The Election Of 1960

The election of 1960 was one of the most dramatic elections in American history. Until the halted recount in the election of 2000, it was the closest  Presidential election in our lifetimes.  This riveting multimedia presentation features amazing anecdotes, entry insights, and numerous fascinating film clips to help put this most momentous campaign into perspective.

Richard M. Nixon was coming off of eight years serving as vice president to Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the most popular Republican presidents of all time. Nixon had experience in domestic and foreign policy and was a veteran of many tough campaigns. Still very young, he offered a new face for the Republican Party’s future. He became the first sitting vice president to earn his party’s nomination since John C Breckenridge exactly 100 years earlier.

John F. Kennedy was only a few years younger than Richard Nixon, whom he considered something of a friend. Kennedy was seen as a lightweight in the Senate, according to the Democrat’s Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson. JFK was criticized for proposing no major legislation during his Senate tenure.

Significantly, John Kennedy often missed long stretches of time in the Senate due to surgeries and hospitalizations. However, the Massachusetts senator was a war hero, handsome, charismatic, and a best-selling author. He had to defeat several older and much better-known Democrats (including Adlai Stevenson, Lyndon Johnson, and Hubert Humphrey to earn the nomination.

And then came the campaign for president! Nixon’s national reputation vs. Kennedy’s cool and charisma. With polls showing just a slight Nixon lead throughout the summer, the two men agreed to something that had never happened before: a series of presidential debates. Those debates turned the course of the election and changed politics. They demonstrated the importance of television in future campaigns. Throw into the mix the rest of Martin Luther King Jr., Nixon’s phlebitis, Kennedy’s mafia connections, mystery votes in Illinois, and odd campaign choices by Nixon, and you have the makings of a fascinating campaign!