The election of 1960 was one of the closest elections in American history. The three campaigners in this election were John F. Kennedy of the Democratic Party, Richard Nixon of the Republican Party, and Harry Byrd, who ran as an independent. The high spots of this election were faith, the Cold War and the impact of the first televised argument of presidential campaigners Kennedy and Nixon.

At the clip of the 1960 election run there were lifting tensenesss from the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. The Soviets launched the first manmade orbiter to revolve around the Earth. U.S. political and instruction leaders warned that the state was falling behind communist states in engineering and scientific discipline. In 1960 an American undercover agent plane was shot down over Soviet district and the pilot captured. This crisis caused the cancellation of President Eisenhower ‘s trip to Moscow and the prostration of the Paris acme meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev. In Cuba, Fidel Castro had become economically and militarily dependent on the Soviet Union. This made the fright of communist corruption in the Western Hemisphere greater. More than half the U.S. thought that war with the Soviet Union was unable to avoid.1

Forty-three twelvemonth old John F. Kennedy won the Democratic nomination by winning a series of province primaries and take Senator Lyndon Johnson from Texas as his running mate. Kennedy was ridiculed by his opposition, Richard Nixon, because of his immature age and deficiency of experience in foreign personal businesss and besides because of his Catholic religion. Kennedy gave a address about his faith on September 12, 1960 to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. He focused on winning back the conservative Catholics who had deserted the democrats to vote for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956. Kennedy was runing around the clip of the Cold War and declared that he would acquire the state traveling once more and that the United States would hold the will to defy communism around the universe. To assist America against communism, he was traveling to beef up the military and have a strong opposition to the Soviet Union. Kennedy tried to place himself with the broad reform tradition of the Democratic party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman by concentrating on the cardinal elements, like urban minorities, cultural vote axis and organized labour. Kennedy gained heavy support from black electors when he placed a call to Martin Luther King Jr ‘s married woman on October 26th after Mr. King was arrested in Georgia for taking civil rights protests. After puting the phone call Kennedy was endorsed by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. , male parent of the civil rights leader.

The Republican campaigner, 47 twelvemonth old Vice President Richard M. Nixon emphasized the record of the Eisenhower old ages of peace, prosperity, low rising prices, and several balanced budgets. He chose Henry C. Lodge, U.S. embassador to the United Nations, as his running mate. Ironically, Kennedy had defeated Lodge for a U.S. Senate place in 1952. Nixon promised to run in all 50 provinces and assured electors that he would keep American prestigiousness, leading, and military strength. He was traveling to beef up the military, like Kennedy, so America could hold a opportunity against the Soviet Union. He besides pledged to maintain the federal authorities from ruling the free market economic system and the lives of American people.

Harry Byrd was an Independent campaigner who was described as a segregator Democrat. He did non take part in any of the four televised arguments.

Nixon led in the polls after the national conventions and was described as more mature and experienced. Kennedy so challenged the frailty president to a series of televised arguments. After being urged to reject the arguments by the Nixon cantonment including President Eisenhower, Nixon agreed to take part in the arguments. On September 26, 1960, seventy-million U.S. viewing audiences turned on their telecastings to watch Democratic presidential campaigner Kennedy and Republican presidential campaigner Nixon meet for a argument that changed American political relations. It was the first televised presidential argument of all time and the first of four televised “ Great Debates ” between Nixon and Kennedy. The first argument focused on domestic issues. On October 7th the 2nd argument focused on the dissension of the U.S. engagement of two little islands off the seashore of China, and on October 13th they continued this argument. The concluding argument on October 21st focused on American dealingss with Cuba.

Televised arguments gave electors an chance to see their campaigners in competition. There was a large ocular difference between Nixon and Kennedy. In August, Nixon had injured his articulatio genus and had spent two hebdomads in the infirmary. He was still 20 lbs scraggy at the first argument and appeared picket and sickly. When he arrived at the argument, he had on a Grey suit which blended in with the background. Nixon refused to have on any make-up to better his colour. Unlike his opposition, Kennedy met the twenty-four hours before with the manufacturer to discourse the design of the set and placing of the cameras. Kennedy had spent early September candidacy in California and appeared sunburns, confident, and well-rested. He wore a bluish suit to assist him stand out. Nixon subsequently on wrote, “ I had ne’er seen him looking so fit. “ 2 Kennedy spoke straight to the cameras and the national audience while Nixon appeared to be reacting to Kennedy in a traditional argument manner.

Peoples that heard Nixon on the wireless thought that he won the argument. The people that watched the argument on telecasting saw how ailing Nixon appeared and how discomforted he was by Kennedy ‘s assurance and visual aspect. Among telecasting viewing audiences Kennedy had won the argument. The arguments accelerated Democratic support for Kennedy, but it was non the turning point of the election. The arguments besides did non merely hold an impact on the 1960 election but besides on other states as good. Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, and Japan started arguments between rivals to national office after the Great Debates were televised.

Kennedy ended up with 303 electoral ballots, Nixon with 219, and Byrd with 15. In 1960, 537 electoral ballots were available and 269 ballots were needed to procure the win. For popular ballot Kennedy had 49.7 % while Nixon was right behind him with 49.5 % . Byrd merely had 0.8 % . The election was a close one and kept altering through the dark. Kennedy ended up winning Illinois and Texas which Nixon thought he had. In the terminal Nixon could non even give his ain grant address. He was tired and sent Kennedy a congratulatory wire. Kennedy was disgusted and said, “ He went out, the manner he came in — no category. “ 3

There were rumours that the Democrats had stolen ballots in Illinois, Texas, Missouri, and New Mexico. Nixon refused to name for a recount, stating it would do a constitutional crisis. Subsequently, as statements arose about fraud and other things, Nixon merely accepted that he lost and got his helper to read this statement to the imperativeness, “ The frailty president ran the race, and he accepts the determination of the electors. The determination on Tuesday stands. ” 4

One of the closest elections in American history was held in 1960 between Kennedy and Nixon. That election introduced televised presidential arguments, an event that would play a major function in future presidential political relations.

1 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/Campaign+of+1960.htm

2 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php? entrycode=kennedy-nixon

3 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36425-2000Nov16? language=printer

4 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36425-2000Nov16? language=printer

Sites:

1. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36425-2000Nov16? language=printer

2. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.historycentral.com/elections/1960.html

3. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Byrd_Harry_Flood_1887-1966

4.http: //www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/Campaign+of+1960.htm