President John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960. Throughout his presidency, he battled with Southern Democrats over issues of segregation and continued to focus on American Containment Policy in Asia. Kennedy defined the civil rights crisis as moral, as well as constitutional, and legal. He announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to Congress to guarantee equal access to public facilities, end segregation in education, and provide federal protection for the right to vote.

By the fall of 1963 he, and his political advisers were preparing for their next presidential campaign. As a part of his campaign, he planned a swing through Texas. On November 21, the president and first lady departed on Air Force One for the two-day, five-city tour of Texas. The first stop was San Antonio. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John B. Connally, and Senator Ralph W. Yarborough led the welcoming party. They continued to Houston and ended the day in Fort Worth. On Friday morning, November 22, the presidential party went to Carswell Air Force Base for the thirteen-minute flight to Dallas. Arriving at Love Field, President, and Mrs. Kennedy disembarked and immediately walked toward a fence where a crowd of well-wishers had gathered, and they spent several minutes shaking hands.

The procession left the airport and traveled through downtown Dallas on the way to the Trade Mart where the President was scheduled to speak at a luncheon. Crowds of excited people lined the streets and waved to the Kennedys. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza around 12:30 p.m. As it was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire suddenly reverberated in the plaza.

Bullets struck the president's neck and head and he slumped over toward Mrs. Kennedy. The governor was shot in his back. The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital just a few minutes away. But little could be done for the President. A Catholic priest was summoned to administer the last rites, and at 1:00 p.m. John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. Though seriously wounded, Governor Connally would recover.

The president's body was brought to Love Field and placed on Air Force One. Before the plane took off, a grim-faced Lyndon B. Johnson stood in the tight, crowded compartment and took the oath of office, administered by US District Court Judge Sarah Hughes. The brief ceremony took place at 2:38 p.m.

Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, a recently hired employee at the Texas School Book Depository. In October 1956 Oswald dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Marines. He began expressing pro-Soviet and politically radical views and, secured release from the corps in 1959. Nine days later he left for the Soviet Union, where he tried unsuccessfully to become a citizen. Oswald was being held for the assassination of President Kennedy and the fatal shooting. On Sunday morning, November 24, Oswald was scheduled to be transferred from police headquarters to the county jail. Viewers across America watching the live television coverage suddenly saw a man aim a pistol and fire at point-blank range. The assailant was identified as Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner. Oswald died two hours later at Parkland Hospital.

On Monday, November 25, 1963, President Kennedy was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.