Election+of+1960

=**The Election of 1960**=


 * The Election was held November 8,1960**


 * Before the election of 1960, president Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House.**

Before the Election of 1960 there were many global issues and events that had occurred. There had been many wars and disputes between the U.S. and other various countries. Some of the major wars include World War 2 and The Korean war. Through struggles of the Axis's and Allies and their many powers, Dwight Eisenhower had to make sure that the U.S. didn't crumble. There was also the very close threat of a nuclear war with Korea during the Korean war. However Dwight Eisenhower did fight to keep the country and the government together and keep it stable. Another issue that was reoccurring was that of civil rights. While Eisenhower was president he tried to promote the end to Civil rights. He worked to help outlaw segregation and declared that racial discrimination was a national security issue. He believed in integrating all black and white school children, and even sent the U.S. Airborne division to escort and protect 9 black students so they could go to a white public high school. He proposed 2 other civil rights acts and was even written too by Martin Luther King Jr., who thanked him for his actions. Although some issues were rough, America still managed to keep moving forward up until the new election.
 * Before the Election :**

For the 1960 Election the candidates for each party include:

Democrat Party:
John F Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts Wayne Morse, U.S. senator from Oregon Hubert Humphrey, U.S. senator from Minnesota Lyndon B Johnson, U.S senate majority leader from Texas Stuart Symington, U.S. senator from Missouri Adlai Stevenson U.S. former governor of Illinois Harry Byrd Us Senator from Virginia

Republican Party:
Richard Nixon, U.S. vice president from California Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York Barry Goldwater, U.S. senator from Arizona

During the election of 1960 there was some controversy over the election of candidates. Kennedy received a challenge from Lyndon B Johnson to engage in a political debate on T.V.before the Texas and Massachusetts delegations. Also Kennedy surprised many people by asking Lyndon B Johnson to be his running mate. in the election. A disagreement was that Johnson felt that Kennedy thought that he was anti labor and anti liberal.
 * Controversies:**


 * The major issues focused on during the election of 1960 were:**


 * Civil Rights
 * Economy
 * National defense
 * and later Religion

===Civil Rights: John Kennedy was striving for equal rights for all African Americans. After a civil rights march in Georgia, Reverend Martian Luther King Jr. was arrested. Kennedy's campaign took this as an advantage to them. John F. Kennedy called the local political authorities to get MLK released from prison, he even called King's father and wife. As a result of this King's father decided to endorse Kennedy, and because if this Kennedy became the favored candidate among the black community. Nixon did not become evolved, which in the long run would hurt him.===

===Economy: There was much concern about the national debt. The main issue however in this election was how to make the economy accessible to more people. Both candidates argued as to what was to be done in order to increase economic growth and prosperity. The main people they wanted to make the economy more accessible was to the minorities. Nixon put an emphasis on private industry and decreased government spending. Kennedy talked about developing a "New Frontier." He had ideas of new technologies and advancements in space exploration. However both candidates talked of a brighter future.===

===National Defense: Because it was the cold war they needed a strong national defense to promote freedom and democracy in the world. They needed to reorganize the army, and strengthen the army altogether.===

===Religion: religion became an issue in the campaign because Kennedy would be the 1st elected catholic president. Many people were afraid that if Kennedy was elected president then he would take orders from the pope in Rome. This however, would not be the case. Kennedy made it very clear that he would respect the separation of church and state. In a televised appearance JFK let the audience know that he was absolutely against federal funding of parochial schools, and that the Constitution was above the church when it came to politics. After this televised appearance he eased many worries people may have had with the issue of religion. His appeal to the voters was then improved.===



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* **Blue** **shows states that were won by Kennedy/Johnson, Red states that were won by Nixon/Lodge. Orange shows the states with electoral votes for [|Harry F. Byrd]. Numbers point out the amount of electoral votes given to each state.**=====

The Results:** The night of the election was one of the most famous election nights in history. The election was also the closest one in history. Kennedy was in the lead starting out, but once the midwestern votes started coming in Nixon soon caught up. They were head to head for much of the time. It was a very close race until Kennedy gained the most popular votes and was announced president of the United States at midnight.

Electoral Votes: Nixon 219 Kennedy 303

Popular Vote:

Nixon: 34,108,157 Kennedy:34,220,984

=​~Fakebook Page~ =

**__Biblography__**
"United States Presidential Election, 1960." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"56a. The Election of 1960." //The Election of 1960 [ushistory.org]//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"1960 Presidential Election." //1960 Presidential Election//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"1960 Kennedy v. Nixon." //1960 Kennedy v. Nixon//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .