The Standards Plus History Academy JFK Assassination class, a semester-length course,  examines the Crime of the Century, introducing students to the forces at work behind the coup d’  etat of a duly elected American President. Students will study the government’s patsy, the six  investigations, and the five conspirators, including a close look at the multiplicity of nefarious  CIA activities revealed publicly in Congressional hearings before the Church and Pike  Committees in the 1970’s. 

Key personalities will be studied in-depth, including Lee Harvey Oswald, E. Howard Hunt, Jack  Ruby, Allen Dulles, Richard Case Nagell, Richard Nixon, Santos Trafficante, Sam Giancana,  Carlos Marcello, Jimmy Hoffa, Howard Hughes, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Johnny Roselli, Fidel  Castro, Abraham Bolden, Judyth Vary Baker, the Cabell brothers, William Harvey, Frank Sturgis,  David Morales, Marita Lorenz, Jim Garrison, David Atlee Phillips, Lawerence O’Brien, James  McCord, Bernard Barker, Nikita Khrushchev, and a host of others. 

Key institutions, groups, and pseudo-groups will be examined in-depth, including the “military industrial complex”, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intelligence community, the Cuban exiles, the  Secret Service, Texas oil tycoons, the “Deep State”, among others. An accompanying timeline of  events will provide context, clearly demonstrating a connection between the JFK assassination to  other intelligence operations such as the Watergate Scandal.  

Key terms and concepts, including backchannel, “black ops”, sheep dipping, doppelgangers,  ratlines, “galloping cancer”, SV-40, SIV, termination with extreme prejudice, plausible  deniability, extraordinary rendition, executive action, the 5412 Committee, “false flag”, the “S  Force”, the “missile gap”, the “missile myth”, and the “Plumbers” will be addressed.  

Finally, key Pentagon and CIA operations such as Ajax, PBSuccess, Zapata, Mongoose, Phoenix,  Hotfoot, Mockingbird, 40, MKUltra, ZR/Rifle, Paperclip, Sunrise, Northwoods and key policy  initiatives including the National Security Act of 1947, National Security Action Memos 55, 56,  57, 263, and 273, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution will also be  examined. 

At the conclusion of the class, students will be able to analyze the JFK assassination within the  larger Cold War context, assessing the payoffs to its Cold Warrior conspirators, predicting the subsequent capture of the Executive Branch by military and intelligence operators – the “Shadow  Government” – and understanding the federal government’s seemingly unending and unlimited  war powers and their chilling effects on American citizens’ civil liberties.  

Barry Jones 

Barry Jones has been a high school history and government teacher in the state of Tennessee  since 1997. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and a Master of  History Education degree from Liberty University. He currently teaches in a high school near  Nashville, TN. Known for his storytelling, Mr. Jones’ trademark JFK Assassination and  Watergate lessons have long been student favorites. Mr. Jones is also an author. Among his  works are several books on the JFK assassination, including Coup d’ Etat (2014), Wilderness of  Mirrors (2017), and Treasonous Cabal (2018). 

Course Guide / Pacing Guide 

Unit 1 – Crime of the Century / Aftermath Week 1; Unit 2 – Lee Harvey Oswald Week 2; Unit 3 – Six Investigations Week 3; Unit 4 – Conspirator 1 Week 4; Unit 5 – Conspirator 2 Week 5; Unit 6 – Conspirator 3 Week 6; Unit 7 – Conspirator 4 Week 7; Unit 8 – Conspirator 5 Week 8; Unit 9 – Midterm Exam Week 9; Unit 10 – New Orleans & the Summer of ’63 Week 10; Unit 11 – Termination with Extreme Prejudice (TWEP) Week 11; Unit 12 – All the President’s Men Week 12; Unit 13 – Jack Ruby & Richard Case Nagell Week 13; Unit 14 – The DEEP State Week 14; Unit 15 – Timelines & the Mechanics of a Murder Week 15; Unit 16 – Final Exam Week 16.

NOTES:

1. SILVER clients: It is recommended that you pace yourself, adhering to this schedule for  each unit. It has been set up in such a way that each day’s lesson (PowerPoint and guided  notes) fills an approximate 60-minute time frame. Additional assignments can be factored  into the end of each unit because extra time has been built into the schedule. 
2. GOLD clients: This is the overall schedule Mr. Jones will adhere to in his online sessions.  Weekly modules will be posted, pacing the content accordingly.  

 

Scope and Sequence 

Unit 1 – Crime of the Century / Aftermath 

This unit examines the events of November 22, 1963, and the minutes, hours, and days  subsequent.  

Unit 2 – Lee Harvey Oswald 

This unit examines the government’s patsy, including his biography, his recruitment into US  intelligence, his intelligence training and missions, and his sheep dipping as a Marxist and a  Castro sympathizer. Also included in this unit is a study of the ever-present Oswald  doppelgangers in and around Dallas in the days before, during, and after the assassination.  

Unit 3 – Six Investigations 

This unit examines the Warren Commission (1964), the Jim Garrison investigation (1967-1969),  the Senate Watergate Committee & the House Judiciary Committee hearings (1972-1974), the  Church Committee hearings (1975), the House Select Committee on Assassinations (1976), and  the Liberty Lobby lawsuit (1978-1985).  

Unit 4 – Conspirator 1 

This unit examines the military-industrial complex and the CIA, outlining their motives, roles,  and payoffs for participating in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 5 – Conspirator 2 

This unit examines organized crime, outlining its motives, roles, and payoffs for participating in  the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 6 – Conspirator 3 

This unit examines the anti-Castroite Cubans, outlining their motives, roles, and payoffs for  participating in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 7 – Conspirator 4 

This unit examines Lyndon Baines Johnson, outlining the Vice President’s motives, roles, and  payoffs for participating in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 8 – Conspirator 5

This unit examines the Secret Service, outlining the Praetorian Guard’s motives, roles, and  payoffs for participating in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 9 – Midterm Exam 

This unit includes a Mid-Term Review and Exam upon request.  

Unit 10 – New Orleans & the Summer of ’63  

This unit examines the CIA’s Medical Manhattan Project and Lee Harvey Oswald’s role in  creating a secret bioweapon by night while being sheep dipped as a pro-communist, Castro  sympathizer by day.  

Unit 11 – Termination with Extreme Prejudice 

This unit examines the mysterious deaths of many JFK witnesses and/or alleged conspirators.  From the Church Committee findings in the mid-1970’s, students will learn about the CIA  program to terminate loose ends in such manner that the cause of death is either ruled death by  natural causes or cannot be determined.  

Unit 12 – All the President’s Men 

This unit examines the role(s) long-time CIA officer E. Howard Hunt played in over twenty  years of covert intelligence, Cold War-related black-ops, including the JFK assassination and the  Watergate Scandal.  

Unit 13 – Jack Ruby & Richard Case Nagell 

This unit examines the two JFK assassination witnesses whose direct involvement with CIA  agent and government patsy Lee Harvey Oswald before, during, and after the assassination paint  a clear picture of a multi-party conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  

Unit 14 – The DEEP State 

This unit examines the origins and weaponization of the Incorporated Military States of America,  otherwise known as the “DEEP State” or, as President Eisenhower famously warned Americans  about in his Farewell Address, the “Military-Industrial Complex”. Students will learn that it was  this cabal that President Kennedy threatened with his peace initiatives, resulting in his death.  

Unit 15 – Timelines 

This unit examines the Cold War era of the JFK assassination, providing context before, during,  and after the President’s death. Students will be presented with a chronological timeline, linking  multiple events in a singular plot, and itemizing the payoffs to interested parties after November  22, 1963. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to explain current events by one  of history’s most important Rosetta Stones – the JFK assassination.  

Unit 16 – Final Exam 

This unit includes a Final Review and Exam upon request.