If Kennedy Lived

INTRODUCTION This Wiki page explores the effects of President John F. Kennedy surviving his assassination. At the time of Kennedy’s assassination attempt he was gearing up for the 1964 Presidential election, while at the same time pushing his agenda for the Civil Rights Act. There was aggressive opposition from southern democrats, especially from Virginia Representative Howard W. Smith and Alabama Governor George Wallace, which resulted in the rejection of the Civil Rights Act. Many of the Northern States individually outlawed segregation completely and a few have minimal laws, for example Tennessee, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but southern states including Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, and North Carolina, continue to implement segregation in their states today. Along with the issue of Civil Rights, Kennedy dealt with the rising tension in Vietnam by pulling out any and all military action. This action on Kennedy’s part caused frustration between President Kennedy and the military leaders around him. During these already hard times, the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, was under scrutiny for the ways he came into wealth, thus causing him to resign from his position. After his assassination attempt, Kennedy divorced Jackie Kennedy and remarried Marilyn Monroe. This marriage caused the stars of Hollywood to have a bigger voice in politics. At political dinners you see more stars than politicians and awards shows, for example the Oscars, included more politicians. Kennedy surviving the assassination attempt has forever changed history.

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On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. At the time of his death Kennedy was ramping up for the next Presidential election that was to take in 1964. It was commonly thought that Kennedy was going to win the reelection. Kennedy had recently introduced his Civil Rights Act in June of 1963, which faced much opposition from southern democrats, including Representative for Virginia, Howard W. Smith. After the President’s assassination, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, with encouragement from now President Lyndon B. Johnson, to memorialize and honor John F. Kennedy and his legacy. The passing of  the Civil Rights Act banned racial discrimination restaurants, education systems, and other public places and also guaranteed job equality. Before Kennedy was assassinated he did not get the chance to pull out of Vietnam. Military leaders around the President were very pro military force in Vietnam. If Kennedy had lived and pulled out of Vietnam there would have most likely been no hippies, there would be no draft dodgers, no Woodstock music festival, no peace protests, and thus no rise of many pop culture movements and figures like John Lennon relating to his activism for peace and the Kent State shootings would not have occurred. At the time Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was under investigation by a senate committee for taking bribes and kickbacks and was accused of earning his wealth in a less than ethical way. If the investigation had continued Johnson most likely would have been forced to resign, but due to the events that had occurred in regards to Kennedy’s assassination and Johnson having to become President, the investigations stopped. Lastly, Kennedy was assassinated while still married to Jackie Kennedy. There were constant rumors of extramarital affairs on John’s side, for example the infamous Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday.”