50th Anniversary Of A Dark Day In The U.S.

This date fifty years ago was a dark date in United States history. It was the day that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. It was a shocking and despicable act performed by a sick and cowardly person -- and anyone who was alive at that time vividly remembers where they were when they heard the horrible news (I was in a high school biology class when the shooting was broadcast over the school's speaker system).

I have always believed that Oswald acted alone. That was the finding of the Warren Commission, and I have never seen any credible evidence that would cast doubt on that. But I am in the minority on this. A significant portion of the American population (61%) believes it was done by a group -- with Oswald either being a patsy, or part of a larger conspiracy. Only 30% of us believe Oswald acted alone.

But attitudes and opinions change. Back in 1966, those percentages were much closer -- with only 50% believing in a conspiracy and 36% believing Oswald acted alone. But then came a flood of books, TV programs, and movies on the assassination -- some claiming to be true and others being thinly-disguised fictional accounts, but almost all of them contained inaccuracies or outright lies. They have affected public opinion, and at times the belief in a conspiracy has been as high as 81%.

As time has passed, the belief in a conspiracy has dropped, although it is still a majority belief. It would be interesting to see what the prevailing belief will be in 25 or 50 years.

The chart above was made from information provided by Gallup Polls through the years. The latest poll was done between November 7th and 10th of 1,039 nationwide adults, with a margin of error of 4 points.