November 22nd, 1963 was a day of loss for the nation. We lost our innocence. We lost our young, vibrant president who promised so much. And we felt a deep sense of loss not for the reason of some past nostalgia, but a sense that the future had been lost. What if that had never happened?
A Sound of Thunder: President Kennedy's Trip to Dallas,
November 22nd, 1963 - 11:40 CST
To the many, he was a "damned Yankee"; a Liberal too soft on Communism and too unresponsive to Soviet words of aggression; an anti-Christian Papist; a border-line Socialist; a "Communist patsy". Newspapers and organizations foamed at the mouth over the President, his family, his wealth, and his ideology with a visceral and seething hate. And resentment at Washington telling the south how to run it's business and how to deal with their races seethed through the masses.
Classrooms booed the President's name, 'KO Kennedy' bumper stickers lined Dallas cars, and a handbill accusing the President of treason had been handed out on November 21st. Speakers from the North, such as Adlai Stevenson, had been assaulted by city patrons not much earlier, and even Texas native Lyndon Johnson had been spat at by two housewives some time before. When President Kennedy called Dallas 'nut country', it seemed it was a duly deserved title for the times, and showed that President Kennedy was fully aware of what was happening and could happen. But, for the many warnings he had received not to go, he had decided to make the trip.
November 22nd, 1963
Nearing 12:30 PM, CST
"Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you"-Nellie Connally to President Kennedy as the motorcade rounded into Dealey Plaza
12:29 PM, CST
As the President's limousine turned into Dealey plaza, the President (accompanied by his wife, as well as Texas Governor John Connally and wife Nellie Connally) was greeted with smiling faces which lined both sides of the street. The hostility of the city had been washed away with the crowd which had come to support him as he made his way along the Dallas streets. The President waved and gave a boyish smile as he looked out at the people who had come to greet him.
12:30 PM, CST
As the motorcade passed the Texas Depository building, the peace of the day was shattered. A sound cracked the air, exploding somewhere in the curb along the street. The crowd that surrounded the motorcade brushed it off as a firecracker or exhaust backfire from the presidential limousine. Confusion filtered into the air as President Kennedy and Governor Connally turned to their right. Connally knew what the noise for what it was, saying "Oh, no, no, no," as he attempted to turn further right to look back at the President.
A second sound broke the calm. A projectile ripped through the President's upper back, before exiting through his throat and striking into Governor Connally. The bullet exited from under the Governor's right nipple, hitting him in the wrist before traveling toward his left thigh. Both men exhibited signs of pain, President Kennedy clenching his fists in front of him and leaning toward Ms. Kennedy, who held her arm around him in concern. Governor Connally screamed "My God, they are going to kill us all!". Ms. Connally quickly pulled her husband onto her lap. Turning to driver Bill Greer, Roy Kellermann shouted "Let's get out of line, we've been hit!".
The assassin, firmly fixed on President Kennedy, pulled his trigger a third time. The bullet clunk against the trunk as the limousine sped off under the overpass.
A Sound of Thunder: President Kennedy's Trip to Dallas,
November 22nd, 1963 - 11:40 CST
"We're heading into nut country"-President Kennedy to an aide before the trip to Dallas
As President John Fitzgerald Kennedy -accompanied by Ms. Jacqueline Kennedy and the presidential entourage- left Air Force One on that clear sky day in November of 1963, he was met with throngs of supporters expressing their excitement at the arrival of the President. President Kennedy represented youth and vibrance, and the dreams and possibilities of a future generation that would inherit the nation and the world in this decade and those to come. For this moment, all seemed right. But, there existed a darker side to this journey which would soon become evident.
Kennedy's to Dallas was one of simple goals; to gain support for reelection in 1964 and to heel rifts in the Texas Democratic party. He would travel through Dealey plaza at roughly 12:25 PM, before arriving at the Dallas Business and Trade Mart to deliver a speech and share a steak luncheon with Dallas business, political, and religious leaders and guests.
Kennedy's to Dallas was one of simple goals; to gain support for reelection in 1964 and to heel rifts in the Texas Democratic party. He would travel through Dealey plaza at roughly 12:25 PM, before arriving at the Dallas Business and Trade Mart to deliver a speech and share a steak luncheon with Dallas business, political, and religious leaders and guests.
Dallas, like much of the South, did not like John Kennedy. By 1963, the city had become a Republican stronghold, giving Nixon 62 percent of their vote in 1960. The denizens of the metropolis, a majority of them white collar wage earners, could care less for the President's New Frontier, and looked with revulsion at a planned Civil rights bill and desegregation. In the state as a whole, President Kennedy maintained roughly a 50 percent approval rating; far lower than the near 60 percent he enjoyed in the nation as a whole.
To the many, he was a "damned Yankee"; a Liberal too soft on Communism and too unresponsive to Soviet words of aggression; an anti-Christian Papist; a border-line Socialist; a "Communist patsy". Newspapers and organizations foamed at the mouth over the President, his family, his wealth, and his ideology with a visceral and seething hate. And resentment at Washington telling the south how to run it's business and how to deal with their races seethed through the masses.
Classrooms booed the President's name, 'KO Kennedy' bumper stickers lined Dallas cars, and a handbill accusing the President of treason had been handed out on November 21st. Speakers from the North, such as Adlai Stevenson, had been assaulted by city patrons not much earlier, and even Texas native Lyndon Johnson had been spat at by two housewives some time before. When President Kennedy called Dallas 'nut country', it seemed it was a duly deserved title for the times, and showed that President Kennedy was fully aware of what was happening and could happen. But, for the many warnings he had received not to go, he had decided to make the trip.
Nearing 12:30 PM, CST
"Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you"-Nellie Connally to President Kennedy as the motorcade rounded into Dealey Plaza
12:29 PM, CST
As the President's limousine turned into Dealey plaza, the President (accompanied by his wife, as well as Texas Governor John Connally and wife Nellie Connally) was greeted with smiling faces which lined both sides of the street. The hostility of the city had been washed away with the crowd which had come to support him as he made his way along the Dallas streets. The President waved and gave a boyish smile as he looked out at the people who had come to greet him.
12:30 PM, CST
As the motorcade passed the Texas Depository building, the peace of the day was shattered. A sound cracked the air, exploding somewhere in the curb along the street. The crowd that surrounded the motorcade brushed it off as a firecracker or exhaust backfire from the presidential limousine. Confusion filtered into the air as President Kennedy and Governor Connally turned to their right. Connally knew what the noise for what it was, saying "Oh, no, no, no," as he attempted to turn further right to look back at the President.
A second sound broke the calm. A projectile ripped through the President's upper back, before exiting through his throat and striking into Governor Connally. The bullet exited from under the Governor's right nipple, hitting him in the wrist before traveling toward his left thigh. Both men exhibited signs of pain, President Kennedy clenching his fists in front of him and leaning toward Ms. Kennedy, who held her arm around him in concern. Governor Connally screamed "My God, they are going to kill us all!". Ms. Connally quickly pulled her husband onto her lap. Turning to driver Bill Greer, Roy Kellermann shouted "Let's get out of line, we've been hit!".
The assassin, firmly fixed on President Kennedy, pulled his trigger a third time. The bullet clunk against the trunk as the limousine sped off under the overpass.
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