JFK Lecture to Feature Dr. Philip Melanson

By: Emily Sirois
Posted In: News

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Forty years later, historians, political scientists and others are still wondering about the mystery surrounding Kennedy’s death.

Dr. Philip Melanson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, will be sharing his expertise with the Salve Regina University community on November 18 and 19 about John F. Kennedy and the mystery surrounding his assassination.

Melanson said that he became interested in JFK’s assassination when a student in his Political Assassinations in America course wrote a paper on Kennedy’s assassination.

One month prior to his death, Kennedy had discussed withdrawal from Vietnam. Immediately after accepting the presidency, Lyndon Johnson sent combat troops into Vietnam and many were shocked by this drastic change.

Melanson said that there is always change between each different administration, but there has never been such an instant change as this one, a change that was never even discussed. Melanson said that he believes that Kennedy was pulling out of the war.

Melanson also said that the media has been part of the lack of information for the past forty years. “In the wake of the assassination, the country had to pull together, and the media has definitely been part of the problem,” Melanson said.

Melanson also said that there was a disconnection between intelligence and the military over the issue of Vietnam. “The most difficult part of the presidency was dealing with the covert wars that the CIA was conducting,” Melanson said.

He believes that students would benefit from learning more about Kennedy, especially since they get most of their knowledge from the media. Melanson said that students don’t read about Kennedy, but most of them have seen the Oliver Stone movie, “JFK.”

Melanson said there are two goals to the political system and the first is justice. Lee Harvey Oswald was a semi-innocent victim because it was too late to find out who shot Kennedy, Melanson said. The second goal is to encourage students to think about politics and history with a different lens, especially since some of the same issues surrounding Kennedy’s death are still with us today, Melanson said.

Melanson, director of the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, has been chair of the Political Science Department for 12 years. Melanson has written thirteen books and fourteen articles on such subjects as political assassinations, violence, intelligence agencies, governmental secrecy and law enforcement.

Melanson has also appeared on more than a hundred radio and television programs, and has recently been the only outsider to write a book about the U.S. Secret Service.

There will be dinner held on both Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 in Miley Hall from 5:15-7:00 p.m. with Melanson, followed by the lecture and the showing of the film, “The Men Who Killed Kennedy,” in the O’Hare Auditorium from 7-9 p.m. For more information, contact John Quinn, Dean of Students, at (401) 341-2206.