President Kennedy’s trip to Texas was meant to rally support for his programs and policies and lay groundwork for the 1964 election. But instead, something happened that changed the course of history: the president was assassinated. The world seemed to stop as John F. Kennedy’s state funeral was arranged. This episode brings you into the White House in the aftermath of the assassination, and historian Fredrik Logevall looks at the trip to Texas and how the country - and the world - mourned the president.
View the transcript of this episode.
Related Material
Listen to the Oral History interviews quoted in this episode: Nancy Tuckerman and Pamela Turnure and Angier Biddle Duke
Read the eulogies for President Kennedy delivered in the rotunda of the Capitol Building
View photographs related to the Texas trip, assassination, and funeral
Read the material related to Ludwig Erhard's proposed visit to Washington, DC on November 25-27, and see a photo of him with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy after President Kennedy's funeral
View documents related to the planning of John F. Kennedy's funeral, including a list of who was to walk behind the caisson
Watch films documenting President Kennedy's final days and funeral: The Last Two Days and Funeral Services for John F. Kennedy
Learn about The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (“JFK Files”) at the National Archives and Records Administration
Learn about our guest, Fredrik Logevall
Credits
Hosts and Producers: Matt Porter and Jamie Richardson
Supervising Producer: Valerie Linson
Director of Marketing: Rick King
Podcast Art: Brian Kang
Music: Premium Beat by Shutterstock