JFK vs. Nixon
By: Matt Bath & Douglas Terry
The Election:
- September 26, 1960.
- JFK and Nixon squared off in the 1st televised Presidential debate in American History.
- The 1st debate was 60 minutes long.
- At the debate Nixon looked sickly, sweaty, pale and underweight due to a recent hospitalization.
- At the debate JFK was calm and confident.
- This election was one of the closest elections in American History.
- During the 1960 Presidency Election the country was engaged in a heated Cold War with the Soviet Union.
- The Soviet Union had just taken the lead in the Space Race by launching Sputnik.
JFK's Presidency:
- JFK was the 35th President.
- He was the 1st Catholic President.
- He was the 2nd youngest American President in History.
- He confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba and Vietnam.
- He also led a renewed drive for Public Service. He eventually provided Federal support for the growing Civil Rights movement.
- JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963.