Chappaquiddick: The Night Ted Kennedy Left Mary Jo Kopechne Behind

In 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, leaving 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne trapped in a submerged car. He passed several houses, swam across the channel, and waited ten hours before telling anyone. By the time help showed up, she was gone, and the spin was already in motion. What followed wasn’t justice. It was damage control.

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Thank you to this week's sources:

Chancellor, J. (1969, July 26). NBC news broadcast. NBC News.

Commonwealth v. Edward M. Kennedy, No. 2342 (Edgartown Dist. Ct. 1969). Inquest testimony transcript.

Damore, L. (1988). Senatorial privilege: The Chappaquiddick cover-up. Regnery Gateway.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Chappaquiddick incident. In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. https://www.britannica.com/event/Chappaquiddick-incident

Halberstam, D. (1969, July 27). The Senator’s speech. Harper's Magazine.

History.com Editors. (2019, July 18). Chappaquiddick incident. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/chappaquiddick-incident

Kennedy, E. M. (2009). True compass: A memoir. Twelve.

Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. (1970). Hearing on the suspension of the driver’s license of Edward Kennedy.

Nelson, D. R. (2016). Chappaquiddick tragedy: Kennedy’s second passenger revealed. CreateSpace Independent Publishing.

People Magazine. (2021, July 14). Mary Jo Kopechne’s family still wants answers about Chappaquiddick. https://people.com/politics/chappaquiddick-family-still-seeking-answers/

Putzel, Michael; Pyle, Richard (February 22, 1976). "Chappaquiddick (part 1)". Lakeland Ledger. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1B.

Putzel, Michael; Pyle, Richard (February 29, 1976). "Chappaquiddick (part 2)". Lakeland Ledger. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1B.

Reston, J. (1969, July 28). The measure of the man. The New York Times, p. A1.

The Martha’s Vineyard Times. (2019, July 17). 50 years later, Chappaquiddick still haunts. https://www.mvtimes.com/2019/07/17/chappaquiddick-50-years-later/

Time Magazine. (1969, August 1). A senator’s tragedy. Time.

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