In the minds of many, the assassination remains a tragedy cloaked in mystery. How does this lack of closure – and the general distrust it fomented – resonate in American culture and politics today?
Rostow, front right, visited Vietnam in 1961.
AP Photo/Fred Waters
Walt Rostow argued communism was incompatible with economic development and was influential in persuading Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to get more involved in Vietnam.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Yoichi Robert Okamoto/Wikipedia
Was Vietnam ‘a quagmire’ or a ‘stalemate machine’? Understanding this 50-year-old debate can shed light on why the US is currently locked into a ‘forever war.’
JFK remains among the most charismatic presidents in US history.
Florida Memory, State Library of Florida
Michael Hogan, University of Illinois at Springfield
John Fitzgerald Kennedy consistently ranks as one of America’s most popular leaders. A presidential historian argues that didn’t just happen – it was the result of an effort to create an image.
North Korean leader Kim Jung-un inspects an outpost and Jangjedo defending force.
REUTERS/North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
A political scientist looks at the similarities between the new American president and the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. What might the parallels portend for US politics?
Trump wouldn’t be the first occupant of the Oval Office to try to bend companies to his will to achieve an objective, be it economic or merely political. JFK tried it with U.S. Steel in 1962.
A 2004 reenactment of the 1804 duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
Marko Georgiev/AP Photo
A philosopher argues that Trumpism may have vulgarized electoral politics, but he has also unwittingly illuminated brilliantly one of America’s greatest accomplishments: a civil democracy
Americans’ ignorance about Africa persists despite efforts by presidents Kennedy and Obama to forge stronger ties with the continent.
Jason Reed/Reuters
The time has come for developed nations to eliminate the large pockets of ignorance which exist in their societies about Africa and other peoples. Globalisation demands that people think differently.
Politicians are often eager to embrace the support of sports stars. But when Donald Trump trots out a very specific type of athlete and coach at his events, who’s he really trying to appeal to?
During his 1966 visit to South Africa, US Senator Robert F Kennedy met with ANC leader Chief Albert Luthuli.
Shoreline Productions
Fifty years ago US Senator Robert F Kennedy visited South Africa. A new documentary about RFK’s visit puts the spotlight on an important part of the country’s history.
John F Kennedy’s murder in 1963 has spawned countless books, films and conspiracy theories.
Wikimedia Commons
Kennedy’s murder has spawned countless books, films, television documentaries and websites, each devoted to solving the crime. And yet any agreement on the ‘truth’ seems as unlikely as ever.
Richard Nixon, 1971.
Oliver F. Atkins/US National Archives and Records Administration