As his wife Jackie Kennedy said after his death, "There'll be great presidents again, and the Johnsons are wonderful, they've been wonderful to me — but there'll never be another Camelot again. On October 26, , President Donald Trump ordered the release of 2, records related to the Kennedy assassination.
The move came at the expiration of a year waiting period signed into law in , which allowed the declassification of the documents provided that doing so would not hurt intelligence, military operations or foreign relations. Trump's release of the documents came on the final day he was legally allowed to do so. However, he did not release all of the documents, as officials from the FBI, CIA and other agencies had successfully lobbied for the chance to review particularly sensitive material for an additional days.
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. The son of former U. President John F. Kennedy, John F.
Kennedy Jr. Robert Kennedy was attorney general during his brother John F. Kennedy's administration. He later served as a U.
Senator and was assassinated during his run for the presidency. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He is co-founder and President of River Alliance. Joseph P. Kennedy is best known as the father of three political leaders: President John F. Kennedy, U. Representative Ted Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, who served as a U. He was the Republican nominee for the presidential election, before his loss to Barack Obama.
One of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement in the s, John Lewis continued to fight for people's rights since joining Congress in John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States.
He was also the eldest son of President John Adams, the second U. Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president of the United States in and became the 36th president in , following the assassination of John F.
John Glenn was the first U. He also served as a U. S senator from Ohio. Kennedy, the 35th U. He was assassinated in He symbolized—as he well realized—a new generation and its coming-of-age. He was the first president born in the 20th century, the first young veteran of World War II to reach the White House. A witty and articulate speaker, he seemed built for the age of television. To watch him on film today is to be struck by the power of his presence and the wit and elegance of his oratory.
His celebrated inaugural address was filled with phrases that seemed designed to be carved in stone, as many of them have been. Another contributor to the Kennedy legend, something deeper than his personal attractiveness, is the image of what many came to call grace.
He not only had grace, in the sense of performing and acting gracefully; he was also a man who seemed to receive grace. He was handsome and looked athletic. He was wealthy.
He had a captivating wife and children, a photogenic family. He sprinkled his public remarks with quotations from poets and philosophers. The Kennedy family helped create his career and, later, his legacy.
Joseph Kennedy, one of the wealthiest and most ruthless men in America, had counted on his first son, Joe Jr. Years later, when Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage with the help of his aide Theodore Sorensen, Krock lobbied successfully for the book to win a Pulitzer Prize. The Kennedy legacy has a darker side as well. Many critics saw recklessness, impatience, impetuosity. He spent much of his life in hospitals, battling a variety of ills.
His ability to serve as president was itself a profile in courage. Like his father, he was obsessed with the ritual of sexual conquest—before and during his marriage, before and during his presidency. The Supreme Court rules in Gideon v. Wainwright that states must supply counsel in criminal cases for individuals who cannot afford it. Martin Luther King, Jr. Importantly, activists worked to expose the violent nature of Birmingham's law enforcement, led by the notorious Eugene "Bull" Connor, who met activists' nonviolent, peaceful protest with high-pressure firehoses and police dogs.
Because these events which lasted over a month were widely publicized in film and print media, the activists were successful in revealing the unlawful actions of Birmingham's civic authorities, leading to changes in the city's discrimination laws. In it, he addressed relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and a nuclear test ban treaty. The idea of a nuclear test ban treaty originated in the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower, but the two sides never could agree on the details of a pact.
At the end of , Khrushchev wrote Kennedy of his desire to create such an agreement. Meanwhile, Kennedy's statements began to take a softer stance toward his Soviet adversaries. The need for a nuclear test ban treaty was a critical component of Kennedy's speech at American University. This speech, however, called for more than simply a ban on atomic testing.
Both nations shared, the President explained, a common interest in preserving the planet for future generations. Agreeing to a nuclear test ban would only be the first step toward the long-range goal of complete disarmament. After surviving one of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War, Kennedy envisioned an end to arms race. Kennedy's speech led to some immediate results. Soon, a new teletype hot line was installed providing direct communication between the Kremlin and the White House.
This system would end the miscommunication that proved so dangerous in the missile crises. The President also sent a delegation to Moscow to negotiate the long-awaited nuclear test ban treaty. To read and listen to Kennedy's address at American University, click here.
Medgar W. Found by his wife, Myrlie, Evers was rushed to the hospital where he was initially denied entry because of his race. Once he was finally admitted, becoming the first black person admitted to an all white hospital in Mississippi, he died within the hour leaving behind his wife and three children.
After three decades and as many trials, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith was finally convicted of Evers' murder on February 5, , largely thanks to Myrlie's persistence in pursuing her husband's killer.
On August 28, , about , people traveled to Washington, D. The leaders of the major civil rights organizations led a nonviolent march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Before a large crowd and a national television audience, Martin Luther King, Jr.
With a large turnout and peaceful demonstration, the civil rights leaders increased the pressure on Congress and President John Kennedy to pass meaningful civil rights legislation. Before the summer of , the Kennedy administration had disappointed many of those involved in the civil rights struggle. The President had often attempted to avoid conflict with Southern Democrats on issues regarding race. On June 11, , after Governor George Wallace tried to block desegregation at the University of Alabama, Kennedy made his most aggressive statement on civil rights in an impromptu address to the nation, arguing on moral grounds for equal rights for all Americans.
With a firm commitment to legislation for civil rights, President Kennedy met with African American leaders to gain their support. Despite Kennedy's opposition, many of the leaders at this meeting proposed a march on Washington to pressure Congress to pass a strong civil rights act. The march created a moment of unity among the fractured civil rights organizations.
They emphasized the peaceful and orderly nature of the march; there would be no civil disobedience. He began speaking from the written text he had completed the night before, but soon drifted off onto a theme he had spoken of several times. After the march, the organizers met with President Kennedy.
King, Wilkins, and others pressed the President for a more aggressive civil rights bill and discussed strategies to garner political support. Despite the success of the march, the civil rights bill moved slowly through Congress.
However, the actions of King and other activists had an important effect on President Kennedy as his administration lobbied in support of the civil rights bill. After Kennedy was assassinated, President Lyndon Johnson continued to work for civil rights legislation. On July 2, , he signed the Civil Rights Act, which ended segregation in public facilities. To read and listen to the full text of President Kennedy's June 11, speech, click here.
Four African-American girls are killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, when at least 15 sticks of dynamite planted by four members of the KKK blow a 7 foot hole in the basement of the church. More than twenty others were injured; the blast also destroyed the basement lounge, several nearby parked cars, windows two blocks away and all but one of the church's stained glass windows. The FBI closed their investigation without convicting any of the four suspects.
The President and First Lady had gone to Texas in an attempt to bolster Democratic support for his presidency in the South. While the President and First Lady were riding in a motorcade with Texas governor John Connally and his wife, the open limousine turned into Dealey Plaza and gunshots rang out.
Kennedy, shot in the neck and the head, was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital. A short time later, President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead.
The search for Kennedy's assassin began immediately. The police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald in a nearby movie theater. Witnesses had identified shots coming from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository where Oswald worked. Oswald, however, was never tried for the crime. Two days later, Jack Ruby, a Dallas businessman and nightclub owner, shot Oswald dead in the basement of the Dallas police station as he was being transfered to a jail.
This strange turn of events quickly cast doubt about who had perpetrated the assassination. President Johnson appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to head a commission to investigate the incident. In less than a year, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald, working alone, was guilty of the act. Many Americans remain unsatisfied with this simple explanation for such a horrific event. Kennedy's death proved to be a political asset for the legislatively astute Johnson.
Framing his programs as a way of fulfilling Kennedy's legacy, Johnson passed the most significant civil rights legislation in American history. Still, for a whole generation of Americans, Kennedy's death would symbolize an end of a time of innocence and the beginning of a turbulent period in American history. Grant Rutherford B. He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
The Kennedys believed that the White House should be a place to celebrate American history, culture, and achievement. They invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, musicians, actors, and athletes to visit them. Jacqueline Kennedy also shared her husband's interest in American history. Everyone was impressed and appreciated her hard work. There was a pre-school, a swimming pool, and a tree-house outside on the White House lawn.
President Kennedy was probably the busiest man in the country, but he still found time to laugh and play with his children. However, the president also had many worries. One of the things he worried about most was the possibility of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. He knew that if there was a war, millions of people would die. Since World War II, there had been a lot of anger and suspicion between the two countries but never any shooting between Soviet and American troops.
This 'Cold War', which was unlike any other war the world had seen, was really a struggle between the Soviet Union's communist system of government and the United States' democratic system. Because they distrusted each other, both countries spent enormous amounts of money building nuclear weapons. There were many times when the struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States could have ended in nuclear war, such as in Cuba during the missile crisis or over the divided city of Berlin.
President Kennedy worked long hours, getting up at seven and not going to bed until eleven or twelve at night, or later. He read six newspapers while he ate breakfast, had meetings with important people throughout the day, and read reports from his advisers. He wanted to make sure that he made the best decisions for his country. The New Frontier was not a place but a way of thinking and acting.
President Kennedy wanted the United States to move forward into the future with new discoveries in science and improvements in education, employment and other fields. He wanted democracy and freedom for the whole world.
One of the first things President Kennedy did was to create the Peace Corps. Through this program, which still exists today, Americans can volunteer to work anywhere in the world where assistance is needed. They can help in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction. Many young men and women have served as Peace Corps volunteers and have won the respect of people throughout the world. President Kennedy was also eager for the United States to lead the way in exploring space.
The Soviet Union was ahead of the United States in its space program and President Kennedy was determined to catch up. He said, "No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.
President Kennedy had to deal with many serious problems here in the United States. The biggest problem of all was racial discrimination. The US Supreme Court had ruled in that segregation in public schools would no longer be permitted. Black and white children, the decision mandated, should go to school together.
This was now the law of the land. However, there were many schools, especially in southern states, that did not obey this law. There was also racial segregation on buses, in restaurants, movie theaters, and other public places. Thousands of Americans joined together, people of all races and backgrounds, to protest peacefully this injustice. Martin Luther King Jr.
The President believed that holding public protests would only anger many white people and make it even more difficult to convince the members of Congress who didn't agree with him to pass civil rights laws. By June 11, , however, President Kennedy decided that the time had come to take stronger action to help the civil rights struggle.
He proposed a new Civil Rights bill to the Congress, and he went on television asking Americans to end racism. On November 21, , President Kennedy flew to Texas to give several political speeches. The next day, as his car drove slowly past cheering crowds in Dallas, shots rang out. Kennedy was seriously wounded and died a short time later. Within a few hours of the shooting, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald and charged him with the murder.
On November 24, another man, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald, thus silencing the only person who could have offered more information about this tragic event. The Warren Commission was organized to investigate the assassination and to clarify the many questions which remained. President Kennedy's death caused enormous sadness and grief among all Americans. Most people still remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
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