President John F. Kennedy was riding in a motorcade through the streets
of Dallas, Texas, when a gunman fired from a nearby building. Stunned
onlookers ran for cover, and the president's driver sped toward a
hospital. The young president could not survive his terrible wounds,
meaning Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson would take his place. Police
quickly tracked down Kennedy's killer, but the man's troubling
background and puzzling behavior raised questions that seemed impossible
to answer. Although Kennedy's life had been cut short, his presidency
changed the country in ways still felt today.