One of the most historic events of the 20th century was the assassination of US President, John Kennedy.
Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, serving as President from January 1961 until November 1963.
During his time in office the US entered the space race with the Soviet Union.
Kennedy pledged that the US would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Unfortunately, he never lived to see this happen.
In October of 1962, the US and the Soviet Union came dagerously close to entering a full-scale nuclear war.
This event was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kennedy's skillful handling of the situation, along with that of his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, helped save the world from a nuclear catastrophe.
Following this event, his approval rating in the United States improved from 66% to 77%.
To many, he was considered to be the type of leader who could build a better world.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy's presidency came to a sudden and tragic end.
He was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in the city of Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy and his wife were sitting in an open car, waving to a large crowd of people when he was shot.
They were sitting in an open car, with no protection, because the sky was clear.
It had rained until about 10 a.m., but then the sun came out.
If the sky hadn't cleared, there would have been a bubble top, or clear roof, on the car.
This would have prevented the assassination.
Kennedy wanted it down so that he could be closer to the crowds who were there to greet him.
Another factor that contributed to the assassination was the route of the motorcade through the city.
The route was published several days earlier in the local newspapers.
The motorcade was to passs through downtown Dallas and round a sharp corner near the building where the assassin worked.
From that building, there was a clear view of the president's car.
If the route had been different, the assassination probably wouldn't have taken place.
The prsident was struck by two bullets, but it was the second one that probably killed him.
That was the fatal shot.
It opened a massive wound in his head.
Sitting beside him, his wife's last woeds to her husband were: "Jack, Jack, can you hear me? I love you Jack."
The assassin's quick shots were incredibly accurate.
If the fatal shot had been off by just a little, Kennedy might have survived.
So if any of these factors had been different, history would have changed.
Kennedy's death disillusioned many Americans who had been inspired by his vision for the future.
With his death, a whole generation of Americans woke up tp a reality where their dreams for a brighter future had been shattered.
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