John F. Kennedy 1960 presidential campaign
The 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, then junior United States senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on January 2, 1960, as Senator Kennedy announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1960 presidential election.
John F. Kennedy for President 1960
John F. Kennedy
U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
(1953–1960)
Lyndon B. Johnson
U.S. Senator from Texas
(1949–1961)
Announced: January 2, 1960
Official nominee: July 15, 1960
Won election: November 8, 1960
Inaugurated: January 20, 1961
A Time For Greatness
We Can Do Better
Leadership for the 60s
Kennedy was nominated by the Democratic Party at the national convention on July 15, 1960, and he named Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as his vice-presidential running mate. On November 8, 1960, they defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon and United Nations Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. in the general election. Kennedy was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, and would serve until his assassination on November 22, 1963. His brothers Robert and Ted would both later run for president in 1968 and 1980 respectively, but neither received the presidential nomination.
Announcement[edit]
On January 2, 1960, Kennedy formally announced that he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., and stated that he would participate in multiple primaries, including New Hampshire.[17] He also stated that he would not accept the vice presidential nomination and would rather stay in the Senate if he lost the presidential nomination.[18] Kennedy filed to run in the New Hampshire primary on January 8, being the only major candidate to do so along with minor candidate Paul C. Fisher.[19]
Kennedy established his campaign headquarters at 260 Tremont Street, a 12-story commercial building in Boston.[20][21] He named his younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, as campaign manager.[22]
Issues[edit]
Civil rights[edit]
On the issue of civil rights, Kennedy had scanted firsthand experience of the severity of southern life. He circumvented the national debate over equal rights by approaching the subject as a local issue. Robert Kennedy later reflected, "We weren't thinking of the Negroes of Mississippi or Alabama—what should be done for them. We were thinking of what needed to be done in Massachusetts."[23] According to author Carl M. Brauer, Kennedy's goal was to neutralize the civil rights issue and avoid splitting the party before the 1960 election.[24]
A crucial issue in the 1960 campaign, Kennedy faced the challenge of promoting policies that white southern Democrats supported while, at the same time, courting black voters away from the Republican Party. Just a few weeks before the election, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Atlanta for a sit-in and sentenced to four months hard labor. Though politically risky, Kennedy phoned Coretta Scott King, to express his concern, while a call from Robert Kennedy to the judge helped secure King's safe release. The Kennedy brothers' personal intervention led to a public endorsement by Martin Luther King Sr., who had supported Nixon earlier in the campaign. The publicizing of this endorsement, combined with other campaign efforts, contributed to increased support among black voters for Kennedy, which was pivotal in the swing states of Illinois, Michigan and South Carolina that JFK carried.[25][26] In 1956, Adlai Stevenson won 61 percent of the African American vote; in 1960, Kennedy received 68 percent.[27]
Cold War[edit]
The issue that dominated the election was the rising Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1957, the Soviets had launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. Soon afterwards, some American leaders warned that the nation was falling behind communist countries in science and technology. In Cuba, the revolutionary regime of Fidel Castro became a close ally of the Soviet Union in 1960, heightening fears of communist subversion in the Western Hemisphere. Public opinion polls revealed that more than half the American people thought that war with the Soviet Union was inevitable.[25]
Kennedy took advantage of increased Cold War tension by emphasizing a perceived "missile gap" between the United States and Soviet Union. He argued that under the Republicans, the nation had fallen behind the Soviet Union, both militarily and economically, and that, as president, he would "get America moving again."[28][25] He proposed a bi-partisan congressional investigation about the possibility that the Soviet Union was ahead of the United States in developing missiles.[29] He also noted in an October 18 speech that several senior U.S. military officers had long criticized the Eisenhower administration's defense spending policies.[25]
Analysis[edit]
The closeness of the 1960 presidential election can be explained by a number of factors.[97] Kennedy benefited from the economic recession of 1957–1958, which hurt the standing of the incumbent Republican Party, and he had the advantage of 17 million more registered Democrats than Republicans.[98] Furthermore, the new votes that Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic president, gained among Catholics almost neutralized the new votes Nixon gained among Protestants.[99] Kennedy's campaigning skills decisively outmatched Nixon's, who exhausted time and resources campaigning in all fifty states, while Kennedy focused on campaigning in populous swing states. Kennedy emphasized his youth, while Nixon focused heavily on his experience. Kennedy relied on Johnson to hold the South, and used television effectively. Although 70 percent of the nation's newspapers backed Nixon,[100] Kennedy won a key endorsement from The New York Times.[101] Many working journalists, including Joseph Alsop and Ben Bradlee, enjoyed close friendships with Kennedy. Phil Graham of The Washington Post said that he and Alsop were "idolatrous" toward Kennedy.[102]
The NES survey reported that in the South, Kennedy received the support of 52% of white voters and a majority of black voters. The highest amount of Democratic defection in the South was among Protestants who attended church regularly.[103]
