Backround

Background information of JFK’s assassination
While **Kennedy** was busy with all of this, his killer, **Lee Harvey Oswald**, was running around. As a child, **Oswald** didn't have much guidence and didn't know right from wrong. He also didn't know how to handle his problems in a civil way. This carried over to adulthood. There is evidence of him giving fits of rage and hitting his wife. On Friday, November 22, 1963, **Kennedy** was driving down a street in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, while **Lee Harvey Oswald** was looking out of a building window. **Oswald** then made a decision that changed the world forever…
 * John F. Kennedy** was elected to office in 1961 with vice president **Lyndon B. Johnson**. At age 42, he was the second youngest president to be elected. His campaign slogan was “ask not what your country can do for you- ask what youcan do for your country" Less than 3 months after **Kennedy** became president, the //Bay of Pigs// Invasion took place. This [[image:president-kennedy.jpg align="left" caption="President John F. Kennedy's first 100 days in office "]]invasion was an attempt by the United States government to establish a non-communist government in Cuba. They wanted the Cuban government to be friendly with the United States government. The invasion was unsuccessful. Cuban exiles invaded Cuba with the support of the U.S. government, to overthrow the Cuban government controlled by Fidel Castro. The United States didn't trust Castro because of his relationship with the leader of the Soviet Union. Another issue **Kennedy** was forced to deal with was the Soviet Union. //Their space and missile programs// were said to have surpassed the United States.
 * Kennedy's** speeches also proved that he was a strong supporter of civil rights. He recognized that he needed the "black vote" if he was going to beat **Richard Nixon**.
 * John F. Kennedy** decided to enter the //Vietnam// war to stop the spread of communism in asia and keep communists from taking control of Vietnam. **Kennedy** was very interested in using special tactics for third world warfare with countries threatened by communist rule. In 1961 **Kennedy** decided that America should finance and make South Vietnam bigger. He also sent American troops to Vietnam to help fight. This broke some agreements made in the //Geneva Agreement//. By 1962 there were a lot of American military advisors in Vietnam. He believed that guerilla tactics used by the Special Forces would do well in a “brush fire” //war with Vietnam//. He used limited military and there were sings that he was planning to get out of Vietnam. On October 1, 1963, Kennedy signed the //NSAM 263//, which stated that the US would withdraw 1,000 troops out of 16,000. This indicated the first steps in a complete withdraw from Vietnam.
 * Oswald** also had an interest to become a citizen of the Soviet Union and to renounce his U.S. citizenship. When he was denied citizenship to the Soviet Union, he was later found in a hotel bathroom with a minor but bloody cut on his wrist. He was finally allowed citizenship to the Soviet Union, but soon grew bored of his life there. He later became a U.S. citizen again, and he and his wife moved to Dallas, Texas. He began a job at the Texas School Book Depository, and lived near the school during the week. On the weekends he lived in his house with his wife Marina. Twice during the weeks when Oswald was not home, FBI agents visited his house looking for information on Marina, who was a suspected Soviet spy. When he found out about this, **Oswald** went to the Dallas FBI office looking for agent James Hosty. When he was told that Hosty wasn’t there, he left a note with the receptionist that said “Let this be a warning. I will blow up the FBI and the Dallas Police Department if you don’t stop bothering my wife. Signed - **Lee Harvey Oswald**.”
 * Oswald** was also pro-castro. He disagreed with **Kennedy's** invasion of Cuba. He was a storng supporter of Fidel Castro, and said if he had a son, he would name him after Fidel Castro. **Oswalds** hero was a former major in Castro's army.

= The Decision =