The historic 1960 presidential election pitted John F. Kennedy as a young, inexperienced Catholic against Richard Nixon, the incumbent Vice President of the popular Eisenhower administration. If Kennedy succeeded, the young senator from Massachusetts would be the youngest President ever elected into office as well as the first Catholic. As the Democratic candidate in the presidential race after eight years of Republican rule, Kennedy anticipated attacks on his party following Harry Truman's "loss" of China to Communism in 1949, portraying himself as a staunch Cold Warrior during the nuclear uncertainties of the 1960s. Framing much of his campaign in the context of Cold War rhetoric, his 1960 presidential run foreshadowed his zealous preoccupation with foreign policy while serving in the White House. As a political tool, Kennedy's Cold War campaign not only undermined both Nixon and the Republican party's handling of foreign affairs, but also reflected his deep-seated fears concerning the spread of communism world-wide and nuclear threats to America in the 1960s.
The political stances of Kennedy and Nixon regarding the military and technological ranking of the United States and Soviet Union in their 1960 campaigns varied greatly. Kennedy, in a position to criticize the previous administration, repeatedly questioned the preeminence of the United States, citing examples from the Space Race as well as an alleged "missile gap" with the Soviets. Speaking in front of such veteran organizations as Amvet and the VFW, he called for an across the board increase in military programs to strengthen defense forces under the communistic threat of both the Soviet Union as well as China. Nixon, on the other hand, maintained a sense of American military and technological superiority, defending his actions during the past eight years as Vice President. Because one of the biggest criticisms against Kennedy was his lack of political experience, he tried to use Nixon's encounters with foreign policy against him, citing such negative examples as his role on the National Security Council to discredit him. Several times throughout the campaign, Kennedy referenced Nixon's ill-fated comment during the Kitchen debates with Nikita Khrushchev where he stated that "you may be ahead of us in rocket thrust, but we are ahead of you in color television." Citing this remark in his November 3rd speech in Oklahoma City, Kennedy stated before a roaring crowd that he would 'take my television [in] black and white. I want to be ahead of them in rocket thrust." While his flippant commentary reflects a classic Kennedy charm and charisma, his argument to the audience hit home. If the United States wanted to maintain their international prestige into the 1960s, they had to increase their funding and programs in military, science, and technology. In a July 28th press conference, Kennedy noted the "belligerent and bellicose attitude displayed by the Communists in recent days and weeks... they believe that the balance of power is shifting in their direction." Utilizing Cold War fears to further his campaign, Kennedy continued to emphasize a perceived technological and military rift between the United States and the Soviet Union.
As the election drew closer, JFK's Cold War rhetoric steadily increased as he explored new battlegrounds around the globe, capitalizing on an expansion of the war waged against Communism as well as the nuclear anxiety of the time. He used developing nations as proxies in the ideological struggle between Communism and Capitalism world-wide, referencing the geographic areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia in various stump speeches. Although Kennedy's emphasis on science and technology as symbols of democracy for nations caught between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. did much to serve the interests of his campaign, he was also genuinely fearful of Cold War dichotomy and nuclear proliferation. In his speech at the American Legion Convention in Miami Beach, Kennedy said "I don't want to be the President of a nation perishing under the mushroom cloud of a nuclear warhead, and I intend, if President, or if I continue in the Senate, to build the defenses which this country needs, and which freedom needs." As his time in office eventually proved, Kennedy was indeed fearful of a nuclear holocaust between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., and rightly so. Such issues as the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises may have escalated to a nuclear war between the two superpowers if not for his even-tempered leadership.
This website is a collection of John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign speeches and their focus on Communism, containment, and the Cold War. Although the 1960 presidential campaign was rife with Cold War rhetoric from both candidates, Kennedy, as a young Democrat following the Eisenhower administration, had much to prove during this election. He capitalized on American fears during the height of the Cold War, continually calling for an increase in military spending as a preemptive defense against assertions of a Democrat who was soft on Communism after Truman's 1949 "loss" of China. The compilation of Kennedy's speeches, press conferences, and televised debates showcases his recurrent references to the military inferiority of the United States as a political tool that also echoed his genuine fearfulness of Cold War tensions in the nuclear age. This anthology is designed for an Honors level United States History II high school course, and is arranged chronologically to highlight the escalation of fears as the election drew closer and closer. Students will read, analyze, and compare the documents as they answer the discussion questions provided. At the culmination of the JFK unit, teachers may ask their students to go back and compare JFK's 196o presidential campaign with his later actions in the White House: how did his campaign foreshadow the various foreign policy crises he encountered while president?
The political stances of Kennedy and Nixon regarding the military and technological ranking of the United States and Soviet Union in their 1960 campaigns varied greatly. Kennedy, in a position to criticize the previous administration, repeatedly questioned the preeminence of the United States, citing examples from the Space Race as well as an alleged "missile gap" with the Soviets. Speaking in front of such veteran organizations as Amvet and the VFW, he called for an across the board increase in military programs to strengthen defense forces under the communistic threat of both the Soviet Union as well as China. Nixon, on the other hand, maintained a sense of American military and technological superiority, defending his actions during the past eight years as Vice President. Because one of the biggest criticisms against Kennedy was his lack of political experience, he tried to use Nixon's encounters with foreign policy against him, citing such negative examples as his role on the National Security Council to discredit him. Several times throughout the campaign, Kennedy referenced Nixon's ill-fated comment during the Kitchen debates with Nikita Khrushchev where he stated that "you may be ahead of us in rocket thrust, but we are ahead of you in color television." Citing this remark in his November 3rd speech in Oklahoma City, Kennedy stated before a roaring crowd that he would 'take my television [in] black and white. I want to be ahead of them in rocket thrust." While his flippant commentary reflects a classic Kennedy charm and charisma, his argument to the audience hit home. If the United States wanted to maintain their international prestige into the 1960s, they had to increase their funding and programs in military, science, and technology. In a July 28th press conference, Kennedy noted the "belligerent and bellicose attitude displayed by the Communists in recent days and weeks... they believe that the balance of power is shifting in their direction." Utilizing Cold War fears to further his campaign, Kennedy continued to emphasize a perceived technological and military rift between the United States and the Soviet Union.
As the election drew closer, JFK's Cold War rhetoric steadily increased as he explored new battlegrounds around the globe, capitalizing on an expansion of the war waged against Communism as well as the nuclear anxiety of the time. He used developing nations as proxies in the ideological struggle between Communism and Capitalism world-wide, referencing the geographic areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia in various stump speeches. Although Kennedy's emphasis on science and technology as symbols of democracy for nations caught between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. did much to serve the interests of his campaign, he was also genuinely fearful of Cold War dichotomy and nuclear proliferation. In his speech at the American Legion Convention in Miami Beach, Kennedy said "I don't want to be the President of a nation perishing under the mushroom cloud of a nuclear warhead, and I intend, if President, or if I continue in the Senate, to build the defenses which this country needs, and which freedom needs." As his time in office eventually proved, Kennedy was indeed fearful of a nuclear holocaust between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., and rightly so. Such issues as the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises may have escalated to a nuclear war between the two superpowers if not for his even-tempered leadership.
This website is a collection of John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign speeches and their focus on Communism, containment, and the Cold War. Although the 1960 presidential campaign was rife with Cold War rhetoric from both candidates, Kennedy, as a young Democrat following the Eisenhower administration, had much to prove during this election. He capitalized on American fears during the height of the Cold War, continually calling for an increase in military spending as a preemptive defense against assertions of a Democrat who was soft on Communism after Truman's 1949 "loss" of China. The compilation of Kennedy's speeches, press conferences, and televised debates showcases his recurrent references to the military inferiority of the United States as a political tool that also echoed his genuine fearfulness of Cold War tensions in the nuclear age. This anthology is designed for an Honors level United States History II high school course, and is arranged chronologically to highlight the escalation of fears as the election drew closer and closer. Students will read, analyze, and compare the documents as they answer the discussion questions provided. At the culmination of the JFK unit, teachers may ask their students to go back and compare JFK's 196o presidential campaign with his later actions in the White House: how did his campaign foreshadow the various foreign policy crises he encountered while president?
Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us
-John F. Kennedy