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Presidental Election of 1960
At the start of the 1960 campaign, John F. Kennedy was a long shot to win the Democratic nomination because of his Catholicism and his relatively undistinguished record as a senator. Democrats remembered Al Smith's disastrous run in 1928, and they worried that a Catholic candidate would have trouble gaining votes outside of heavily Catholic urban areas in the northeast and midwest. Religion was a controversial issue throughout the campaign, and Kennedy constantly struggled against anti-Catholicism. Critics insisted that a Catholic president would have to follow the pope's orders, particularly on issues of public funding for parochial schools and contraception. Kennedy reassured voters that he would act according to the dictates of his conscience, not those of the Church. In a speech he gave to a group of Protestant ministers in Houston, Kennedy insisted that he was the Democratic candidate who happened to be Catholic, not the Catholic candidate.
Kennedy used the primaries to gain the confidence of Democratic delegates. His victory over Hubert Humphrey in Wisconsin and in heavily Protestant West Virginia helped answer concerns that he couldn't win. JFK ultimately secured the nomination on the first ballot at the Democratic convention in Los Angeles and choose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate.
Vice President Richard M. Nixon easily won the Republican nomination, and he and running mate Henry Cabot Lodge led in the polls on Labor Day. During the campaign, Nixon stressed his superior foreign policy knowledge and political experience. However, he was hurt by both an economic recession and the U-2 incident. The turning point of the campaign came on September 26, when Kennedy and Nixon debated in front of 70 million television viewers.
Television viewers thought Kennedy looked well rested and photogenic. Nixon, on the other hand, appeared tired on television, and many people thought his five-o'clock shadow made him appear sinister. Polls showed that radio listeners believed that Nixon had "won" the debate, while television viewers thought Kennedy had been superior.
The "Checkers Speech" saved Nixon's career, what was left of it.. Eisenhower kept him on the ticket just because of his looks and he went on to serve eight years as Vice President. He wanted to win by a lot. In 1960 Nixon ran for President, losing a close race to John F. Kennedy. The smell of hope. He was paranoid. Two years later he lost a bitter race for Governor of California to Pat Brown and retired from politics, telling the press, "There is always next year. He was paranoid.
people and to get his point across. With logos he uses inductive reasoning by talking about actual facts and cases like when he says “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms – and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.”(Miss, Daly, Pg. 202-203). In this phrase he is talking about the cold war and the stuff that has been going on with Russia. He is showing the world he wants to promote peace and he want to fix the relationship between America and Russia. Another example of logos in this speech which is deductive reasoning is when he says “those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside,” (Miss, Daly, Pg. 202). Which he talks about communism and the spread of communism. He also uses quotes from the bible. “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” (Miss, Daly, Pg. 203). John F Kennedy was catholic and that was one of his biggest obstacles in the race because a lot of people did not like the idea of a catholic President but by quoting the bible he connect himself to the Christian people in the U.S. through religion and make them feel better about their choice of voting for him. Along with ethos and logos in his speech John F Kennedy also
Both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were elected to Congress at 46, a year in which the New Deal took a serious beating as the Republicans regained control of Congress on the slogan Had Enough? Nixon, of course, had campaigned against incumbent Jerry Voorhis on an anti-New Deal platform, but it's often forgotten that when JFK first ran for the House in 1946, he differentiated himself from his Democratic primary opposition by describing himself as a fighting conservative. In private, Kennedy's antipathy to the traditional FDR New Deal was even more extensive. When Kennedy and Nixon were sworn in on the same day, both were already outspoken on the subject of the emerging Cold War. While running for office in 1946, Kennedy proudly told a radio audience of how he had lashed out against a left-wing group of Young Democrats for being naive on the subject of the Soviet Union, and how he had also attacked the emerging radical faction headed by Henry Wallace.
Kennedy was elected president in the year of 1961. Which was during the time that the Cold War was in full swing. The Cold War being the tension filled era between the superpowers in the east and the superpowers in the west. Contrary to the other two presidents, JFK was not speaking to the American public at the time of the war 's conclusion but right near the middle of the 40 plus year issue. Regardless he was assuring the public. He stated, “...that the torch has been passed to a new generation of American-”. That optimism cannot be matched. Even at the darkest of times could he stand up there, the president of the United States, and tell the young people of America that their time is now. Not only that but he attempts to inspire Americans when he says “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”, which was definitely a knock at the Russians. JFK overall had this persona about him. This was the speech where muttered that historic and uplifting quote, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” His message of peace and coexisting really stand the test of
In his final words, he said that how the winner of the election would be remembered as President would be the way that they represented the ideals of the American people. The. The moderator then ended the debate and said goodbye. Kennedy went on to win the election, but only by a slim margin. The debates of the 1960 Presidential election were written as a new precedent for political candidates, and the candidates involved showed courage and character to give their words in front of a national audience.
This political shift was materialized with the advent of the Southern Strategy in which Democrat president Lyndon Johnson’s support of Civil Rights harmed his political power in the South, Nixon and the republican party picked up on these formerly blue states and promoted conservative politics in order to gain a larger voter representation. Nixon was elected in a year drenched in social and political unrest as race riots occurred in 118 U.S cities at the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s murder, as well as overall American bitterness due to the assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and the extensive student-led activist opposition to the Vietnam War.
The election of 1896 was between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. William McKinley was the republican candidate for president and William Jennings Bryan was the democratic candidate. Both candidates had different campaign styles and different supporters. Big businessmen supported McKinley and most common men supported Bryan. William McKinley’s campaign style was a front porch campaign while Bryan had a moving campaign. Mark Hanna played an important role as William McKinley’s campaign manager. In the end, William McKinley beat William Bryan in the presidential election.
Kennedy gained the support of African American voters. Many will argue that this support started when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested. John F. Kennedy spoke to Coretta Scott King about her husband’s release from prison. “‘He was in contact with officials in Georgia during my arrest and he called my wife, made a personal call and expressed his concern and said to her that he was working and trying to do something to make my release possible,’” (CNN) said Dr. King on an audio tape. This wasn’t the only contribution Kennedy made to the Civil Rights Movement during his campaign. John F. Kennedy spoke out on the issues pertaining to African Americans. This included desegregation, racial tension in the workplace and poor living conditions. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum) African Americans saw that Kennedy was willing to end the racial tensions in the South and other places in the country as president. Many felt as though the issue was very important in Kennedy’s eyes and that he would bring real change for African Americans. This was very important because when the 1960 Nixon and Kennedy election came around, almost 70% of African American votes went to Kennedy. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum) Without the support of African Americans and non-white races, John F. Kennedy might not have won. According to a Gallup statistics report, Kennedy dominates Nixon with support from non-white voters, 68 to 32. However, Nixon wins with
"The U.S. presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John Anderson."(USPE1980, 1) By the beginning of the election season, the lengthy Iran hostage crisis sharpened public perceptions of a crisis. In the 1970s, the United States was experiencing a wrenching episode of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, intermittent energy crises. This added to a sense of discomfort that in both domestic and foreign affairs the nation was headed downward. With candidates and their reasons why they should be president, who would win the 1980 presidential election?
American Decades, in their article “Catholics and Politics,” highlights the idea that JFK was the second Roman Catholic to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party. He was the first Roman Catholic to be elected but “his success raised questions about religious tolerance in the United States.” Many were opposed at first to his presidency and thought his views would be swayed because of the fact that he was Catholic. But he shocked the world with this quote: “"I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President, who also happens to be Catholic."” This evidence suggests that JFK was a very influential president and had many supporters but kept going even though the nay-sayers made themselves evident.
In John F. Kennedy’s speech he spoke on many different points and promised many different things. The first words that he spoke were saying how this was not a loss for any particular party, but a win for freedom. He told the people that we are a country shaped from wars, a country changed by peace that we had to fight for, a country that is proud of where we have come from. As country we will not let those who are struggling in poverty in the country and outside of the country be alone; we will try to help. John F. Kennedy states
their vote, and a hole is punched into a ballot where the space for the
Kennedy always saw the belief the people had in him. Everyone looked up at the family to see what they were doing and tried to do whatever they were doing. He acknowledged all the things he had to do and made it pretty clear that he received good respect from his voters. He gave power to the people. When people looked up at him, they saw how much he cared.
This all happened a week after President Johnson officially signed the Voting Rights Act. Within the following year, a good amount of liberals were kicked out of Congress. Sadly, America was becoming a more divided country than it had ever been. Television began growing in this era, where the first presidential election was broadcast in 1960 with President John F. Kennedy, and Vice President Richard Nixon who was the republican nominee. After Nixon had lost, the book describes the events through both John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy.
When John F. Kennedy won the 1961 election by just eighty six electoral votes, the world was fascinated. As he stood on the podium in Washington D.C., preparing to give his inauguration speech, everyone tuned in to what he had to say. As he began speaking, everyone was hearing his words and soon, people were calling it one of the best written inaugural speeches ever written. Kennedy was able to connect to our country by using an emotional appeal to pull his message, successfully, off. Whether you were a hawk, a dove, or somewhere in between, John F. Kennedy saw you and seemed to speak directly to you during his inaugural address. For that reason, as he stood up there and spoke, the world listened and started to take note of our new President of the United States. By creating an emotionally persuasive speech, Kennedy went from having barely fifty one percent approval rating to skyrocketing to a seventy six percent approval rating, all with his inaugural speech.