The Presidential Election of 1960 (1960-1963)

Question 1

How many votes separated the two candidates in the 1960 election?

Answer 1

119,450

Question 2

Who was JFK’s running mate?

Answer 2

Lyndon B Johnson, an experienced Texas Senator who strongly campaigned for him in the South

Question 3

What were Kennedy’s strengths in the election?

Answer 3

• He was a tall, good-looking war hero
• He had 13 years of experience in Congress and 7 in the Senate
• He had strong support from the Catholics and Nothern Democrats
• He appealed to the black voters
• His father was wealthy and had connections

Question 4

What is the Bible belt?

Answer 4

An informal term which refers to the socially conservative and protestant Southern states and parts of the Midwest

Question 5

Why was JFK’s religion a weakness for him?

Answer 5

• His being Catholic weakened his campaign in the Bible Belt
• Two months before the election, he spoke to some protestants in Houston and promised to keep Church and State separate
• Psephologists believe that his Catholicism cost him 1.5 million votes

Question 6

What were Nixon’s strengths?

Answer 6

• 13 years of experience in Congress and 8 years as Ike’s VP
• He was very anti-communist
• He was experienced in foreign policy
• He pledged to campaign in every state
• He had strong support from California (his home state)

Question 7

What was the difference between JFK and Nixon’s time at war?

Answer 7

• JFK was a war hero and had rescued several of his teammates when a Japanese destroyer rammed into his ship while he was serving in the Navy. He then swam from island to island until he got help
• Nixon only worked in logistics

Question 8

How did JFK portray the republicans?

Answer 8

He made an effort to portray Nixon and Ike as having neglected America’s defence and allowing a missile gap to form between the US and the USSR

Question 9

How was Ike involved in Nixon’s campaign?

Answer 9

He became increasingly vocal in his support for Nixon and his involvement helped erode some of the gains JFK made in the televised debates

Question 10

Why did Kennedy win the 1960 election?

Answer 10

• He won the black vote after he called MLK’s wife while he was imprisoned during an Atlanta sit-in (he took the black vote by 70:30)
• His success in the televised debates

Question 11

How many televised debates were there?

Answer 11

4

Question 12

Why was Kennedy so successful in the televised debates?

Answer 12

• He looked tan as he had been campaigning in Florida before, and his blue suit was a good contrast to the grey background
• Nixon had just been recovering from the flu due to his campaigning and got a knee injury while campaigning in North Carolina
• Nixon also looked really sweaty and his stubble was very visible

Question 13

What were the results of the 1960 election?

Answer 13

• JFK won with 303 electoral votes (Nixon had 219) and 49.7% of the popular vote (Nixon had 49.6%)
• 62.8% of the population voted in this election

Question 14

How old was JFK when he won the elections?

Answer 14

43 (Nixon was 47)

Question 15

What were some important lines in JFK’s 1961 inaugural speech?

Answer 15

• ‘The torch has been passed down to a generation of new Americans’
• ‘Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country’

Question 16

What was the ‘Best and Brightest’?

Answer 16

JFK’s “best and brightest” were a group of highly educated and talented advisers who helped shape his administration’s policies in defense, economics, and foreign affairs

Question 17

Who were some people in JFK’s ‘Best and Brightest’?

Answer 17

• LBJ - chosen as VP after failing to win the Democratic nomination (he balanced the ticket)
• Sargent Shriver - driving force behind the Peace Corps
• Robert McNamara - head of the Department of Defense
• Dean Rusk - Secretary of State
• McGeorge Bundy - United States National Security Advisor
• Bobby Kennedy - JFK’s younger brother and Attorney General

Question 18

What was JFK’s domestic policy called?

Answer 18

The ‘New Frontier’

Question 19

How many ‘New Frontier’ bills had been passed by 1963?

Answer 19

35/58 that JFK had submitted for congressional approval had been passed

Question 20

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact the economy?

Answer 20

• A new Housing Act was introduced which created 420,000 construction jobs
• The increased minimum wage gave workers $175 million more
• $200 million was spent on extra welfare benefits that applied to 750,000 children
• $780 million was spent in increased unemployment benefits which helped three million Americans

Question 21

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact workers?

Answer 21

• A 1962 Executive Order was established which provided federal employees with collective bargaining rights
• The 1962 Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act established standards for working hours and safety
• A 1962 Fair Labor Standards Act was also created

Question 22

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact health?

Answer 22

• A Healthcare Bill for the elderly (Medicare) was created
• The Social Security Act of 1963 saw millions of children vaccinated
• The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1963 tightened federal regulations on therapeutic drugs

Question 22

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact welfare?

Answer 22

• Social security benefits were increased by 20%
• A School Lunch Act provided free lunches and milk for poor school kids
• A food stamp programme was launched which fed 1/4 of a million people
• The benefits system was extended to cover five million more Americans

Question 23

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact education?

Answer 23

• The 1963 Vocational Education Act increased vocational training
• The Educational Television Facilities Act of 1962 saw money provided to aid the use of TV in education
• The govt provided grants to construct facilities for those training to be healthcare providers ($2000 per annum was supplied for the training)

Question 24

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact housing?

Answer 24

• $3.19 billion was spent on JFK’s housing programme
• Urban renewal grants went up from $2 million to $4 million
• 100,000 new homes were constructed

Question 25

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact the environment?

Answer 25

• 1963 Clean Air Act
• National Park System was expanded
• Doubled the funding for the prevention of water pollution

Question 26

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact women’s rights?

Answer 26

• The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women was established in December 1961 with Eleanor Roosevelt as its chair
• The commission issued a report in 1963 titled ‘American Woman’ where they highlighted the discrimination of women in the workplace
• JFK signed the Equal Pay act in June 1963 (allowed 171,000 women to reclaim pay which amounted to $84 million over the next 10 years)

Question 27

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact civil rights?

Answer 27

• Civil Rights Bill introduced in 1963
• Voter Education Project launched in 1962
• Discrimination in public housing was banned
• The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was forced to desegregate interstate travel

Question 27

How did the ‘New Frontier’ impact the Space Race?

Answer 27

• An additional $9 billion was given to NASA to get a man on the moon by the end of the ’60s
• During JFK’s presidency, around 6 astronauts were successfully put in space

Question 28

Why did the ‘New Frontier’ not have as much success as the ‘New Deal’?

Answer 28

• There were foreign policy concerns (like in Cuba) which took up JFK’s time
• He was a first-term president
• He was a Northern Democrat and knew of the dangers of his party splitting due to civil rights (Dixiecrats)

Question 29

How does JFK’s presidency tend to be remembered?

Answer 29

A triumph of style over substance

Question 30

How do historians view Kennedy?

Answer 30

A ‘nearly man’