The 1960 Presidential Election in the United States was a very close contest in which Democrat John F. Kennedy defeated Republican Richard M. Nixon. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... Order: 37th President Vice President: Spiro Agnew (1969–1973), Gerald R. Ford (1973–1974) Term of office: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 Preceded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford Date of birth: January 9, 1913 Place of birth: Yorba Linda, California Date of death: April 22...

Republican Nomination

Democratic Nomination

Kennedy and Richard Nixon shake hands before one of the 1960 televised debates.

In 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States. In the Democratic primaries he defeated challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee in 1952 and 1956 who was not officially running but was a favorite write-in candidate. Kennedy won key primaries in Wisconsin and West Virginia. In the latter state, Kennedy made a visit to a coal-mine, and talked to the mine workers to win their support, as most people in that conservative, mostly Protestant state were deeply suspicious about Kennedy being a Catholic. Kennedy emerged as a universally acceptable candidate for the party after that victory. Public domain image, distributed widely. ... Public domain image, distributed widely. ... Hubert Horatio Humphrey II (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was the 38th Vice President of the United States, serving under President Lyndon Johnson. ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969). ... Portrait of Adlai Stevenson Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and statesman, noted for his skill in debate and oratory. ...

On July 13, 1960 the Democratic convention nominated Kennedy as its candidate for president. Kennedy asked Johnson to be his Vice Presidential candidate, despite clashes between the two during the primary elections. He needed Johnson's strength in the South. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, Cuba, and whether or not both the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the U.S. To allay fears that his Roman Catholicism would impact his decision-making, he said in a famous speech in Houston, Texas (to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association), on September 12, 1960, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters - and the Church does not speak for me." [1] Downtown Houston City nickname: Space City Official website: www. ...

In September and October, Kennedy debated Nixon in the first televised US presidential debates. During the debates, Nixon looked tense, sweaty, and unshaven compared to Kennedy's composure and handsomeness, leading many to deem Kennedy the winner, although historians consider the two evenly matched as orators. The debates are considered a political landmark: the point at which the medium of television played an important role in politics and looking presentable on camera became one of the important considerations for presidential and other political candidates. John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debate in 1960 Every presidential election in the United States, the two main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two main parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) engage in a debate. ...

Kennedy's victory depended on the catholic vote in big cities, such as Richard J. Daley's Chicago. Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an Irish-American politician who served as Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee from 1953 and Mayor of Chicago from 1955, retaining both positions until his death in 1976. ...

Campaign

Results and Voting Patterns

References

• White, Theodore H. The Making of the President 1960 (1961) classic study.
• Miller, John E. "The Making of Theodore H. White's "The Making of the President 1960." Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999