern Democrats who were adamant on segregationist policies. Amidst the chaotic protests by African Americans, Kennedy in June 1963 proposed the Civil Rights Act aiming for equality to all Americans. Southern segregationists, conservative Democrats, and right-wing groups viewed his initiative as a stab in the back for it challenged their political base and social structure. At this point, Kennedy was losing more followers than he was gaining, particularly in regions like Texas, where anti-Kennedy sentiment was high.
As the Cold War escalated, Kennedy and his administration planned an invasion on Cuba to thwart the spread of communism under Fidel Castro’s leadership. On the 17th of April 1961, Kennedy and the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA), supported around 1400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba’s Bay of Pigs in the Zapata region. The invasion was a failure, and it did not only tarnish Kennedy’s image but it displayed his inadequacy to lead.
Some say he lacked experience or understanding of covert operations, and his endorsement of ‘Operation Zapata’ was hasty as it relied heavily on advisors for key analysis and critiques. His administration failed to thwart communism expansion which was 90 miles from US shores. Robert Dallek in An Unfinished Life explains that Kennedy described the meeting and the Bay of Pigs episode as the worst experience of his life. As it should have been, the mission displayed loopholes in his leadership skills, and for that the public, members of his own party and the CIA were disappointed in him.
Shortly after the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy went to Vienna, Austria for a summit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev who demanded that Western Allies withdraw from West Berlin. To protect American interests in the Germany region, Kennedy increased intercontinental ballistic missile forces, added five new army divisions, and increased the nation’s air power and military reserves. In August 1961, the Soviet-backed East German government constructed the Berlin Wall to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin. Kennedy did not challenge this initiative but he resumed nuclear testing weapons in early 1962.
While Kennedy was committed to getting America moving again, the economic situation had other plans. The 1958 recession had made it difficult for America to get back on track financially, and unemployment remained 6.8 percent high even after Kennedy assumed duty. Urged by The Council of Economic Advisors to reduce unemployment by introducing a New Deal style spending Kennedy was worried that a $7 billion deficit would be unrealistic.
Adding to his unpopularity was the 1961 dispute with US Steel president Roger Blough over increase in steel prices. The company cancelled the price increase but announced that it would do business abroad. Come 1962, unemployment was still high, stock markets were crashing. Committed to the needs of American citizens, Kennedy planned to implement medical care for workers above 65 under Social Security. Unfortunately on May 20, the bill was opposed in the Senate leaving him frustrated and depressed.
Dawning that he had invested so much time on the foreign policy, Kennedy decided to cut income taxes. In 1963, he cut income taxes from a range of 20-91% to 14-65%, and cut corporate tax rate from 52% to 47%. While seeking to increase economic growth, conservative lawmakers opposed him worrying about budget deficits. On the contrary, the economy did grow. However despite the growth, the public was not happy, living expenses were becoming high, and business owners viewed his policies as too interventionist.
At the same time, questions lingered about the Kennedy family’s connections to organized crime. For so long, it is alleged that the Kennedys had been in cahoots with mafia gangs, particularly Sam Giancana. It is believed that this association accounted for the family’s fortune. Kennedy’s father Joseph was into unions controlled by controlled crime, and when John Kennedy was campaigning for presidency, he is believed to have called in for favours to make president Kennedy win. Mafia leaders Jimmy Hoffa, Carlos Marcello, and New Orleans mob boss are reported to have endorsed Kennedy, and they also supported his campaigns. In return of course, Kennedy was to stop probing the mafia gangs.
However, throughout 1961 and 1962 when Kennedy got into power, his Attorney General and brother Robert F. Kennedy probed into organized crime. Robert Kennedy significantly expanded the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, targeting Mafia gangs. This pursuit was not embraced with open arms and it fueled resentment towards Kennedy and his administration.
As tensions escalated, on the 22nd of November 1963, president Kennedy made a trip to Dallas, Texas campaigning for re-election in the 1964 election considering they barely carried Texas in the 1960 elections. Clint Hill , an agent assigned to Mrs. Kennedy on the Dallas trip explained that the president had insisted on riding in an open car with no guards. Crossing Dealy Plaza at 12:29 p.m., Kennedy waved to the crowds as they cheered for him. He responded to Governor Connelly’s wife in one of the jump seats who had said, “they can’t make you believe now that there are not some in Dallas who love and appreciate you, can they?” As he waved to the crowd smiling, he responded, “no they sure can’t,” and those were his last words. At exactly 12:30 p.m., gunshots were heard and Kennedy was shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald and rushed to the hospital but it was a little too late.
That afternoon changed America’s political history, and much like Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president was assassinated on the evening of April the 14th, 1865 at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. Shot by John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln gave in to death the following morning of April 15th.
Both presidents were unfortunate to lead in environments filled with great opposition with regard to their policies and how they meant to steer the ship of political leadership towards a new direction. Together with their deaths, Lincoln and Kennedy allowed for seriousness towards civil rights, fueling political polarization over transformative policies, and setting high expectations for presidential leadership during crises. Being the last American president to succumb to death by assassination, Kennedy paved the way for tight and stricter security around presidents and their administration.
The JFK assassination
Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963 left the public with questions, and the attempt to reveal what truly transpired that fateful day has left the public still perplexed. The Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of Kennedy, and over the years, narratives like those discussed in the JFK Conspiracy and Landslide NPR podcasts emerged to challenge what seems to be the “concluded truth.”
While the Warren Commission’s investigation implied that Harvey was a lone man, it might be true, but his actions were non beneficial to him, but rather to a lot of powerful players considering that Kennedy had regulated the Federal Reserve, limited the CIA’s activities and influenced America’s involvement in the Vietnam war.
What if Kennedy’s assassination was planned?
If not, why then was so much evidence gotten rid of. Hours after his death, on Saturday night his autopsy report was burnt to ashes by the Navy pathologist. Following that, FBI agents in Dallas shredded and flushed down the toilet a handwritten note that was left for them by Oswald a few weeks before. Then, Marina Oswald, Oswald’s widow, puts a match to photographs that showed her husband holding the assassination rifle. So maybe Kennedy was just unlucky, but that’s too much evidence to become a coincidence.
Why does the public feel they were misled by the Warren Commission?
Over time, some Americans have refused to believe that Oswald was a lone-man, and the Conspiracy theories do add up if really given thought. As highlighted by The JFK Conspiracy podcast, the government’s pressure to suppress all findings that were contradictory to the Commission’s report was suspicious. All the witnesses who died mysteriously have forced the public to ponder on why the government went to such lengths to portray a single version of events, and who could have benefited from Kennedy’s death.
Who Benefited from the Official Narrative?
Because Harvey acted alone, no one would have stood to benefit from Kennedy’s death, but so many questions still linger, and the question remains, who benefited from the conclusion that Oswald acted on his own?
Portrayed by The Landslide NPR podcast, Kennedy’s assassination allowed for a reinforcement of military power, something that was craved for by political leaders of his time. So defence contractors, intelligence agencies, and political figures who felt excluded during his administration benefited from his assassination. It also meant that the U.S. military-industrial complex, previously questioned during his presidency, regained its foothold. Someone must have gained something, considering the immediate closure of the investigation after proving that Oswald acted alone.
Kennedy was assassinated. So what?
His death has allowed us to navigate through the complexities of that fateful day. But, if JFK’s death was influenced by powerful forces, what other parts of history have been shaped with bias, especially those with the most to gain?
What did John Kennedy have to say?
“The first is the simple fact that we are on the side of liberty–and since the beginning of history, and particularly since the end of the Second World War, liberty has been winning out all over the globe.
“A second real asset is that we are not alone. We have friends and allies all over the world who share our devotion to freedom. May I cite as a symbol of traditional and effective friendship the great ally I am about to visit–France. I look forward to my visit to France, and to my discussion with a great Captain of the Western World, President de Gaulle, as a meeting of particular significance, permitting the kind of close and ranging consultation that will strengthen both our countries and serve the common purposes of world-wide peace and liberty. Such serious conversations do not require a pale unanimity–they are rather the instruments of trust and understanding over a long road.
“A third asset is our desire for peace. It is sincere, and I believe the world knows it. We are proving it in our patience at the test ban table, and we are proving it in the UN where our efforts have been directed to maintaining that organization’s usefulness as a protector of the independence of small nations. In these and other instances, the response of our opponents has not been encouraging.”
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About the Author
Shantel is a journalist with experience covering politics in all its glorious dysfunction past, present, and the mess still being made. She writes about power, policy, and the structures that shape public life, with an eye on both the history behind it and the headlines ahead.
The Observations of Jaco 