John F. Kennedy

==1960 presidential election==
{{main|John F. Kennedy 1960 presidential campaign}}
{{see also|1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1960 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Leadership for the 60s - John Fitzgerald Kennedy.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1960 presidential campaign poster]]
On January 2, 1960, Kennedy announced his candidacy for the [[1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic presidential nomination]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45981265/progress-bulletin/ |title=Sen. John Kennedy Formally Enters Presidential Race |date=January 2, 1960 |work=Progress-Bulletin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200302155308/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45981265/progress-bulletin/ |archive-date=March 2, 2020 |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Though some questioned Kennedy's age and experience, his charisma and eloquence earned him numerous supporters. Kennedy faced several potential challengers, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, [[Adlai Stevenson II]], and Senator [[Hubert Humphrey]].{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|pp=38–45}}

Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support. His campaign strategy was to win several primaries to demonstrate his electability to the [[party boss]]es, who controlled most of the delegates, and to prove to his detractors that a Catholic could win popular support.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hilty |first1=James |title=Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector |date=2000 |publisher=Temple University Press |pages=135–136}}</ref> Victories over Senator Humphrey in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries gave Kennedy momentum as he moved on to the [[1960 Democratic National Convention]].{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|pp=38–45}}

When Kennedy entered the convention, he had the most delegates, but not enough to ensure that he would win the nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 1960 Democratic Presidential Race |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/1960-democratic-presidential-race/ |website=PBS American Experience |access-date=November 21, 2023 |archive-date=October 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017204758/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/1960-democratic-presidential-race/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Stevenson—the 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee—remained very popular, while Johnson also hoped to win the nomination with support from party leaders. Kennedy's candidacy also faced opposition from former President [[Harry S. Truman]], who was concerned about Kennedy's lack of experience. Kennedy knew that a second ballot could give the nomination to Johnson or someone else, and his well-organized campaign was able to earn the support of just enough delegates to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot.{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|pp=45–47}}

Kennedy ignored the opposition of his brother Robert, who wanted him to choose labor leader [[Walter Reuther]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://time.com/3491219/behind-the-picture-jfk-and-rfk-los-angeles-july-1960/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114201919/http://time.com/3491219/behind-the-picture-jfk-and-rfk-los-angeles-july-1960/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 14, 2014|title=Head to Head: JFK and RFK, Los Angeles, July 1960|last=Cosgrave|first=Ben|date=May 24, 2014|website=Time Magazine|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> and other liberal supporters when he [[Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, 1960|chose Johnson]] as his vice-presidential nominee. He believed that the Texas senator could help him win support from the [[Southern United States|South]].{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|p=47}} In accepting the presidential nomination, Kennedy gave his well-known "[[New Frontier]]" speech: <blockquote>For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won—and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier. ... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.<ref name="JFKlibrary.org Accepting Dem Nom Pres">{{cite web | title = Address of Senator John F. Kennedy Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United States | url = http://www.jfklibrary.org/About-Us/News-and-Press/Press-Releases/50-Years-Ago--Senator-John-F-Kennedy-of-Massachusetts-Wins-Presidential-Nomination-at-Democratic-Nat.aspx | date = July 15, 1960 | first = John F. | last = Kennedy | publisher = [[John F. Kennedy Library|John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]] | access-date = August 2, 2016 | archive-date = September 19, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160919103436/https://www.jfklibrary.org/About-Us/News-and-Press/Press-Releases/50-Years-Ago--Senator-John-F-Kennedy-of-Massachusetts-Wins-Presidential-Nomination-at-Democratic-Nat.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref></blockquote>

At the start of the fall general election campaign, the Republican nominee and incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon held a six-point lead in the polls.{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|p=49}} Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, the [[Cuban Revolution]], and whether the space and missile programs of the Soviet Union had [[missile gap|surpassed]] those of the U.S. To address fears that his being Catholic would impact his decision-making, he told the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12: "I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkhoustonministers.html | title = Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association | access-date =September 17, 2007 | last = Kennedy | first = John F. | date = June 18, 2002 | work = American Rhetoric | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802122054/http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkhoustonministers.html | archive-date=August 2, 2016}}</ref> He promised to respect the [[separation of church and state]], and not to allow Catholic officials to dictate public policy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Casey |first1=Shaun A. |title=The Making of a Catholic President: Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960 |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York City}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lacroix |first1=Patrick |title=John F. Kennedy and the Politics of Faith |date=2021 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence |pages=21–44}}</ref>
[[File:Kennedy Nixon Debat (1960).jpg|thumb|Kennedy and Richard Nixon participate in the nation's second televised [[United States presidential election debates#1960 Kennedy–Nixon debates|presidential debate]], {{Circa|October 7, 1960}}.]]

The Kennedy and Nixon campaigns agreed to a series of [[1960 United States presidential debates|televised debates]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |title=Campaign of 1960 |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/campaign-of-1960 |website=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=October 15, 2023 |archive-date=October 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017205150/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/campaign-of-1960 |url-status=live }}</ref> An estimated 70 million Americans, about two-thirds of the electorate, watched the first debate on September 26.<ref name="museum.tv">{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=kennedy-nixon |title=THE KENNEDY-NIXON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES, 1960 – The Museum of Broadcast Communications |publisher=[[The Museum of Broadcast Communications]] (MBC) |access-date=October 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821064309/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=kennedy-nixon |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kennedy had met the day before with the producer to discuss the set design and camera placement. Nixon, just out of the hospital after a painful knee injury, did not take advantage of this opportunity and during the debate looked at the reporters asking questions and not at the camera. Kennedy wore a blue suit and shirt to cut down on glare and appeared sharply focused against the gray studio background. Nixon wore a light-colored suit that blended into the gray background; in combination with the harsh studio lighting that left Nixon perspiring, he offered a less-than-commanding presence. By contrast, Kennedy appeared relaxed, tanned, and telegenic, looking into the camera whilst answering questions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Selverstone |first1=Marc J. |title=The Campaign and Election of 1960 |url=https://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/campaigns-and-elections |website=University of Virginia: Miller Center |date=October 4, 2016 |access-date=October 29, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429092444/https://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/campaigns-and-elections |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> It is often claimed that television viewers overwhelmingly believed Kennedy, appearing to be the more attractive of the two, had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) thought Nixon had defeated him.<ref name="museum.tv"/><ref>{{cite episode|title=Nixon|series=American Experience|series-link=American Experience|network=[[PBS]]|station=[[WGBH-TV|WGBH]]|date=October 15, 1990|season=3|number=2|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/nixon/|access-date=June 15, 2022|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615213326/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/nixon/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|title=JFK (Part 1)|series=American Experience|network=PBS|station=WGBH|date=November 11, 2013|season=25|number=7|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/jfk/|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-date=September 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925003921/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/jfk/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, only one poll split TV and radio voters like this and the methodology was poor.<ref name="dbk1">{{cite journal | url = https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0362331916300556 | title = Debunking Nixon's radio victory in the 1960 election: Re-analyzing the historical record and considering currently unexamined polling data | last1 = Bruschke | first1 = John | last2 = Laura | first2 = Divine | date = March 2017 | journal = The Social Science Journal | volume = 54 | issue = 1 | pages = 67–75 | doi = 10.1016/j.soscij.2016.09.007 | s2cid = 151390817 | access-date = October 22, 2022 | archive-date = October 22, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221022224031/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0362331916300556 | url-status = live }}</ref> Pollster [[Elmo Roper]] concluded that the debates raised interest, boosted turnout, and gave Kennedy an extra two million votes, mostly as a result of the first debate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=White |first1=Theodore H. |title=The Making of the President, 1960 |date=1961 |page=294}}</ref> The debates are now considered a milestone in American political history—the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role.<ref name="Jean3">{{cite web | url = http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1967/mar-apr/smith.html | title = Kennedy and Defense The formative years | access-date = September 18, 2007 | last = Edward Smith | first = Jean | date = March 1967 | work = Air University Review | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081212113925/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1967/mar-apr/smith.html | archive-date = December 12, 2008 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

[[File:ElectoralCollege1960.svg|thumb|1960 presidential election results]]
Kennedy's campaign gained momentum after the first debate, and he pulled slightly ahead of Nixon in most polls. On [[Election Day (United States)|Election Day]], Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century. In the national popular vote, [[United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote#1960 Alabama results ambiguity|by most accounts]], Kennedy led Nixon by just two-tenths of one percent (49.7% to 49.5%), while in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], he won 303 votes to Nixon's 219 (269 were needed to win).{{sfn|Dudley|Shiraev|2008|p=83}} Fourteen electors from Mississippi and Alabama refused to support Kennedy because of his support for the [[civil rights movement]]; they voted for Senator [[Harry F. Byrd]] of Virginia, as did an elector from Oklahoma.{{sfn|Dudley|Shiraev|2008|p=83}} Forty-three years old, Kennedy was the [[List of presidents of the United States by age|youngest person]] ever elected to the presidency (though [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was a year younger when he succeeded to the presidency after the [[assassination of William McKinley]] in 1901).{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=21}}