The President Has Been Shot!: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Communism is a political and economic strain of thought within socialism, established by the German philosopher Karl Marx in the 19th century. Interpretations vary even between Communists themselves and there are different schools of Communism. Still, Communism can be defined as a radical form of Socialism. It seeks to have a centralized government that controls both the production and distribution of goods such as food, clothing, and so on. This is in contrast to capitalism, where production and distribution is mainly managed by private for-profit groups, or most other forms of socialism, where only production is partially or entirely regulated and managed by a government. Communism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, which the United States competed with during the Cold War.

One of the two major political parties of the United States, the Democratic Party was the political home of the Kennedy family, with Kennedy serving as a Democratic president. The Democratic Party in this era supported labor unions, government regulation of business, civil rights (except for the party’s Southern Democratic wing), and a strong welfare state that could operate alongside capitalism. However, in Kennedy’s time the Democrats tended to agree with their rivals, the Republican Party, on the United States intervening in the affairs of foreign nations to prevent the further spread of Communism and the growth of the Soviet Union’s influence.

Southern Democrats was the name of a major faction within the Democratic Party, so named because they were represented by politicians from the southern states of the United States. They also became known as the “Dixiecrats.” The Southern Democrats tended to agree with other Democrats on their policies supportive of labor unions and the regulation of business. However, they strongly opposed African-American civil rights. When President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many of these Democrats defected to the Republican Party.

The Warren Commission was established under the administration of President Johnson, who came to power after Kennedy’s assassination. Led by the Chief Justice of the United States, Earl Warren (who gave the commission its name), its members included former CIA director Allen Dulles, ambassador John J. McCloy, and various members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties. It was formed in response to conspiracy theories and doubts that were already forming among the public about the Kennedy assassination. The members reviewed evidence and heard expert and eyewitness testimonies in the course of its investigation. In the end, the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President Kennedy. Its full investigation and findings were published and made available to the public in an 888-page report.