1960 election and precidency basics

Question 1

What were Kennedy’s advantages against Nixon?

Answer 1

• Young, taller, better-looking, more charismatic, better suited to TV debates
• Had a more impressive war record saving crewmates compared to Nixon’s desk job

Question 2

Why was Nixon a good candidate, and why did he fail?

Answer 2

• More experienced and a crafty politician, but didn’t fully take advantage of Kennedy’s catholicism
• Bad TV debate- was ill, rundown from campaigning and had bad makeup

Question 3

What were the results of the 1960 election?

Answer 3

Kennedy won the popular vote and the electoral college, but Nixon won more states:
- Kennedy: 49.72% of votes, 303 EC, 22 states
- Nixon: 49.55% of votes, 219 EC, 26 states

Question 4

Why did Kennedy win?

Answer 4

• Had looks charisma and money from his father
• Played on his heroism during the war and attacked Republicans record on defence, pushing the idea of the ‘Missile Gap’
• Ike didn’t counter the claim

Question 5

How did Kennedy counter his inexperience?

Answer 5

Having LBJ on his ticket- a highly experienced Senator

Question 6

How did Kennedy win the black vote?

Answer 6

• Won it 70/30
• Partly due to his phone call the MLK’s wife when King had been arrested during the Atlanta sit-in and helped secure his release
• Nixon hoped to win over Southern whites by his running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge, promised black cabinet members

Question 7

Who won the debate?

Answer 7

Radio listeners favoured Nixon, whilst the 74 million TV viewers overwhelmingly favoured JFK

Question 8

Who did Kennedy appoint to his administration?

Answer 8

• A new generation of like-minded people from academia and other areas to bring a fresh approach
• Controversial = Bobby Kennedy, JFK’s youngest brother, as Attorney General
• Robert McNamara: President of Ford, taught accountancy at Harvard
• Sargent Shriver: key member of Kennedy’s inner circle (brother-in-law). Key figure in the creation of the Peace Corps
• McGregor Bundy: National Security Advisor- former Harvard dean
• Dean Rusk: Sec of State, often clashed with Kennedy
• Douglas Dillon: Republican Treasury Secretary

Question 9

What were the ideas behind the ‘New Frontier’?

Answer 9

• Equivalent to the New Deal
• Plant to tackle ‘unsolved problems’: ignorance and prejudice; peace and war
• Kennedy aimed to tackle poverty
• Wanted to tackle uncharted areas such as space and science
• Was it all for sound-bites and good intentions or a sound basis of a legislative programme