Lee Harvey Oswald sits at the top of the Depository building waiting for Kennedy’s car to pass by at the perfect time.1 Time passes, Oswald’s chance becomes closer, he starts to get a clearer view, and he can barely stand the wait. He is about to commit one of the greatest assassinations known in American history.
In order to understand this Oswald and what brought him to that floor of the Depository building that day, let’s take a look into his past and see what life was like for him. When Oswald was a teenager he developed strong left-wing political views and became an avowed Marxist. When he was sixteen he joined the Marines in hopes of emigrating to the Soviet Union. He successfully received dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Marines in 1959 and escaped into Russia.2 Oswald lived in Russia for three years before moving back to Dallas, Texas. Oswald visited New Orleans early in 1963 and founded a pro-Castro organization known as the “Fair Play for Cuba Committee,” in which he was the only member. Oswald then returned to Dallas that October and began a low-paying job at the Texas School Book Depository.3
Although Oswald was successful in getting what he wanted, there were complications in his assassination of Kennedy. He fired three bullets, one only wounding Kennedy, the second wounding Governor John Connally, and a third that struck Kennedy in the head, killing him instantly.4
In the few short moments it took for Oswald to assassinate Kennedy, he knew he needed to get out of that building. He quickly rushed out and during his escape managed to kill another man, Officer J.D. Tippett. After killing the officer, Oswald was arrested in a nearby movie theatre at 1:51 pm, and charged with the murder of officer Tippett.5 Oswald was then taken to jail, and was held there for two days before being moved to the county prison.
A series of unfortunate events occurred as Oswald was being transported to the county prison. As he was being transported, Oswald was shot and killed by the owner of a Dallas night club, Jack Ruby.6 Although some may say that what Ruby did was right in trying to get revenge for Oswald murdering a beloved president, he was found guilty of murder with malice and sentence to death. Ruby was a lucky man though; his lawyers were able to fight hard enough to get him out of facing the death penalty.
Lee Harvey Oswald will forever be known as a murderer and assassin. He can be seen as someone that demoralized Americans, and caused so many people to doubt the true nature of people. Oswald has always been seen as an abnormal person, he did so many things that would’ve been red flags if the government had been watching him before the assassination. Oswald was a man of evil nature and will be talked about in history classes across the country until the end of time.
- William Rubinstein, “Oswald Shoots JFK,” History Today 49, no. 10 (October 1999): 15. ↵
- William Rubinstein, “Oswald Shoots JFK,” History Today 49, no. 10 (October 1999): 15. ↵
- William Rubinstein, “Oswald Shoots JFK,” History Today 49, no. 10 (October 1999): 15. ↵
- Tom Wicker, “Kennedy is Killed By Sniper As He Rides In Car In Dallas; Johnson Sworn In On Plane,” The New York Times (New York City, New York), November 22, 1963. ↵
- William Rubinstein, “Oswald Shoots JFK,” History Today 49, no. 10 (October 1999): 15. ↵
- Kalyan B. Bhattacharyya, “Fredric Andrews Gibbs and the Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy,” Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology 20, no. 2 (April 2017): 103. ↵
52 comments
Lisa Varela
The name Lee Harvey Oswald is a name known to American just like John Wilkes Booth. The assassination of President Kennedy has always been a cause of debate, especially since there are so many conspiracy theories behind it. It’s incredible how one moment, one action can have such an effect on a whole nation, so many people’s lives can be affected. It’s impressive that Lee Harvey Oswald wanted to move to Russia, lived in Russia for 3 years but came back to the United States. This article possessed a great narrative.
Erik Shannon
This was a very interesting article. The beginning of the article kept me wanting to read more. The assassination of John F. Kennedy has been a debate and argument for a while now. It is crazy that Oswald fled the United States and moved to Russia and eventually came back to the United States. I do not see how someone could pull such thing off. Overall, this was a very interesting article.
Ryann Cervantes
I like reading articles like this about topics I know of but not in detail. There are always nice facts to learn like how Lee Harvey Oswald killed that officer and wounded the other man. I also didn’t even know he was killed in an act of revenge. Great article, It really emphasized the importance and notoriety of the assassination.
Josselyn Arrieta-Meraz
From the moment I saw his picture I knew I had read something about this man before, Oswald was in fact a man who raised many red flags, although he was able to get away from any suspension, he was in fact a man who killed other human being one of them being the president of the United States at the time. Although as a nation there is more control over terrorism than there was before, but the sad fact is that It took many horrific incidents to understand that there was something that needed to be done.
Erin Vento
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a historical day for America. It’s no question that Americans loved JFK and people all over the country were stunned and sent into a funk after his assassination. I actually had read about his childhood and how he had been affected by the communist movements happening other parts of the world, but didn’t realize he identified as a communist. This article definitely answered some questions.
Edith De Loera
The introduction to this article gripped me from the start! It definitely puts readers in the story and it showed vivid details. Lee Harvey Oswald was obviously a sick person that was completely overseen by the government. John F. Kennedy is among one of the most dearly beloved presidents, winning over most of the nation. His death was truly unfortunate. While Oswald deserved punishment for such murderous crimes, I do not believe Jack Ruby was the person to do that, that job was up to the justice system.
Lauryn Hyde
I find the story of John F. Kennedy’s assignation very interesting. I also think there are a lot of holes in the story and find it interesting to explore the idea that there may have been another motive to his murder or Lee Harvey Oswald may not have even been the killer. I have read about the theories about there being an alternate killer, I don’t know if I necessarily believe this however it is an interesting thought.
Megan Barnett
I liked how you went straight to the point while also giving some background information on Oswald. I also thought starting off with climax of the plot was a good decision because it drew me into your article. The way you presented the information with the idea that Oswald showed multiple signs that would lead to a result of him committing murder was definitely a different approach.
Carlos Aparicio
Although I enjoyed reading the informative article, I really was impressed by the amount of research done. I really dislike Lee Harvey Oswald for his evil actions towards John F. Kennedy. My grandparents and parents really loved President Kennedy because of his peaceful relationship with the citizens of the United States. It is a shame how Lee Harvey Oswald killed 2 innocent people just because he didn’t agree with them, politically. This was a very interesting article.
Cherice Leach
This is a great story. I don’t believe the man who killed Oswald really deserved to be charged with the death penalty in the first place though. Although, the retribution that Oswald deserved didn’t need to be done by Jack Ruby I don’t believe such a harsh penalty should have been given. Oswald got what he deserved even if it wasn’t by the justice system themselves.