Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother of US President John F. Kennedy, was a US Senator and Attorney General who fought organized crime and advocated for civil rights. He ran for president in 1968, but was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan. His death led to increased Secret Service protection for presidential candidates.
US President John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) younger brother Robert F. Kennedy also ran for president five years after his brother’s assassination. He was a US Senator up until that time, having left his post as US Attorney General. Kennedy’s campaign for president was cut short, as was his life, when Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Kennedy died the next day.
In terms of political achievements, Robert F. Kennedy was as important a figure in American politics as his older brother. As US Attorney General under his brother’s administration, Robert F. Kennedy became one of JFK’s most trusted advisers and was crucial in guiding the United States through the Cuban Missile Crisis. After JFK’s assassination in 1963, Robert F. Kennedy continued his tenure as Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, but resigned after parting ways with Johnson over several issues including the Vietnam War. He then successfully ran for the United States Senate in New York.
As Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy fought organized crime and had great success prosecuting several key crime figures. One of Kennedy’s greatest accomplishments, however, was his advocacy of the civil rights movement. He made movement a central tenet of his tenure as attorney general and made great strides to desegregate Washington. His passion and determination for civil rights infected his brother, who made him the cause. Together, the Kennedy brothers encouraged several important steps for the civil rights movement.
After several years as a US Senator, Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, basing his platform on desegregation and economic equality. While most of him considered running him as a possibility, Kennedy continued to oppose Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey in the primary – Lyndon Johnson withdrew from the race shortly after Kennedy made his decision to run. Kennedy won a key primary in California and his campaign gained momentum. The victory was short-lived, however; just hours after winning the state, Kennedy gave a speech to his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel. After the speech, aides led him through the kitchen where he was shot in the head by Sirhan Sirhan, a young Palestinian appalled by Kennedy’s support for Israel.
Kennedy was rushed to the hospital where he died the next day, June 6, 1968. Hubert Humphrey ended up winning the party nomination, but lost in the general election to Richard Nixon. Following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the Secret Service to extend its protection to all presidential candidates.
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