In 1960 after President Eisenhower was ending his term, many people were feeling anxious because the economy was not doing well, and people were fearing that the United States military was starting to lag behind the Soviet Union.
Massachusetts senator, John Kennedy was the nominee for the Democrats and and Vice President Richard Nixon was his republican opponent. The two men had very similar views on the various issues, but what helped Kennedy most was the civil rights issue and televised debates.
On September 26, 1960 both Nixon and Kennedy took part in the first televised debate for presidential candidates. Although voters worried that he did not have enough experience, only being 43, on the television he presented charisma to the public eye. Nixon used Kennedy's age and inexperience to his advantage during this time but the voters were swayed towards Kennedy because of his charm, and eloquence when he spoke. The other thing that helped Kennedy was the civil rights issue. When Martin Luther King was arrested and sentenced, Eisenhower and Nixon did nothing, while Kennedy called King's wife to show his sympathy and later, with the help from his brother, managed to get King out on bail. This event got all of the southern African- American votes to Kennedy and made Kennedy the 35th president of the U.S.
Kennedy was not many votes ahead of Nixon, but when he was inaugurated, the public had fallen in love with him and his family because of their charm and intelligence and had a great effect on the nation. After people found out how fast Kennedy could read, thousands of people were enrolling in reading courses. Many women took after Jacquelin's fashion style. The public was so amused by their family life, and with some of the best advisers around him, Kennedy was said to be a current day, Camelot.
This has a lot of stuff on the elections, but not enough focus on the "Camelot Years" and the Kennedys' relationship with the press.
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