Assassination and Aftermath: The Death of JFK/The Warren Report

In the days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963, Americans immersed themselves in a collective mourning. The medium that had helped to make JFK a president now recorded the details of his death and burial. Americans sat mesmerized for three days in November as the country lay to rest its youngest elected president. Less than a week after the funeral, President Lyndon Baines Johnson assembled the Warren Commission to determine if Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin or was there a conspiracy. Assassination and Aftermath: The Death of JFK and the Warren Report examines the assassination, the funeral and the resulting theories of conspiracy. It would be useful for classes on American History, American Culture, Criminal Justice, and Political Science. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

OBJECTIVES

Students will examine the ways in which the assassination of President John F. Kennedy affected American history and American culture. They will understand the role of the media in documenting American history and also influencing that history.

NATIONAL HISTORY STANDARDS

Assassination and Aftermath: The Death of JFK and the Warren Report fulfills the following National Standards for History for grades 5-12: chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretations, and historical research capabilities for eras 9 and 10.

• caisson
• clandestine
• cortege
• futile
• homage
• maverick
• notoriety
• pristine
• sine qua non
• vehemently

1. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Why was he in Texas? What was the purpose of his trip?

2. President Kennedy acknowledged the public's fascination with his wife by saying that he was the man who "accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy." Why was America so fascinated with this woman?

3. The assassination plunged the entire country into mourning. How did the country collectively express its grief?

4. President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared the day of the slain president's funeral an official day of national mourning. What is an official day of national mourning?

5. A riderless horse walked behind President Kennedy's funeral. What does this symbolize?

6. Compare the grief over the death of President John F. Kennedy with that of the death of Princess Diana. What do they have in common? What is different?

7. How did the assassination of JFK change American history?

8. After they removed the American flag from JFK's casket, the members of the armed services gave the flag to Jacqueline Kennedy. Why?

9. Why have there been so many different conspiracy theories about the assassination?

10. Why do people still search for a conspiracy?

1. Interview older friends or relatives that were alive during the assassination. What do they remember about that time? What was the impact of this event on their lives?

2. Moderate a class debate on the conspiracy theories of the assassination.

3. Research newspaper accounts of the event and use a poster to reconstruct the course of events of the assassination and the funeral.

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