Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

Oswald's murder resulted in the unfolding of many conspiracy theories. According to a Gallop Poll, only 29 percent of the population felt that Oswald acted alone. On Monday, November 25, Texas announced that it would hold a public court of inquiry. There were calls for Congressional investigation. On November 29, President Johnson issued an order establishing a fact finding panel which became known as the Warren Commission. In addition to Earl Warren, who chaired the Commission, the other members were Senators John Sherman, Cooper and Richard Russell, Congressmen Hale Boggs and Gerald Ford, and John McCloy and Allen Dulles.

The Commission divided its task into five areas that included the basic facts of the assassination; the identity of the assassin; the background and motives of the assassin; possible conspiracies; and the death of Oswald. There were five hundred and fifty-two witnesses. The first witness...