This Week In American History: On June 5, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. At the time of his passing, Robert Kennedy was running for the presidency on a platform of fighting against racial discrimination, economic injustice, and speaking out against the Vietnam War.
Robert F. Kennedy’s Beginnings
Robert Francis Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on November 20, 1925. Kennedy graduated from Milton Academy prep school. Afterwards, he enrolled at Harvard University. Kennedy left Harvard and joined the Navy when his older brother Joseph Kennedy died in World War II. 1946, after the war, Kennedy returned to Harvard where he graduated with a degree in government in 1948. After graduating from Harvard, Kennedy enrolled in the University of Virginia Law School to pursue a law degree. He graduated in 1951 and passed the Massachusetts bar exam the same year.
Robert F. Kennedy’s Political Career
Directly out of law school, Kennedy joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. However, he resigned the following year to lead his older brother John’s senatorial campaign.
Under Senator Joseph McCarthy, Kennedy became an advisor to the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953. Nevertheless, Kennedy left the position just six month later due to his objections to McCarthy’s investigative tactics.
However, that wasn’t the end of Kennedy’s political career. In 1954 he joined the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as chief counsel for the Democratic minority. Three years later, in 1957, the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor Management Field appointed Kennedy chief counsel. While working under Senator McClellan, Kennedy uncovered Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa’s corruption.
When Kennedy’s brother John ran for president, Kennedy managed his presidential campaign. Kennedy became U.S. attorney general as well as one of JFK’s closest cabinet advisors following JFK’s election to the presidency. Following JFK’s assassination in 1963, Kennedy resigned as attorney general and announced his intent to run for a seat in the Senate.
Kennedy’s bid for a seat in the Senate was successful. New York elected Kennedy to represent them in Washington as a Senator. During his time as an elected official he continued to advocate for the poor and for human rights. He also opposed racial discrimination and spoke out against the escalating involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination
Kennedy ran against Eugene McCarthy in the presidential primaries of 1968. On June 5, 1968 he gave a victory speech at the California Democratic Primary at the Ambassador Hotel in LA. Following his speech, Sirhan Sirhan shot him. Unfortunately, Kennedy succumbed to his wounds the next day. His promising presidential career over before it had begun.
Kennedy was laid to rest near his brother John at Arlington Cemetery. He left behind his wife Ethel Kennedy and their ten children. Their eleventh child, Rory, was born six month after his father’s untimely passing.
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Info Source: Biography.com
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
