1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
1960 presidential election in the United States is one election that will remain a reference in the history of America. That was an election which featured two Senators with the win ceded to the one currently serving, the first Catholic to win a presidential election in the United States, John F. Kennedy.
This race to the White House pitched between a serving Vice President, Richard Nixon as the Republican Party’s candidate and the Democratic Party candidature of John F. Kennedy, put a thin line between a win and a loss, even at the final popular vote count; what made the big difference was the electoral votes which tilted in the favor of the man that eventually became the 34th president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy.
There were many sides to look at the US presidential elections of 1960. One side is the religious view where it came as shock to opponents that it was possible for a Catholic to win the US presidential elections at that time. The sitting Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, was more convinced than not that it was impossible for a Catholic to win despite his observation that it was “a terrible thing to hold a man’s religion against him in a country whose very existence is based on freedom of religion”. That stance was changed by Kennedy’s straightforward way of handling issues which pertain to religion in Houston. At that point, Rayburn became a strong campaigner for Kennedy, the Democratic candidate. This is an illustration of religious prejudices that were against the candidature of Kennedy which eventually turned in his favor.
1. Voters Turnout
The level of turnout of voters for the 1960 US presidential election is an item that cannot be overlooked when the subject is brought up. In the history of presidential elections in the US, the number of eligible voters who cast their votes during the 1952 election which was estimated at 62.7% is a reference point to high voter turnout. However, stopping there and judging that election as the most remarkable isn’t fair if the turnout of voters for the election which partly made John F. Kennedy the 34th president of the United States is not mentioned; the estimated percentage of voters was 64.3%, slightly above that of 1952, but one which is a big difference in an election that was close to call as that.
2. The Surge in Southern Voters Turnout
The Southern states of Texas and Chicago, under the heavy political influence of Mayor Richard Daley amongst others were seen to turn in a considerably higher number of votes from enthusiastic voters than ever. Texas turned in one of the highest number of college votes, being responsible for 24 out of the 303 total in favor of the democrats.
3. The Fight between Policy Issues and Personality
If there was any candidate to emulate in the use of personality to win the race to the White House, John F. Kennedy is the man to give it to. Kennedy had the power of great speeches, thanks to his writer, Ted Sorensen, which was a controlling factor over the American populace. His speeches all through the period of campaigns were pledges of getting American moving again; his inaugural speech after being elected president was what partly spun the Peace Corps into action in the defense of freedom in its hour of maximum danger.
Despite being faced with the challenge of an unsympathetic Congress and a Republican opposition which looked stronger than him, Kennedy was successful at playing down partisan politics in favor of his economic policies by a speech he delivered at Yale in 1962.
Kennedy is being referred to as the celebrity president; he has become a model that many presidential hopefuls in the United States seek to emulate in style.
) Stability and change in 1960: A Reinstating Election. Philip E. Converse, Angus Campbell, Warren E. Miller, Donald E. Stokes. The American Political Review Vol.55, No. 2(Jun., 1961), pp. 269-280
2) Election of 1960: John Woolley, Gerhard Peters
3) The Religious Factor in the 1960 Presidential Election: An Analysis of the Kennedy victory over anti-Catholic prejudice. Albert J. Menendez. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., ©2011
4) Rewind TV: Any Human Heart; Mandelson: The Real PM? JFK: The Making of Modern Politics; Peep Show: Phil Hogan. Sunday 28 November 2010
5) BBC: JFK and the celebrity presidency
