For all the talk we hear about the Kennedy family today, it’s easy to forget that it’s been 15 years one of them sat in the Senate, 44 years since one made a major run for president (with the exception of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. right now), and over six decades since we saw one in the White House—and the only one to make it there, at that. Nevertheless, the Kennedy family holds a grip on the American psyche that few—if any—other political dynasties can claim to possess. Perhaps America’s captivation with this fascinating and tragic family began with a murder in Dallas 61 years ago: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Professor, election analyst, UVA alum, and author of The Kennedy Half-Century Larry Sabato dealt with the mystique of the Kennedy family and the assassination of John F. Kennedy at the inaugural History Club Formal on Thursday. The History Club is a relatively new club on grounds, founded by students surprised at the absence of any specific club dedicated to history. The formal, held in Minor Hall, was the culmination of the club’s first year of operation.
Sabato began his address by noting the continued prominence of the Kennedy family in modern America. As he stated, while there may have been other political dynasties throughout American history—such as the Roosevelts and the Bushes—almost all have faded from national relevance. The families of many other notable presidents, such as Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan, saw little relevance on the political stage after the end of their presidencies. The Kennedy family, however, is still featured in the news today, most notably in a story from just a few days ago.
The story discussed a gathering of 15 members of the Kennedy family in Philadelphia to endorse President Joe Biden’s run for re-election—and stand against one of their own, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sabato had stinging words of rebuke for the scion of the martyred senator and presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Sr. To him, the younger Kennedy is dangerous not just for his anti-vaccine and other conspiratorial views, but also for the fact that his siphoning of votes from Joe Biden could potentially throw the 2024 election in Donald Trump’s favor.
Moving on from current affairs, Sabato then outlined the history of presidential assassinations—failed and successful. Many know about the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, etc., he stated, but few know about the dozens of failed attempts—including many near-misses—that have taken place throughout American history. For instance, Teddy Roosevelt, while giving a speech during his attempted comeback campaign in 1912, was shot in the chest at point-blank range, surviving only because the bullet was slowed by a thick speech held in his pocket. Franklin Roosevelt similarly had a near-miss, surviving an attempt on his life made shortly before he assumed office—though the mayor of Chicago, who was with him at the time, was not so lucky.
Despite such a storied history of assassinations, Sabato explained, security was remarkably lax on that fateful day in Dallas. Kennedy was irritated by the proximity of Secret Service cars to his own car within the motorcade, and so had ordered them to stay further behind than usual. Additionally, the streets were not cleared of crowds, and so Kennedy was surrounded by thousands of onlookers with minimal protection around him. Perhaps most shocking was the fact that the roads on the motorcade’s route were not even closed—Kennedy and his wife repeatedly waved at people in buses that were passing by in the other lane. Nonetheless, Kennedy saw the visit as essential: with Southern fury over civil rights legislation growing by the day, Kennedy had to keep Southern swing states such as Texas under his belt to have any chance of re-election in 1964.
As for the killing itself, which Sabato described as the “Crime of the Century,” he emphasized that there was no possibility of Kennedy surviving his wounds. The first bullet, which entered through his back and exited through his throat, would likely have been survivable—but would also have deprived Kennedy of his iconic voice. The second bullet, however, went through Kennedy’s skull, killing him instantly and—as Sabato gruesomely noted—sprayed pieces of skull and brain across the back of the car, which may have explained why Jackie Kennedy crawled there after her husband was killed. Jackie Kennedy didn’t push her husband down to protect him, as the wife of Texas Governor John Connnally (who was also wounded in the shooting) did, because, as Sabato explained, Johnkeennedy was wearing a back brace that limited his movement. Because Kennedy had to wear the brace due to injuries sustained during the Second World War, Sabato refers to Kennedy as “the last casualty of World War II.”
Sabato, though highly critical of the work of the Warren Commission in its investigation of the assassination, was adamant in rejecting any conspiracy theories around it. In response to a question about how Jack Ruby—Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassin—ever got near Oswald—himself Kennedy’s assassin—in the first place, he stated that the explanation was complicated but perfectly intuitive: Ruby was a strip club owner who was chummy with the local police force, as he provided cheap access to his clubs to their severely underpaid workers, and thus was a frequent sight at the police station where Oswald was held. Intrigued by the activity around the station, Ruby, who Sabato described as impulsive and unintelligent, found his way in and shot Oswald.
Despite his criticism of conspiracy theories, Sabato acknowledged that many Americans are skeptical of the conventional narrative of the assassination—including members of his own family. Shortly after the assassination, at Thanksgiving dinner, the Sabato family held a vote on who they believed killed President Kennedy. A few thought it was Oswald, a couple thought it was Cuba, others some other foreign spy. Reflecting Americans’ distrust with their own institutions at the time, however, a majority of his family thought there was one organization responsible for Kennedy’s assassination: the CIA.
Americans may never agree on who or what was really behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. More broadly, Americans may never agree on the impact of the Kennedy family itself. Revelations of extramarital affairs, the unwilling lobotomization of Rosemary Kennedy, and numerous other scandals have complicated the rosy picture previously conferred on the political dynasty. Still, it is no exaggeration to state that it will take generations for Americans to stop talking about the Kennedys.
Bernadette ward says
Having growing up in this turbulence, JFK was warned not to go to Dallas. RFK would be killed in 1968 during the turbulence of Cuba and continuation of Civil Rights. JFK was well liked or perhaps it was Jackie and the kids who appeared to be the perfect family. Cuba was so intense and to thus day the fact that the US survived, is a miracle. I am not sure who killed Kennedy. Oswald just seems unbelievable. I am proud to have lived through this mire of the A Bomb. I personally was appalled listening to Robert Kennedy the other night on Bill Maher and do not think his dad and uncles would follow that malarkey.The youth of today does not realized how scary that time was. Sounds like an interesting speech. The idea of a hustory club sounds great as so many young people do not have an adequate knowledge of their history . The best.