Sunday, September 27, 1964: Warren Commission report

The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on November 22, 1963, was a cruel and shocking act of violence directed against a man, a family, a nation, and against all mankind. A young and vigorous leader whose years of public and private life stretched before him was the victim of the fourth Presidential assassination in the history of a country dedicated to the concepts of reasoned argument and peaceful political change. This Commission was created on November 29, 1963, in recognition of the right of people everywhere to full and truthful knowledge concerning these events. This report endeavors to fulfill that right and to appraise this tragedy by the light of reason and the standard of fairness. It has been prepared with a deep awareness of the Commission's responsibility to present to the American people an objective report of the facts relating to the assassination.  (Introduction to Warren Report)

The assassination of President Kennedy was the work of one man, Lee Harvey Oswald. There was no conspiracy, foreign or domestic. (New York Times)

Lee Harvey Oswald, in a solitary act of violence free of foreign or domestic conspiracy, assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, the Warren Commission ruled Sunday. (Los Angeles Times)

Why? The great unanswered question in the report of the Warren Commission -- which has just concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy -- is why he did it. (Associated Press)

The Secret Service, the FBI, the Dallas police, the State Department and American news media bear the sharpest stings from the Warren Commission for laxness and poor judgment before and after the assassination of President Kennedy. (Associated Press)

The report contains no sensational revelations or unorthodox conclusions. In its sum and substance, it reaffirms almost everything that was already known and understood by most knowledgeable people. Its great value comes from the thoroughness with which the Commission carried out its investigation, from its laying to rest many malignant rumors and speculations, and from its fascinating wealth of detail by which future historians can abide. (Time magazine)

The major significance of the report is that it lays to rest the lurid rumors and wild speculations that had spread after the assassination. (Life magazine)

-- Photo from Allen W. Dulles Papers, Princeton University (Dulles served on the Warren Commission; scale models were built for the investigation)

* Text of report (National Archives): @

* More information from The John F. Kennedy Assassination Information Center: @

* More information from Mary Ferrell Foundation: @

* More information from History Matters: @

* CBS special report, September 27: @
* NBC special report, September 27: @
* New York Times, September 28: @

* Los Angeles Times, September 28: @

* Miami News, September 28: @
* Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 28: @
* The Guardian, September 28: @
* Time magazine, October 2: @
* Life magazine, October 2: @ 

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Thursday, July 2, 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964

The civil rights bill, called America's commitment to justice and equality for all citizens, completed its Congressional journey Thursday and was signed by President Johnson into the law of the land.
     -- United Press International

     -- Associated Press story: @

     -- New York Times story: @

     -- UPI story, July 3: @

* Complete document (National Archives): @

* Text (www.ourdocuments.gov): @
* President Johnson's remarks (transcript and video; from Miller Center): @

* "Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission" (National Archives): @
* "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: What's in it ... How you can use it to obtain the Rights it guarantees" (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights): @
* "July 2, 1964" (The Civil Rights Documentation Project 1964, The Dirksen Congressional Center): @

* "The Civil Rights Act of 1964" (Google Cultural Institute): @

* Summary (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights): @ 
* Summary (from "Encyclopedia of the United States Congress," 2007): @

* "A Deeper Look at the Politicians Who Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964" (Smithsonian magazine, 2014): @
* Newsreel: @
* "Major Features of the Civil Rights Act of 1964" (www.congresslink.org; includes overview): @

* Chronology (www.senate.gov; includes links to overview): @
* "Title VII: A Legislative History" (Francis J. Vaas, Boston College Law Review, 1966): @
* "The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law That Ended Racial Segregation" (Robert D. Loevy, 1997): @
* "When Freedom Would Triumph: The Civil Rights Struggle in Congress, 1954-1968" (Robert Mann, 2007): @
* "An Idea Whose Time Has Come" (Todd S. Purdum, 2014): @
* "The Bill of the Century" (Clay Risen, 2014): @
* "How LBJ Saved the Civil Rights Act" (Michael O'Donnell, The Atlantic, 2014): @ 

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Sunday, December 29, 1963: 'The Making of the President 1960'

The documentary airs on ABC-TV. From the television listings in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

This skillful documentary based on Theodore White's superlative book was completed BEFORE the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and that fact lends a special kind of heartbreak to this chronological report of how and why John F. Kennedy won the election, and then the hearts of his countrymen. Too brief, but nonetheless illuminating coverage of the West Virginia primary and the noteworthy scenes along the way, include Harry Truman's anti-Kennedy remarks, memories of the abortive Stevenson rally during the '60 convention including a reminder to vote-for-Adlai poster ("He's a lousy golfer") and on through the furtive Nixon-Rockefeller meeting to agree on the Republican platform policy. Also, some especially compelling glimpses of the TV debates, including choice "backstage" footage immediately before the first TV debate.

The soundtrack to the show was also released as a record album (pictured).

* Video: @

* Book site from HarperCollins Publishers: @ and @

* Summary from Portfolio (New York University): @

* "The Contours of a Campaign Immortalized" (David M. Shribman, The Wall Street Journal, 2012): @

* "How We Picked Our Presidents, 1960 Style" (Ginia Bellafante, The New York Times, 2011): @

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Wednesday, November 27, 1963: President Johnson's address to Congress

President Johnson asked a somber Congress Wednesday to honor John F. Kennedy's memory with swift action on the slain President's legislative program, topped by civil rights and tax deduction.
     Speaking for the first time as chief executive to a body in which he served for many years, the tall, solemn-faced President called too for "an end to the teaching and preaching of hate and evil and violence" in the land.
     -- from The Associated Press; full story: @
* Transcript (from American Rhetoric): @

* Video (includes telephone calls before and after speech; from C-SPAN): @
* Entry from Voices of Democracy project: @

* "Let Us Continue" (film by U.S. Information Agency; from Texas Archive of the Moving Image): @

* "The First 100 Days: Lyndon Johnson Fulfilled Kennedy's Legacy" (U.S. News & World Report, 2009): @ 

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Tuesday, November 26, 1963: NSAM 273

The administration of new President Lyndon B. Johnson administration issues National Security Action Memorandum 273, which officially reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the Republic of Vietnam and pledges "to assist the people and Government of that country to win their contest against the externally directed and supported Communist conspiracy." Johnson also gave his personal sanction for a stepped-up program of "clandestine operations by the GVN (Government of Vietnam) against the North."
     -- From "Vietnam War Almanac" (James H. Wilbanks, 2009)

* Text of NSAM 273 (from "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963," U.S. State Department): @

* Photocopy of NSAM 273 (from LBJ Library): @
* Post from October 5 (JFK approves withdrawal of 1,000 military advisers from Vietnam): @ 

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Monday, November 25, 1963

An eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery was quickly constructed at the request of his widow. Command Sergeant Major Francis J. Ruddy of the U.S. Army Special Forces honored his fallen commander in chief by placing his Green Beret next to the flame.
     -- Photo from Corbis Images
* "Nov. 25, 1963: A president is buried" (Washington Post): @

* "JFK's Funeral: Photos from Arlington Cemetery" (LifeTime.com): @

* "The Funeral of John F. Kennedy": (photos, CBS Boston): @

* Funeral footage (from JFK Library): @
* Earlier post on Green Berets (September 25, 1961): @
* Ruddy's service record (from U.S. Army): @ 

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Sunday, November 24, 1963

Photo by Bob Jackson, Dallas Times Herald. From the Times Herald's front page: "The historic photograph above was made by Bob Jackson, staff photographer of The Times Herald, from a few feet. It was caught at the precise moment the bullet from Jack Ruby's pistol entered the body of Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of President Kennedy. Note outstretched arm at right attempted to thwart the killer. Photographer Jackson has recorded for history one of its most bizarre and dramatic moments."

Note: This is the uncropped version of the photo.
* Footage: @

* Front page, The Dallas Times Herald: @

* Front page, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington): @

* "Nov. 24, 1963: A president is mourned, an assassin is murdered" (Washington Post): @

* "A Photographer's Story" (from The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza): @
* "Six-Tenths of a Second, Two Lives Forever Changed" (links to Dallas Morning News article about photographers on the scene): @

* Side-by-side photos by Jack Beers of Dallas Morning News and Bob Jackson: @
* "The shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald -- Robert H. Jackson" (from Amateur Photographer magazine): @ 

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Saturday, November 23, 1963

Photo by The Associated Press. Original caption: Personal belongings such as these two rocking chairs of the slain President John F. Kennedy are removed from the offices of the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov 23, 1963. 

* President Johnson's remarks to the Cabinet: @ (draft) and @ (final)
* "Nov. 23, 1963: The day after the assassination" (Washington Post): @ 

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Friday, November 22, 1963

-- United Press International teletype (image from kennedy-photos.blogspot.com)
-- Explainer (from UPI history website): @

Video

* David Von Pein's JFK Channel (this has an extensive collection of footage, including the breaking news reports of the major broadcast networks): @

* "The JFK Assassination: As It Happened" (Von Pein website): @

* From ABC News: @
* JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America" (The History Channel, 2009): @ and @ 
* Speech in Fort Worth: @
* "President Assassinated" (newsreel): @

Audio
* Lyndon Johnson taking oath of office aboard Air Force One (from LBJ Library): @
* Air Force One recordings: @
* Radio coverage: @
* BBC programs: @

President Lyndon B. Johnson
* President's daily dairy (from LBJ Library): @ and @
* From LBJ Library: "November 22, 1963 and Beyond": @
* From LBJ Library: "Nov. 22, 1963: Tragedy and Transition": @
* Selections from Mrs. Johnson's diary: @ (text) and @ (audio)

Front pages

* Dallas Morning News: @

* Dallas Times Herald: @

* Fort Worth Star-Telegram: @ and @

* Boston Globe: @

* New York Times: @

* Washington Post: @
* Los Angeles Times: @
* The Guardian (UK) : @

* Daily Mirror (UK): @

* Daily Trojan (University of Southern California, November 26): @
* Other newspapers (from www.downhold.org): @

* Other newspapers (from rarenewspapers.com): @

Other resources

* Timeline (from Dallas Morning News): @
* "Remembering JFK" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram): @
* "The Death of a President" (The Associated Press): @
* The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (National Archives): @

* The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza: @

* JFK Tribute website (Fort Worth, Texas): @

* The JFK Assassination (Mary Ferrell Foundation): @

* The Harold Weisberg Archive: @

* The Kennedy Assassination (John McAdams): @

* "November 22, 1963: Death of the President" (from JFK Library): @ 

* "Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy" (Warren Commission report, from National Archives, 1964): @

* "Marking JFK anniversary, GPO releases digital Warren Commission report" (Washington Post): @
* "Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, U.S. House of Representatives" (from National Archives, 1979): @

* UPI reporter Merriman Smith's account of the day (November 23; Smith was the first to report the shooting, as shown in teletype above): @
* "Total Domination" (American Journalism Review, 1998): @

* "The Flight From Dallas" (Esquire, 2013): @
* "The Hours Before Dallas: A Recollection by President Kennedy's Fort Worth Advance Man" (Jeb Byrne, 2000): @
* Life magazine, November 29: @

* Life magazine, December 6: @

* Life magazine, December 13: @ 

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What didn't happen on November 22, 1963

President Kennedy

     * Speech at Dallas Trade Mart: @ (text) and @ (materials from JFK Library)

     * Speech in Austin: @ (text) and @ (materials from JFK Library)

     * President's schedule for the day: @

Music

     -- Symphony orchestras in Boston and Chicago, performing in the afternoon as the news of Kennedy's death spread, changed their programs and played the funeral march from Beethoven's Third Symphony.

     * Account from Boston (from time.com): @

     * Original introduction from Boston (from WGBH): @

     * Boston Symphony Orchestra program for 1963-64 season (revised program for November 22 is on Page 9): @

     * Account from Chicago (from orchestra archives): @

     -- On the same day that the album "With the Beatles" was released in the United Kingdom, the band was featured on "The CBS Morning News." The segment was to have been shown on "The CBS Evening News" that night. It eventually aired on December 10.

     * Watch the segment: @

     * "How Walter Cronkite jump-started Beatlemania in America" (from BeatlesNews.com): @

     * "Hello Goodbye: Why the Great Mike Wallace Instantly Forgot His Beatles TV Exclusive" (from The Huffington Post): @

     -- "The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars" was to have performed in Dallas on November 22. The show was canceled.

     * "Dick Clark on the Day America Lost JFK" (John Burke Jovich): @

     * Lineup (from A Rock n' Roll Historian blog): @

     * "Clark Show Off to Big Openers" (Billboard magazine, November 23): @

Television

     From the New York Times, November 23:

     TOKYO -- The first live American television transmission across the Pacific by means of the communication satellite relay was received clearly here today. Pictures transmitted by the Mohave ground station in California and received at the new Space Communications Laboratory in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, were clean and distinct. The sound transmission was excellent. The transmission was received live from 5:16 a.m. to 5:46 a.m. Viewers here saw and heard taped messages from Ryuji Takeuchi, Japanese Ambassador to Washington, and James E. Webb, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A message of greeting from President Kennedy to the Japanese people, which was to have been the highlight of the program, was deleted when news of the President's death was received shortly before the transmission. In place of the taped two-and-a-half-minute appearance of the President, viewers saw brief panoramic views of the Mohave transmitting station and the surrounding desert area. The American Broadcasting Company and the National Broadcasting Company shared in producing the program.'

     From The Associated Press, November 22:
     The nation's three major television and radio networks scrapped all commercials and entertainment programs out of respect for the death today of President Kennedy. The National Broadcasting Co., American Broadcasting Co., and Columbia Broadcasting system all said they would devote their entire radio and television programs to news of the assassination and all allied incidents. The Mutual Broadcasting System said it would ban commercials and entertainment features on its radio network until after the President's funeral. ABC said its commercial and entertainment ban would remain in effect indefinitely. NBC said it would observe the commercial and entertainment blackout until "sometime tomorrow night." CBS said it would not return commercials or entertainment programs to its network until after the President's burial. All networks said they would continue broadcasts on radio and TV through the night.
* TV listings for November 22 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; go to Page 19): @

"Dr. Strangelove"

     A New York screening for critics was canceled, and changes to Stanley Kubrick's new movie were made in light of Kennedy's death (detailed below). The film's premiere was delayed; the movie did not open until January 1964.

     * From "Stanley Kubrick: A Biography" (Vincent LoBrutto, 1999): @

     * From Time.com: @

     * From Los Angeles Times: @

Frank Sinatra Jr. kidnapping

    Three men who were planning to kidnap the entertainer intended to do so on November 22 in Los Angeles, but it was delayed until December 8 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

     * From MentalFloss.com: @

     * From TruTV.com: @

     * From Jan & Dean website (The band's Dean Torrence had loaned money to one of the kidnappers, a friend of his): @

     * Newsreel: @

Other

     * "The most famous magazine cover that never was" *(Washington Post): @

     * Kiplinger Washington Letter planned for November 23: @ and @

     * Where We Were" (People magazine, November 1988): @ 

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