The Election Of 1960 Essay Research Paper

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The Election Of 1960 Essay, Research Paper

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The presidential election that took topographic point in 1960 was an interesting 1. Newcomer, John F. Kennedy verses the Vice President, Richard M. Nixon. It was experimental with its trail of televised arguments. It besides marked the second in which a Catholic had run for president and more significantly the first in which a Catholic attained triumph.

John F. Kennedy, of Irish decent, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29,1917. He entered the Navy, after graduation from Harvard in 1940. In 1946, place from World War II, Kennedy became a Democratic Congressman and in 1953, he joined the Senate. A & # 8220 ; privileged blue blood, & # 8221 ; his male parent & # 8217 ; s wealth and influence contributed mostly to Kennedy & # 8217 ; s political calling. 1 John & # 8217 ; s male parent, Joseph Kennedy was a self-made millionaire. & # 8220 ; In Joseph & # 8217 ; s political calling, he accompanied President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, as the president of the new Securities and Exchange Commission. Joseph was besides president of the Maritime Commission and from 1937- 1940, he was ambassador to Great Britain. & # 8221 ; 2 John & # 8217 ; s female parent, Rose ( Fitzgerald ) Kennedy, was girl to John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston. John & # 8217 ; s paternal gramps, Patrick J. Kennedy, had served in the Massachusetts Senate.

Richard Milhouse Nixon was born of a Quaker household on January 9,1913 in Yorba Linda, California. He graduated 2nd in his category from local Whittier College in 1934 and subsequently graduated 3rd in his category from Duke University Law School. From there Nixon joined a jurisprudence house, and so briefly worked for the tire-rationing subdivision of the Office of Price Administration, in Washington, D.C. Eight months into World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and moved to the Pacific to go a supply officer. 3 Soon after his return place from World War II he entered political relations as a Republican Anti-Communist. Nixon won the race for California Congressman over Democrat Jerry Voorhis. He became a junior member of the House Committee on Un-american Activities. In 1950, at the age of 35, Nixon was a & # 8220 ; national figure, & # 8221 ; and once more experient triumph in his race for senator.4 After merely a twelvemonth and a half as Senator, he was selected by the Republican National Convention as frailty presidential running mate to Eisenhower, and.served two footings as Vice President.

In the election of 1960, many Democratic leaders entered the race for their party, because of increased bulks in the Senate ( 64 Democratic seats to 32 Republican seats ) and House ( 283 Democratic seats to 153 Republican seats ) . However, & # 8220 ; John F. Kennedy & # 8217 ; s impressive public presentation and reelection as Senator of Massachusetts in 1958, made him the Democratic front-runner. & # 8221 ; 5 Other Democratic campaigners were Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Stewart Symington of Missouri, Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, and Senate bulk leader, Lyndon Johnson. Kennedy had faced obstructions in disputing his oppositions, all of who were more powerful than he, and had & # 8220 ; longer, more distinguished political careers. & # 8221 ; 6 Another factor against Kennedy was his Roman Catholic background, but his & # 8220 ; primary triumph in overpoweringly Protestant West Virginia helped to refute the claim that a Catholic could non win. & # 8221 ; 7 Merely one time had a Catholic of all time been nominated, Governor Al Smith of New York, in 1928, but Smith was easy defeated. Kennedy & # 8217 ; s response to inquiries about his faith was, & # 8220 ; Cipher asked if I was Catholic when I joined the United States Navy & # 8230 ; Cipher asked my brother if he was Catholic or Protestant before he climbed into an American bomber to wing his last mission. & # 8221 ; Although proud of his faith, he would non be influenced by Catholic philosophy in his determinations as president. 8

& # 8220 ; On the Republican ballot was Richard Milhouse Nixon, frailty president to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York besides ran on the Republican ticket. Although, Rockefeller influenced the party platform by naming for stronger defence plans, faster buildup of missiles, reinforced civil rights steps, and a governmental encouragement to the economic system, proposals of which Nixon subsequently accepted. Rockefeller withdrew, non holding much of a opportunity against Nixon. & # 8221 ; 9 Nixon had the power to be a great president even though he did non look that manner. Even with Nixon & # 8217 ; s experience as the frailty president, I guess that was non plenty for the American electors.

The nomination conflict ended go forthing two influential work forces standing, Democrat John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Republican nominee Richard Milhouse Nixon. Moss says of their similarities, & # 8220 ; Nixon was a moderate conservative with broad inclinations. Kennedy was a moderate broad with conservative inclinations. Both were cold warriors. Both accepted the basic construction of the New Deal public assistance province. Both advocated civil rights and believed in strong presidential term. Both were immature work forces, Nixon, 47 and Kennedy, forty-three. & # 8221 ; 10

Kennedy asked his last minute competition, Lyndon Johnson, who had entered the race as Democrat after the primaries to be his running mate, ignoring the & # 8220 ; high degree of animus between them. & # 8221 ; 11 & # 8220 ; Kennedy needed Johnson to obtain Texas and keep the South, in order to get the better of Nixon in the November election. & # 8221 ; 12 His platform was that of the & # 8220 ; New Frontier, & # 8221 ; as promised by Kennedy, & # 8220 ; with its unknown chances and hazards & # 8230 ; It sums up non what I intend to offer to the American people but what I intend to inquire of them. & # 8221 ; 13 Other facets of the Democratic platform included an involvement in civil rights and a promise of & # 8220 ; strong, presidential leadership. & # 8221 ; 14 The 160 Democratic Platform was dubbed & # 8220 ; The rights of Man. & # 8221 ; 15

& # 8220 ; Nixon named Henry Cabot Lodge, embassador to the United Nations and former Massachusetts Senator, as his Vice Presidential choice, after audience with Republican, party leaders. & # 8221 ; This was a pick made with consideration of foreign personal businesss in head. The subject of the platform, as stated by Nixon was, & # 8220 ; the race for endurance, & # 8221 ; the development of a scheme for international peace and freedom. 16

Many assumed that Nixon would easy get the better of Kennedy. However, Kennedy & # 8217 ; s popularity increased after the campaigners participated in four nationally televised arguments. The arguments, which took, topographic point between September 26 and October 21, were the first presidential arguments to be broadcast on telecasting. The first argument that took topographic point on September 26 brought the largest audience, estimated at 75 million viewing audiences in 30 million places. Kennedy & # 8220 ; dominated the event, & # 8221 ; by moving & # 8220 ; magnetic, smiling and spiting facts like a machine gun. 17 When the inquiries came Kennedy was ready for them. He replied to the inquiries of his experience and makings of office, & # 8216 ; by indicating out that his experience in authorities was equal to length to that of Nixons doing him every bit qualified. & # 8221 ; Kennedy proposed to the viewing audiences, & # 8220 ; that the United States as a state, was non populating up to its full potency, and that it was clip to make something about it. & # 8221 ; 18

Nixon had refused to have on make-up, looking, & # 8220 ; Haggard, about ghostlike. & # 8221 ; 19

In his responses, he came of as, & # 8220 ; awkward and defensive, & # 8221 ; fighting to & # 8220 ; do a good impression. & # 8221 ; 20 Nixon had a tough clip replying to inquiries of his claims to & # 8220 ; superior policy-handling accomplishment, & # 8221 ; because of President Eisenhower & # 8217 ; s confession that he had ne’er adopted any of Nixon & # 8217 ; s policy proposals as frailty president or adviser. 21 Although he agreed with Kennedy that the United States should be traveling frontward, Nixon disagreed that the state had non been productive plenty, standing by Eisenhower & # 8217 ; s growing record. Though the September 26 argument was a floating-point operation for Nixon he impr

oved in the three that would follow, and took a “slight advantage overall, ” but could non “recover from the injury of his visual aspect on the first debate.” 22 First feelings ever seem to lodge with people for a piece.

The issues in the arguments were non good represented, and no differentiations between each parties stance on them really stood out. Merely Nixon & # 8217 ; s claim that the Democratic platform would consequence the revenue enhancement remunerator & # 8217 ; s current rate by an addition of $ 18 billion, while Republicans passing addition if elected, would be under $ 5 billion. 23 In mention to the arguments, they were & # 8220 ; basically popularity competitions, whose results depended on the decorative factors of personality and appearance. & # 8221 ; 24

Although it had non played a function in the televised arguments, in 1960, foreign policy was an influential issue of argument, as it had been in 1952 and 1956. Nikita Khruschev, foremost secretary of the Communist party appeared at the United Nations in New York for a figure of hebdomads during the run. She served as a & # 8220 ; changeless reminder of the U-2 incident, the stillborn acme meeting, and the canceled visit to Japan. & # 8221 ; 25 At a Moscow imperativeness conference, Khruschev had referred to Eisenhower as & # 8220 ; spineless, & # 8221 ; and held him responsible for & # 8220 ; intentionally bust uping the acme meeting. & # 8221 ; 26 Khruschev had besides demanded a new acme conference and externally opted to run into with a Democratic President. Eisenhower besides lost points with the Soviets when his invitation to see Japan was withdrawn by Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Kishi feared for Eisenhower & # 8217 ; s safety after, & # 8220 ; a crowd of 10 thousand intoning pupils in Tokyo blocked the motorcade of presidential progress adult male James Hagerty outside the airdrome, coercing the Nipponese authorities to deliver him from the rabble by helicopter. & # 8221 ; 27 Upon his return to the U.S. , Eisenhower had explained to the American people that the Communists had gone to & # 8220 ; great lengths and disbursals to make upsets in Tokyo. & # 8221 ; In mention to Eisenhower & # 8217 ; s statement, Divine points out that, & # 8220 ; Despite this effort to fault the Soviets, the disposal could non conceal the arresting blow to American pride. & # 8221 ; 28

The concluding yearss taking up to Election Day were eventful 1s. Kennedy became progressively popular due to his new thoughts, as Kennedy provinces, & # 8220 ; to acquire America traveling again. & # 8221 ; This captured the populace & # 8217 ; s attending, & # 8220 ; a populace that was digesting approximately joblessness in a recession and increasing in their credence of alteration. 29 Kennedy & # 8217 ; s popularity was besides a consequence of his civil rights action, helping Martin Luther King in his release from gaol, where King more than probably would hold been killed. Kennedy besides promised to subscribe an executive order criminalizing segregation in federally subsidised lodging. King & # 8217 ; s release and Kennedy & # 8217 ; s assure brought Kennedy the winning border in Texas and North Carolina and most of the northern black inner-city ballot. Thankss to the energetic candidacy of Eisenhower in those concluding yearss, Nixon excessively, was good received. 30

Kennedy won with a 313-219 lead over Nixon in electoral ballots, but & # 8220 ; out of a record of 68 million ballots cast, Kennedy & # 8217 ; s border of triumph was about 118,000. & # 8221 ; 31 Kennedy had taken 49.7 % of the popular ballot over Nixon & # 8217 ; s 49.5 % , a close election. Kennedy & # 8217 ; s large wins included New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts, heavy with electoral ballots, whereas Nixon & # 8217 ; s triumphs in California and Ohio could non do up electorally where all of his smaller wins were missing. 32 Republicans merely gained 22 seats in the House and 2 in the Senate. The Democratic Party was popular at the clip, go forthing them with big bulks in the House and Senate. 33 The concluding result of the election was that, & # 8220 ; many electors had spilt their tickets in 1960. Millions of the Republicans, many of them Catholics, voted for Kennedy. Millions of Democrats, largely Protestants, voted for Nixon. & # 8221 ; 34 & # 8220 ; The 1960 run had broken all records for support and distances traveled. Nixon runing in all 50 provinces, and Kennedy going over 100,000 stat mis in a family-leased jet. & # 8221 ; It is said to be, & # 8220 ; the toughest presidential election in modern American political history. & # 8221 ; 35.

Through my research, I have learned that presidential elections can really posses more involvement than meets the oculus. What I found most interesting was the prejudice of a presidential campaigner due to his faith, in the instance of the Election of 1960, the prejudice of John F. Kennedy & # 8217 ; s Catholicism. Never before this election were electors challenged with get the better ofing their stereotypes or could electors be given recognition for establishing their determination on more than a adult male & # 8217 ; s spiritual beliefs. However, there were many electors that were influenced by this entirely, to the extreme that where Democrats voted Republican. I believe that times have changed, to the point that where faith would non hold that great of an impact on presidential choice. As a state, I think that we have become more open-minded, about some affairs, non all. Ignorance still lurks around every corner. I do non believe that I will of all time see the twenty-four hours when a adult female or a minority is of all time elected president. Peoples tend to vote traditionally. So that is likely why there will ne’er be a adult female or minority as President of the United States. I have besides concluded that Kennedy & # 8217 ; s good expressions were in big portion responsible for his triumphs in the televised arguments. I suspect that many electors likely disregarded the issues in the run and voted entirely on visual aspect in the 1960 election, a possible ground to be consistent throughout clip.

Sing that I was non alive and my parents were both under three old ages old I thought it would be interesting to inquire my grandma her positions on the Election of 1960.

I asked her who and why she voted for. She told me that she voted for Kennedy. When I told her that many people think Kennedy won due to his good expressions she said, & # 8220 ; That is foolish and that is non why I voted for him. & # 8221 ; She told me her grounds included he was immature, he was Catholic, he was Massachusetts, he had been in political relations all his life and she liked his positions. One major ground she voted for him was because, & # 8220 ; I thought Nixon could non be trusted. I could non swear him every bit far as I could throw him. & # 8221 ; She believed that Kennedy was the best adult male for the occupation. When I asked her what she thought about the televised arguments she said, & # 8220 ; There were interesting, you could see the reactions on their faces. Not like on the wireless you could non see their emotions and facial expressions. & # 8221 ;

Bibliography

Boyer, Paul S. Promises to Keep: The United States Since World War II

Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.

David, Paul T. The Presidential Election and Transition 1960-1961.

Washington, D.C. : The Brookings Institution, 1961.

Divine, Robert A. Foreign Policy and U.S. Presidential Elections 1952-1960

New York: Franklin Watts, Inc. , 1974.

Kennedy, John F. White House

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/jk35.html

Moss, George Donelson. America In the Twentieth Century. Fourth Edition.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.

Nixon, Richard Milhous

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cwu.edu/~millerj.writings/nixon.html

Robinson, Lloyd. The Hopefuls: Ten Presidential Campaigns. New York:

Doubleday, 1966.

Roseboom, Eugene H. A History of Presidential Elections: From George Washington To

Richard M. Nixon. London: Macmillan, 1970.

Sevareid, Eric. Candidates 1960. New York: Basic Books, Inc. , 1959.

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