What if~John F. Kennedy wasn't assassinated?

The one-time video game that was released in 2017 called "Prey" which takes place in the future in an alternate reality where US President "John Fitzgerald Kennedy" (JFK) was never assassinated by "Lee Harvey Oswald" and was able to do 2 terms in office.

So, this is what this wiki page will cover. What if in an alternate reality, JFK wasn't assassinated? What would the USA be like with JFK in office for 8 years, and what would happen differently? But (as usual) some historical context.

## Real History

In 1960, the USA Presidential election was in full swing. JFK was going up against republican Richard (Tricky Dicky, Crook) Nixon. JFK would win the 1960 Election by the slimmest of margins and was inaugurated the following year.

During JFK's short presidency, he would be somewhat adamant to provide rights and justice for African-Americans, and he made up a bill that was called the "Civil Rights Act" which would give African-Americans the same rights as anybody else in the US.

But, his bill would be left in an awkward limbo, and was reluctant to be fast with having this bill be passed due to JFK not wanting to lose the support of southern Democrats.

But on November 22, 1963, while visiting Dallas, Texas, JFK was riding in an open car, when, out of nowhere a bullet from the rifle of mentally-ill and disgruntled World War 2 veteran; Lee Harvey Oswald would shock the nation by assassinating JFK.

Around 5 days after the assassination of JFK, his vice-President; Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in as President, and after nearly 3 months of Fillibuster, the Civil Rights Act was eventually passed, as well as other policies too.

## What if?

Now here's your favorite question. What if JFK wasn't assassinated? Let's say LHO was never born in this alternate reality or captured before he could assassinate JFK.

So, what would happen?

### Civil Rights Movement

For one thing, the Civil Rights Movement would be a more difficult endeavor, especially for leaders such as "Martin Luther King Jr.", "Rosa Parks", "Medgar Evers", and others.

Why?

Because JFK didn't have the political influence Johnson did in our reality, not only did JFK had an uneasy relationship with Congress (due to the huge age difference) but because he was also a Northern Democrat and was mostly disliked by Congressmen.

His assassination in our reality has helped replace a northern democrat with a southern democrat.

Both JFK and Johnson held some of the same political views especially regarding Civil Rights (though Johnson was more vocal about Civil Rights and JFK was).

The difference with Johnson is that he had more political experience as he's been in Congress for years and held a bigger influence over it. In our reality, during Johnson's Presidency, he would use his influence to get most (if not all) of JFK's policies (including the Civil Rights Act) passed by Congress, and he had no qualms in ruffling feathers to do so.

Johnson also had that "My way or the Highway" approach as he would make, sometimes intimidate people to get onto his side, even saying to one opponent "If you get in my way, I'm going to run you down."

Along with the Civil Rights Act, Johnson would also use his influence to get other of JFK's policies such as the "Voter's Rights Act", "Title 9", "Medicare", "Medicaid", "Expanded Social Security", The National Endowment of The Arts", and even the creation of PBS passed in Congress.

In this alternate reality, the Civil Rights Act would either take longer, not be as strong as it is in our reality or die while in committee. This can lead to the Civil Rights Leaders such as Mr. King and Mrs. Parks to rally for equality for much longer, and because of a weak or no Civil Rights Act, Jim Crow laws would still be rampant in the southern states and there would be more riots where white Americans would violently put down non-violent protests by African-Americans.

Now, this could lead to some ramifications.

In the African-American community, radical Civil Rights movements and leaders (such as Malcolm X and The Black Panthers) would have a far bigger influence, especially in the southern states to try to battle back Jim Crow Laws as most African-Americans would try to "fight fire with fire" against the violent suppression by white Americans.

### Other Political Things

Of course, the more things change, the more things stay the same. In our reality, Johnson used his influence to pass a bill, calling for a "War on Poverty". In this alternate reality, JFK would have done the same.

What also wouldn't change is the 1964 election other than JFK still alive. In our reality, Johnson would face a Republican from Arizona; Barry Goldwater who would run in the 1964 election. Goldwater's Cold War approach scared the US masses which would lead to Johnson's victory in one of the most lopsided elections in US History. In this alternate reality, JFK would've also defeated Goldwater for much of the same reasons and would do a second term in office.

### Vietnam Question

The Vietnam war would still happen in this alternate reality. But it's how JFK would handle it is what would be different. JFK voiced his views on Vietnam, and just like how he handled the Bay of Pigs operation, he wouldn't go in "guns blazing" so to say as he didn't want the US to get involved in a conflict with North Vietnam.

But that's not to say that JFK was a softy on the situation, he was a staunch anti-communist and a believer in the "Communist Domino Theory" but he thought realistically too. He knew that not every conflict would result in an American victory, and because of this, he had a hard relationship with the US' military high command (who were overconfident in war) as JFK would opt for more peaceful solutions.

He would also go as far as to downplay the situation in Vietnam as he knew (and was right) that the American masses would be in favor of war if the communists gained the upper hand. So, in this alternate reality, the USA doesn't get involved in the war, at the very most, he would provide material aid for the South Vietnamese

Even with JFK as the president during the war, the South would've still lost, and because of this JFK would be known as the President who would lose South Vietnam, even with just aiding the South Vietnamese. The only difference is that tens of thousands of US Soldiers and Vietnamese civilians wouldn't die in the conflict. It would also be a topic that Americans would talk about for decades to come, and most would be divided on whether or not the US should've gotten itself involved in the war, or not.

The Hippie Counter-Culture movement would've still happened. Remember that the Vietnam War wasn't the only thing that sparked this movement, it was also Civil Rights, Feminism, and even just rebelling against the old "Baby Boomer" people of the 1950s. The Vietnam War helped the Hippie Movement catapult and influence young people such as High School and College Students. But in this alternate reality, the Hippies would've had a much smaller influence on the masses as it did in this alternate reality.

But what would be of the USA once Kennedy is finished with his second term in 1968? Well, Johnson would run for the Presidency and would face Nixon in the 1968 Election. Now, it's impossible to say who would win since that would stray too far from this particular scenario.

Well, that will do it for this page. What do you think would happen if JFK wasn't assassinated? Don't forget to also check out my Games and Movies. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.