THE ELECTION OF S HISTORY  POLITICS OF THE 1960S SALSBERRY

WHAT WAS AT STAKE? PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER  Republican  Not eligible to run again

SIMILARITIES WHERE THEY AGREED  Belief in the threat of communism  The need to strengthen military  Economy needed to also strengthen Left: Potato, Right: Potato

THE CANDIDATES JOHN F. KENNEDY (D)  Senator (MA) RICHARD M. NIXON (R)  Vice President

KENNEDY’S PLATFORM / ISSUES PLATFORM  America was falling behind the Soviet Union  Economically  Militarily  The Republicans were to blame  America needed to “get moving again” ISSUES  Separation of church and state  Civil rights issues “Leadership for the 60’s”

SPUTNIK, MISSILES, CUBA...

NIXON’S PLATFORM / ISSUES PLATFORM  Continue the “peace and prosperity”  Kennedy was too young and inexperienced ISSUES  Emphasis on private industry  Decreased government spending

THE CAMPAIGNS KENNEDY’S CAMPAIGN  Well organized  Well funded NIXON’S CAMPAIGN  Unrealistic  Unorganized  Unlucky

THE GREAT DEBATE OF 1960 THE FIRST TELEVISED DEBATE  September 26, 1960  70 million viewers  Nixon thought he would be able to reveal Kennedy’s inexperience  Kennedy spoke and looked better than Nixon  This launched a new era in American politics: the television age

KENNEDY WINS! TWO DETERMINING FACTORS  Debate performances  Kennedy’s stance on civil rights

THE NUMBERS JOHN F. KENNEDYRICHARD M. NIXON Electoral vote States carried2226 Popular vote34,220,91134,108,157 Percentage49.7%49.6%