The kennedynixon debates not only had a major impact on the elections outcome, but ushered in a new era in which crafting a public image and taking advantage of media exposure became essential. The second in a series of debates between nixon and kennedy took place on october 7, 1960, at nbc studios in washington, dc. Wenger furniture and the 1960 presidential debate the. On this day in 1960, tens of millions of american viewers sat riveted by the fourth and final presidential debate between sen. The second and more important event was the kennedy nixon debate on september 26, the first of four televised generalelection presidential debates. Sep 26, 2019 kennedy and nixon square off in first televised presidential debate for the first time in u. Submit a comment cancel reply you must be logged in to post a comment. The first nixon kennedy debate led to a split outcome. The senator was complaining in a voice barely above a whisper of extreme. Both scholars and pundits agree that nixon won the debate on radio, but most important is that kennedy won on the emerging medium. Portraits of presidents, 11 entries in the bibliography, language. A teachers guide produced by the commission on presidential debates in. October 7, 1960 clip of presidential candidates debate this clip, title.
Richard nixon began to make eyes at southern racists, a flirtation that culminated in the southern strategy, and is beautifully described i. Kennedy and richard nixon said during the first televised presidentialelection debate. What effect did the kennedynixon debate have on the 1960 election. I used this debate in part because despite popular conceptions, there is no extant evidence that television images had any impact on audience reactions.
What happened during the debate previous vice president quaker the time period by. The following coursework deals with the first kennedy nixon debate that was broadcast live on television, on september 26th1960. Nixon sat down for the first of their round of debates to be held during their individual campaigns while running for presidency kennedy was a relatively unknown. Seventy million viewers watched the first televised american presidential debate, which pitted republican vice president richard nixon against democratic nominee john f. Kennedy and nixon both seated listen to 60 minutes founder don hewitt c, the producerdirector of the firstever televised presidential debate, during preparations one day before. Nixon sat down for the first of their round of debates to. I randomly assigned some participants to watch and. After the kennedynixon debates, it was 16 years before presidential candidates again debated each other face to face. It was the morning of 26 th september, 1960 when presidential candidates john f. Kennedy defeated incumbent vice president richard nixon, the republican party nominee. The living room candidate commercials 1960 debate 2.
Alvin spivak of united press international, and harold r. Using white house tapes, this book exposes richard nixons. October 7, 1960 among the issues discussed was the u2 incident involving francis gary powers that occured in may 1960, in the midst of the cold war. The first kennedynixon debate richard nixon foundation. With little more than a single unremarkable term in the u.
The night of the first kennedynixon debate, kennedy met with jacobson just a few hours before he took the stage. Sep 26, 2016 why trumpclinton debate may be biggest since nixonkennedy most presidential debates dont swing the race, but on monday night, donald trump vs. Democratic and republican presidential candidates jack kennedy, left, and dick nixon stand underneath glaring lights prior to beginning their 1st tv debate. Vice president richard nixon and massachusetts senator john f. During this interval intraparty debates were held during the 1968 democratic primaries, between robert f. I address this question by describing an experiment where participants either watched a televised version of the first kennedy nixon debate or listened to an audio version. This famous incident emphasizes how powerful body language can be when properly implemented. Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject american studies culture and applied geography, grade. In the first televised presidential debate, kennedy looked fit and tan. People always say the same thing, that those who watched it on tv thought kennedy won.
The first televised presidential debate on 26 sep 1960 preempted the andy griffith show, was watched by over 6570 million viewers, and is widely credited with erasing richard m. Kennedy, with his youthful good looks, and richard nixon, who, according to the president of cbs at the time, looked like death. Kennedy and richard nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in american history. The return of tricky dick after the somewhat fumbling handling of the first debate, richard nixon comes back. Kennedynixon kennedy nixon what is the purpose of the. In the kennedy nixon debate what was the purpose of the. Kennedy, richard nixon, and hans wegners pp 503 chairs. Kennedy and richard nixon and others, tired of media reports of fundraising and poll results instead of policy issues. Despite their popularity, no more debates were held for 16. Our campaigns event third kennedynixon debate oct, 1960. Using white house tapes, this book exposes richard nixon s dread of a kennedy restoration in 1972 drove the dark deeds of watergate. Tv debate makes kennedy a superstar, nixon a loser. This was the first election in which fifty states participated and the last in which the.
Kennedy and vice president richard nixon stood before an audience of 70 million americanstwothirds of the nations adult populationin the. The first kennedynixon debate i test the hypotheses in the context of a debate because it is an important political setting in which the impact of medium has received little explicit attention pfau and kang 1991, 115. Home jfk assassination kennedy presidency kennedy nixon debates the candidates on a 1960era television. Nixon was judged to have won two of them, with the final debate a draw. Up until this time, there had never been a presidential debate on live television. And thats quite the dandy little desk in front of the moderator there. Druckman tested our conventional wisdom about the power of looks in the nixon kennedy debates in a paper for the journal of politics.
Lindsey whitten the 1950s the 1960s how is it effecting us now. Wenger furniture and the 1960 presidential debate the mid. I think it unlikely in the extreme they would have tested his vice president the way they felt free to try to push the kid kennedy around. Oct 08, 2014 in listening to kennedy and nixon debate the issues of 50 years ago, it is hard to believe much of what they talked about then is still relevant in todays obama era.
In a closely contested election, democrat united states senator john f. At, you can see the view of every candidate on every issue. How televising presidential debates changed everything. Famously, the first time the american public got to do this was in 1960, when the first televised presidential debates let viewers see john f. How could he fulfill his promise to push legislation. Kennedy and richard nixon, the twoterm vice president, meet in the firstever televised presidential debate. Part 2 this transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate. Kennedy and nixon square off in first televised presidential debate for the first time in u.
The debate was called at the time the splitscreen debate because nixon and kennedy appeared in different news studios. I address this question by describing an experiment where participants either watched a televised version of the first kennedynixon debate or listened to an audio version. While nixon focuses on showing american growth of gross national product gnp during the current year and calls it a year of recovery, and claim such growth to be one of the highest in the world, kennedy does not focus on such growth but on how things are not working to its full capacity. The argument makes the claim that he is the better choice. Transcript of the first debate between presidential candidates richard nixon and john f. It was the first televised debate, and those who watched the debate felt kennedy won, due to his charisma and appearance. Kennedy dma and vice president richard nixon meet in chicago for the first of four presidential debates prior to the 1960 presidential election.
He recruited 171 students with no prior knowledge of the debates and provided them with some background on the election and still photos of the candidates. Kennedy of massachusetts and vice president richard m. Presidential debates in history bill of rights institute. Kennedy square off for the first televised presidential debate. Eight lessons for the presidential debates history.
Kennedy dma and vice president richard nixon meet via remote link for the third of four presidential debates prior to the 1960 presidential election. The country was engaged in a heated cold war with the soviet union, which had just taken the lead in the space race by launching the sputnik satellite. While nixon focuses on showing american growth of gross national product gnp during the current year and calls it a year of recovery, and claim such growth to be one of the highest in the world, kennedy does not focus on such growth but on how things are not. Fifty six years ago the firstever televised debate in u. Why trumpclinton debate may be biggest since nixonkennedy. Kennedy and nixon hold first televised debate, sept. Kennedy was a relatively unknown senator from massachusetts.
November, 1960 the candidates richard nixon john f. Why do you think that candidates in the nineteenth century tended to avoid direct. Nov 17, 2005 seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject american studies culture and applied geography, grade. Nixons purpose is no different from that of kennedy, he wants to be elected as the next president.
Why trumpclinton debate may be biggest since nixonkennedy most presidential debates dont swing the race, but on monday night, donald trump vs. Those who just listened to the debate on radio felt that nixon had more compelling arguments and. The candidates answer, or comment upon answers to questions put by a panel of correspondents. The television and radio stations of the united states and their affiliated stations are proud to provide facilities for a discussion of issues in the current political campaign by the two major candidates for the presidency. And that position is that the united states has a treaty a treaty with all of the organization of american states which prohibits us from interfering in the internal affairs of any other state and. Jun 09, 2010 october 7, 1960 among the issues discussed was the u 2 incident involving francis gary powers that occured in may 1960, in the midst of the cold war. The senator was complaining in a voice barely above a. Cbs produced the debate, under the direction of don hewitt, who would go on to be the. Its true that kennedys youth and charisma shone through on television. Kennedy debate it was the morning of 26th september, 1960 when presidential candidates john f. But for better and worse, the kennedynixon debates changed presidential.
For the first time, people were able to see the faces, reactions. Sep 23, 2016 famously, the first time the american public got to do this was in 1960, when the first televised presidential debates let viewers see john f. The second and more important event was the kennedynixon debate on september 26, the first of four televised generalelection presidential debates. The kennedynixon debates not only had a major impact on the. Oct 21, 2017 on this day in 1960, tens of millions of american viewers sat riveted by the fourth and final presidential debate between sen. On this day in 1960, some 77 million americans watched sen. The rise of fidel castros revolutionary regime in cuba had heightened fears about the spread of communism in the. Kennedy and richard nixon shake hands after their televised debate of october 7.
September 26, 1960 debate transcript commission on presidential. So, if you love politics you have heard the whole nixon looked sweaty in the debate, and that it was the turning point of the campaign. As a matter of fact in his book, the strategy for peace, he took the right position. And yet today almost no one remembers the issues the two men discussed. Nixon, with his fiveoclock shadow, looked nervous and pasty. Kennedy and eugene mccarthy, and again during the in 1972 democratic primaries, between george mcgovern, hubert humphrey and others. Kennedy and richard nixon shake hands after their televised debate of october 7, 1960. Nixon, wearing no makeup and a lightcolored suit that blended into the background, looked exhausted and pale, and sweated profusely. The 1960 united states presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election. Sep 23, 2016 first 1960 kennedy nixon televised debate. How the kennedynixon debate changed the world of politics. Other articles where kennedynixon debates is discussed. Apr 21, 20 the night of the first kennedynixon debate, kennedy met with jacobson just a few hours before he took the stage.
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