Election of 1960 & Camelot Years

The race for candidacy between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon was a close one. Nixon had the advantage of experience because he was the Vice President and had hoped to win by "riding on the coattails" of President Eisenhower's popularity. Kennedy was young, at age 43, but he had the support of African Americans and he was handsome and charismatic. His looks and charisma became of vital importance when the debates were televised. Nixon had hoped to show Kennedy's lack of experience in the debate on television on September 26, 1960, but Kennedy had the upper hand, having been coached by t.v. producers. The television age of politics proved to help Kennedy's campaign greatly. He was a better public speaker than Nixon and he looked better on the television, and the American public loved him for it. Kennedy's African American support came from his sympathy to the civil rights movement. When Martin Luther King Jr. was sentenced to an unfair punishment for a minor traffic violation, the Eisenhower administration did not intervene, and Nixon took no position on the matter. Kennedy took the time to call King's wife and let her know of his sympathy. His brother and campaign manager, Robert Kennedy convinced the judge who had ruled Martin Luther King Jr.'s case to let him out on bail. This act of support of civil rights was enough to swing many of the African American votes towards Kennedy's campaign. Kennedy ended up winning by less than 119,000 votes.
Kennedy's presidency fascinated the American public. His family became iconic, a role model for all American families. The newspapers and popular magazines were full of articles about the Kennedy's, stories of their kids and of Jacqueline Kennedy, the first lady. Jackie was loved by the public for her sense of style and beauty. She wowed people with her knowledge of languages, like french, and taste in music. The Kennedy term was nick-named the camelot years, in comparison to the court of King Arthur. One of John F. Kennedy's secret weapons was his team of advisors. This included McGeorge Bundy as national security advisor, Robert McNamara, the president of Ford motor company, as his secretary of defense, and Dean Rusk as the secretary of State. His brother Robert was the attorney general.

By Jennah