Assassinations are things that we are all familiar with. These historical events have been the subject of various movies, tv shows and books, and have occurred for a myriad of reasons. Whether it be because of political turmoil, financial gain or the desire for fame, several assassinations have been carried out throughout the years. 

When it comes to assassinations in the United States, there are two that immediately come to mind, the assassinations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.

One of the most infamous assassinations is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, or JFK. On Nov. 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald took the life of JFK while Kennedy was on a presidential tour of Dallas. Because there is a podcast episode detailing the various conspiracy theories behind this assassination, this article will not discuss the theories. When considering assassinations that have strong conspiratorial ties, it is impossible not to mention this one. 

The official story is what most society has accepted as the truth, but there are still many people who believe there is more to the story. For more on those theories, listen to the episode of Conspiracy Theoryology. 

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the theories surrounding it are slightly different than the others mentioned. For starters, some of the conspiracies are actually proven to be true. It is confirmed that John Wilkes Booth did not act alone and there were other co-conspirators who took part in the plot. 

The conspiracy theories come in when people discuss who exactly Booth was working with. People who opposed Lincoln’s ideas for the nation were immediately put into question, because they may go as far as to have him killed for his plans for the future. Specifically when it comes to the notion of abolishing slavery. This led people to believe that it was possible for other political figures to be a part of the assassination and that Booth was merely a scapegoat.

With both these assassinations, the most prevalent conspiracy is that they did not work alone. Even if it was Oswald or Booth that took the fatal shot, some believe that they were not the only people behind these assassinations. 

Out of all conspiracy theories, conspiracies that relate to assassinations or murders are the most severe, because they imply that the assassination is more meaningful than what is initially considered.