Who killed J.F.K

International Baccalaureate History

12. 05. 2008

Historical Report

Can a bullet really be that magical?

Table of Contents

Plan of investigation 3

Summary of Evidence 3

Evaluation of sources 3

Analysis 4

Conclusion 4

List of sources 5

Plan of investigation

On November 23rd 1963, president John F Kennedy was assassinated while driving in his motorcade through Dealey Plaza, Texas. Skepticism as to who killed JFK and how it was done still remains today. Many question the truth behind what the general public was told by the media and government. Many people have even come to believe that the assassination of JFK was a conspiracy theory instigated by the American government. This report investigates one aspect of the alleged conspiracy, ‘the magic bullet theory’. This report investigates evidence supporting the theory and evidence proving that the theory was a fabrication of the truth.

Summary of evidence

This is a preview of the whole essay

Summary of evidence

The theory of the magic bullet, stated by the warren commission is that one bullet caused 7 non-fatal wounds in the bodies of president Kennedy and his driver Connally. The theory deems that there were only 3 shots fired and that Lee Harvey Oswald was the shooter for all 3 of them. The theory proposes that the first shot missed the limo completely, the second was the magic bullet that hit Kennedy and Connally and the third shot was kennedys fatal head wound. The single bullet theory says that one bullet hit Kennedy in the back, went out his neck and then continued on to hit Connally in the back, wrist and leg. For this theory to be accurate the bullet passed through 15 layers of clothing, 7 layers of skin, approximately 15 inches of tissue, struck a tie knot, removed 4 inches of rib and shattered a radius bone. Eventually falling out of Connally’s leg in almost perfect condition onto a stretcher at Parkland hospital, where the two men were taken. The fact that the bullet was not found inside or around the body made people wonder whether the bullet had actually done what the warren commition said it had done. The bullets pristine condition also made people question this.

Evaluation of sources

The magic bullet theory was brought famous by the 1991 movie “JFK”. Which told the story of A New Orleans district attorney, Jim Garrison that discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story. This film shows many aspects of the JFK assassination.

When using this secondary sources as a source of information we need to remember that it is a Hollywood movie and that the main goal for the creatures of this film is to make money and their main focus is not providing factual information to the viewer. This film was based on the novel “On The Trail of The Assassins” by Jim Garrison . The film is based on both fact and opinion. Although there is a lot of factual evidence presented in this film, it is hard to determine which is fact and which is fiction. Director Oliver Stone has come under much critisms as to the reliablitiy of some of the facts.

According to Wikipedia the ‘Magic Bullet’ scene in the film has been proven untrue, “The scene indicates that Governor Connally was directly in front of the president, sitting straight, and seated at the same height when he was actually six inches closer to the middle while shifted in his seat more to the left and seated three inches lower than the president, making the bullet's path through both men straighter and more plausible”. “Researcher Dave Reitzes has identified a hundred instances of what he considers an inaccuracy or misrepresentation in the film”( "JFK (film)." Wikipedia.) The History Channel's documentary, Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy also notes many of the inconsistencies of the film.

“ JFK” is also bias towards proving that the assassination of president Kennedy was a conspiracy. The film does not show enough evidence to support the FBI’s account of who was responsible for what happened. The film only closely showed Jim Garrisons findings.

Analysis

It is very important for the “magic bullet” theory to be proven as being true or false. If it is proved that the “magic bullet” theory could not have been possible, we are able to determine that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the only shooter. There is no way that Oswald would have had the time to be able to shoot that many times and reload. If we determine that there was more than one shooter, we know that the assassination of president Keneddy was in fact a conspiracy theory.

Evidence proving that the theory was not possible does appear to be over whelming. The bullet creating that many wounds and coming out almost unscarred is almost impossible.

Conclusion

I conclude the “magic bullet” theory is a fabrication of the truth. The evidence presented shows that the bullet having to pass through two different bodies creating 7 different wounds seems almost impossible. The fact that the bullet was almost in completely pristine condition is also highly unlikely seen as it went through bone. Causing so much damage to the body would surely cause damage to the bullet its self. The way the bullet mysteriously showed up at the hospital on a stretcher, makes us wonder how or who put it there.

List of sources

- McAdams, John . "The Magic Bullet Theory." The Kennedy Assasination. 2008. 04 May 2008 <http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/sbt.htm>.

- "Kennedy Assasination, single bullet theory." 50's web. 2003. 04 May 2008 <http://www.fiftiesweb.com/kennedy/kennedy-assassination.htm>.

- Myers, Dale. "The JFK 100." The single bullet theory. 1995. 04May 2008 <http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100sbt.html>.

- Gary Aguilar and Josiah Thompson, Dale. "The magic Bullet: Even more magicall than we knew?." History matters . 1995. 13 May 2008 <http://www.history-matters.com/essays/frameup/EvenMoreMagical/EvenMoreMagical.htm>.