On November 22, 1963, the 35th President of the United States was assassinated. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade through Dallas, Texas. President Kennedy was an influential political leader and his death “sent the western world into a period of collective mourning” (Crime and Punishment). The convicted assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswald’s part in the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy caused Americans to more passionately hate the Soviet Union. America was in the midst of the Cold War and citizens were generally disliking the Soviet Union. Quickly after the assassination, people began to discover that Oswald was involved with many communist support groups in the United …show more content…
Oswald had entered into the U.S. Marine Corps but dropped out after applying for a discharge so that he could care for his mother. After dropping out of the Marines, Oswald acquired a passport and went to Moscow. Oswald did not feel at home in the United States and defected to the Soviet Union. After spending some time in the Soviet Union, Oswald “want[ed] citizenship because [he was] a communist and a worker” (8 Facts). Lee Harvey Oswald believed that the system in place in America was unfair. American citizens despised people who associated with communism and Oswald was known for his approval of communism. Oswald enjoyed living in the Soviet Union and once claimed that he would “never return to the United States which is a country I hate” (Warren Commission). Oswald’s hatred for the United States would provide a reliable motive as to why he assassinated President Kennedy. As mentioned earlier, Oswald was once in the U.S. Marines. While Oswald was on duty for the United States in Japan, the Soviet Secret Service or KGB tried to recruit him. Oswald definitely would not have been recruited unless he would serve as an asset to the Soviet Union. Oswald was not necessarily the best example of an American patriot, but he did not seem like a perfect example of a communist. After spending three years in the Soviet Union, Oswald moved back to America with “the …show more content…
People were outraged that the President had been assassinated. Some examples of this rage against communism include: Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald, one of the sources, Why the Communists Killed Kennedy, and the number of nuclear warheads ready to be used in the United States weapons arsenal. First off, Jack Ruby was a nightclub owner who lived in Dallas. While Oswald was being transferred to a different prison, Ruby shot and killed Oswald in the basement of the Dallas police station. When Ruby was taken to trial, he claimed that he acted out of rage. Second, the source, Why the Communists Killed Kennedy, is an example of American rage towards the Soviet Union. The entire article is about the Soviets plan to kill President Kennedy. The article was written in 2016, almost fifty years after the assassination, and people are still angry about it. Lastly in 1963, the United States had twenty-eight thousand one hundred and thirty-three nuclear warheads ready to be launched at the Soviet Union. After the assassination, tension built up along with the number of America’s nuclear weapons. Just four years later, in 1967, the United States had thirty-one thousand two hundred and fifty-five nuclear missiles. That is an eleven percent increase in the number of nuclear warheads in the United States. If the United States people did not care about the Soviet Union, then their numbers would