Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

第七章

This chapter, “CHAPTER VII,” examines the background and possible motives of Lee Harvey Oswald, whom the Commission identifies as the sole assassin of President Kennedy. The chapter opens by acknowledging that, although Oswald acted alone and was not part of any conspiracy, no single motive—such as Marxism, personal grievance, revolutionary aspiration, or desire for notoriety—fully explains his act when judged by ordinary standards. The Commission therefore analyzes Oswald’s character and state of mind through the events, relationships, and influences that shaped him, focusing on his profound alienation, isolation, frustration, grandiose self-image, and hostility toward his environment. The chapter then traces these formative influences through his early family life in Louisiana and Texas, his time in New York City during adolescence (including his psychiatric evaluation at Youth House), his Marine Corps experience, his turn toward Marxist doctrine, his 1959 defection to the Soviet Union, his return to the United States in 1962, his relationships and employment, his attempt on General Walker, his political activities, and his failed effort to reach Cuba in 1963, with possible motives treated within these contexts.

Lee Harvey Oswald: Background and Possible Motives

This introductory section frames the inquiry into Oswald’s motives. The Commission notes that since Oswald is dead, no definitive determination of legal sanity is possible, and that his complete state of mind and character are unknowable. However, material from his writings and life history offers insight. The most striking feature of Oswald’s psychology is his profound alienation: he had few close relationships, difficulty finding a meaningful place in the world, and dissatisfaction with every environment he inhabited—resenting capitalism in the United States, criticizing Communist Party privilege in the Soviet Union, and expressing ambivalence toward his wife. Despite appearing meek to acquaintances, Oswald imagined himself as “the Commander” and a future political leader, combining grandiose fantasies with feelings of oppression. He displayed a striking disregard for consequences through acts including his defection, the shooting of General Walker, attempts to reach Cuba, and ultimately the assassination of President Kennedy. His commitment to Marxism, which he adopted as a teenager and held as an “irrevocable” but largely theoretical conviction, was an important influence on his adult conduct and possibly on his decision to assassinate the President. The section concludes by previewing the chapter’s structure, which will examine Oswald’s early life, his time in New York and the Marines, his interest in Marxism, his defection and return, and his activities after mid-1962.