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The 35th President of the United States, assassinated 50 years ago today is a figure who has inspired countless books, films, essays, and conspiracy theories. John F Kennedy’s murder in Dallas on November 22nd 1963 was an event that profoundly affected Americans and has been credited with marking the end to an era of national innocence.

After his death Kennedy was canonized so heavily that the true legacy of his brief nearly 3 year long presidency has reached almost mythic proportions. He was touted as a liberal leader who helped pass the civil rights act, only reluctantly participated in the Vietnam War, averted nuclear war with Cuba and the Soviet Union, created the Peace Corps, and even sent humans to the moon. In reality JFK was far more conservative than we give him credit for.

Today we examine the true legacy of John F Kennedy within the context of American history.

GUEST: Ivan Eland, writer for Antiwar.com, and author of The Failure of Counterinsurgency: Why Hearts and Minds Are Seldom Won