We have spent the past two days studying the death of John F. Kennedy and the conspiracies behind it. But, I feel like we must consider the life of his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, after this very traumatic day.
From the moment the shot was fired and struck her husband in the neck, Jacqueline has blamed JFK's death partially on herself. She vowed to protect her husband from all those that might harm him, including those that were close to her husband and those that threatened him. She blamed herself for not recognizing the sound of the first gunshot that misfired, and for not looking to her right when the second one was fired. She claimed that if she had recognized the sound, she could have pulled her husband down in time, and he would have lived. Although all of us know that he assassination was not at all her fault, her husband's death caused her so much turmoil that she began to believe these things. Because of this, she had nightmares every single night for months on end, and became very suicidal.
Also as few people know, the Kennedys had lost two babies prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Arabella was a still born who died in 1956, and Patrick died two days after his birth in August of 1963. So it was both her husband's death and the death of two of her children that let her to become so depressed and suicidal after John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Jacqueline's depression continued long after her husbands death, understandably. But as soon as she was kicked out of the White House to make way for the new president, Lyndon Johnson, she moved to New York to make a new life for herself. Obviously her life was never the same, and she even once told a friend, "I consider that my life is over, and I will spend the rest of my life waiting for it really to be over." Mrs. Kennedy never did take her life, but she never truly recovered from President Kennedy's assassination.
Sources: Source 1, Source 2
Thanks for this post Rachel! This is a very sad, but true post. It is depressing to see the aftermath of such a pivotal moment in US history. Today, we hardly think of how those close to Kennedy felt, while we limit our views to the effect it had on America as a whole. Although, it is true that he will always be remembered for being a great man and president. Another interesting thing that Jacqueline Kennedy said was "Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it — but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man." This just goes to show that she didn't care about him as an influential leader in the world, all she wanted was her husband.
ReplyDeleteGreat post about the actual human beings behind the events. As we are talking about the conspiracy theories around the assassination, I wonder how much that effects those close to the victims. A lot of the times, when there is a major tragedy in the world, there are some people who will believe it is a conspiracy and focus on what happened. Does this take away from what actually happened? Would Mrs. Kennedy feel bad about the theories, as they distract from the fact that her husband just died, and people begin to look at it not as a tragedy, but some puzzle. So the question I'm asking is, do conspiracy theories really help or just detract from the actual events?
ReplyDeleteJackie Kennedy was also hounded by paparazzi and tourists after her husband's death. When Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, Jackie feared for the life of her children and married Greek business tycoon Aristotle Onassis, whom she felt had the money to provide the security she and her children needed. Their marriage eventually fell apart after several years, and they were in divorce proceedings when Aristotle died of a respiratory failure in 1975. After that, Jackie took a job as a book editor, a career she continued for 19 years until her death in 1994. To the end, Jackie was admired by the authors she worked with for her warmth and dedication to her job. One year later, 14 of Jackie's authors published a book composed of tribute essays to her. The publishers distributed the book among family and friends.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, I think it's inspiring that Jackie Kennedy chose to start a career when she was in her mid 40s simply because she felt it would give her a sense of purpose in life and make her happy. She felt that she had "always lived through men," and that it was now time to make a name for herself based on her own abilities, not of those around her. She was--and still is--a role model for women everywhere.
Great Post Rachel! One of the earlier posts on conspiracy theories about the assassination stated that John F Kennedy was killed by Onassis organization, and I thought it was really out of the blue. But when I saw that Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis, I see where this theory comes from. It links the Kennedy's and Onassis organization by the marriage after the assassination of Kennedy between Jackie and Aristotle.
ReplyDeleteReally cool post. Although Kennedy's assassination was such a big county wide shock, history books rarely provide details about what happened to the remaining family. I think it is interesting that Jacqueline didn't just rely on her Kennedy legacy, but rather made a name for herself in business. That is a very feminist attitude for a women of her day and age. I think it is also interesting to note that the day of the Kennedy's funeral was also the 3rd birthday of her son, John. There is no doubt that the nation was taken aback by the heart wrenching picture of this little boy giving a final salute to his father's casket, but add to that the fact that it was the his birthday and it's really heart breaking. This family went through so much and it's very sad that few people know just how hurt they were.
ReplyDeleteAfter learning about his assassination in class, I was wondering about how it affected Jacqueline Kennedy, so I'm really glad you posted this. I was also interested in how it affected his children, so I did a little more research. Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is the only surviving member of the immediate Kennedy family. John Jr. died 17 days after his father's election into the presidency when a small plane he was piloting crashed.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy