In January of 1960, John F. Kennedy announced his presidential candicy. Kennedy had to redouble his efforts because of the widespread belief that a Roman Catholic candidate would not be elected. His chief rivals for the democratic party nominations were Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota and Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. He illiminated Humphrey out of the campaign and shattered the religious taboo by presenting a speech about the seperation of church and state before a group of Protestant ministers in Boston. He was nominated in the first ballot and chose Johnson as his running mate. The democratic ticket had a chance to win.
Kennedy's main campaign issues were unemployment, the slow growth rate of the economy, the nuclear arms race, and the newly communist government in Cuba.
As a candidate of economic growth Kennedy promissed to increase the gross national product (GNP) to annual gains of more than 5%, pointing out that in the last two years of the Eisenhower administration the average growth in the GNP had been under 3%.
Kennedy told the American people that because of the Eisenhower administration, the U.S. had lost its leadership to the Soviet Union. He offered Americans a world secured by American Power. He orated:
"I ask you to join me in a journey inot the 1960s, whereby we will mold our strenghts and become first again. Not first if. Not first but. Not first when. But first period. I want the people of the world to wounder not what Mr. Khrushchev (Soviet Premier) is doing. I want them to wounder what the United States is doing."
He blamed the republicans for letting Cuba go "Red" he warned that Cuba was a "dagger" pointed in the heart of America.
Kennedy won the general election narrowly, by a margin of 118,550 out of the total 68,335,642 votes cast, against the Republican candidate, Vice President Richard Nixon. A majority deciding factor in the campaign was a series of four televised debates. The debates were handled firmly by both men, showing a firm grasp on the issues, but Kennedy's good looks and his personal poise convinced many viewers that he had won the debates.
John F. Kennedy became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected president. His administration lasted 1,037 days.
See also: The Election
- Assasination - Bay
of Pigs - Civil Rights - Cuban Missile Crisis - Vietnam
