[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

Even stranger is the tale told of an Oswald containing a microchip in his brain that
allowed his mind to be controlled to carry out the assassination. Lincoln Lawrence’s
1967 book – originally published under the title Were We Controlled? – is so strange and
strangely written that it may very well be a hoax, exploiting fears about unknown cabals
and government secrecy. Perhaps it is significant that Lawrence mentions the date of
Oswald’s microchip surgery as April 1, 1961 – which would be April Fools Day.
Lawrence took some facts, including the work on mind control by certain scientists and a
1963 stock market swindle, to weave a story of Germanic conspirators called “The
Group” that have Oswald carry out the assassination so they can make half a billion
dollars by selling short on the stock market on November 22, 1963. Lawrence described
the leader of “The Group” as “Mr. One” and the story of their conspiracy was labeled
“The Rumor.” He claimed he spent three years tracking down “The Rumor,” which he
called “terrifyingly, incredibly…if you will….completely unbelievable.” 523 He was right
about that, but the theory would appeal to people who believed that the government was
lying about the assassination, the Vietnam War, and intelligence matters cloaked in
secrecy. Suspiciousness about the Kennedy assassination contributed to a climate in the
1960s and 1970s in which conspiracy theories proliferated – some more believable than
others.
523
Lincoln Lawrence and Kenn Thomas, Mind Control, Oswald, & JFK: Were We
Controlled?, (Kempton, Illinois: Adventures Unlimited Press, 1997 (1967)), 19. Lincoln
Lawrence was apparently the pseudonym of the author of Were We Controlled? Kenn
Thomas added an introduction to the 1997 edition.
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