Masaryk University
The Issue of Civil Rights in the Campaign
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- 3.6West Virginia Primary
- 3.7Foreign and Domestic Affairs During Kennedy’s Campaign
- 3.8Sit-in Movements
3.5The Issue of Civil Rights in the CampaignKennedy delivered a few powerful speeches on civil rights. One of them was at the Jewish Reception Center on March 23, 1960. In this speech he stressed the importance of voting rights and the necessity to speed up school integration. He assigned a great responsibility to Congress, calling for their leadership in the matter of civil rights (Bryant 116 – 117). During his speeches regarding the issue of civil rights, Kennedy often criticized President Eisenhower for his lack of leadership in the field of civil rights. On August 2, 1960, Kennedy announced that the Civil Rights Section for his campaign had been established in order to focus “on the issue of civil rights – and working on all the problems involved in that field will be a representative group of people of all races and creeds from all section of the country” (Kennedy, “Statement of Senator John F. Kennedy on Civil Rights Section” par.1). 3.6West Virginia PrimaryWest Virginia, a rural state with high unemployment and low average income, was another important test for Kennedy. As the West Virginia primary approached, it was clear that Kennedy’s Catholicism was a very influential issue in this state. When he found out he was losing votes due to his religion, he decided to deliver a speech regarding his religion on television, in which he emphasized that nobody was concerned about his religion when he served the country in the Navy during the Second World War. Kennedy’s arguments proved to be influential because eventually he won the primary election in West Virginia. He beat Humphrey “receiving over sixty per cent of the votes” (O’Brien 455). It was a decisive victory for Kennedy because Humphrey withdrew from the contest and Kennedy believed that the issue of his religion had been dealt with “once and for all” (Kenney 42). His victories in West Virginia and Wisconsin “reduced his party’s fears about the political liability of his religion” (Brauer 30). The issue of race was not discussed much during the West Virginia primary. 3.7Foreign and Domestic Affairs During Kennedy’s CampaignThe American-Soviet relations deteriorated considerably when Nikita Khrushchev announced on May 5, 1960 that an American U-2 spy plane had been shot down over Soviet airspace. This initiated one of the biggest crises of the Cold War. It also had an impact on the presidential election in the USA. Foreign affairs became the most prominent issue and there were other candidates – Lyndon B. Johnson, William S. Symington and Adlai E. Stevenson – who were favored in this field more than John Kennedy. On July 2, former President Truman called on Kennedy and asked him to once again consider his candidacy. Truman stated that due to the complicated situation in the international political scene he would favor a more “mature” and “experienced” president (Dallek, Unfinished Life 260). Apart from Kennedy’s Catholicism, his previous silence during the McCarthy affair and his voting on civil right issues, his youth was also another obstacle Kennedy had to overcome. He defended himself publicly. In his memorable speech he named significant American presidents35 who, despite their young age, had achieved great things. Kennedy was in a difficult situation regarding the civil rights issues because he was under pressure from the Southern Democrats who strongly opposed any changes regarding segregation but on the other hand, African Americans and civil rights advocates were calling for firmer actions on civil rights. Kennedy was well aware of the fact that his chances in the South were quite weak, especially with the growing popularity of Lyndon B. Johnson, who was from Texas. Kennedy needed to obtain support from black Democrats, most of whom were quite “suspicious” about Kennedy (Bryant 127). In the speech delivered in Baltimore on May 13, Kennedy criticized Eisenhower for his “failure of a firmer moral leadership on civil rights” (ibid.). He promised equal opportunities to all Americans if he became president. In the speech performed at the National Democratic Club in New York on June 17, 1960, Kennedy proposed the “idea of using executive order to enact a reform. He called for a presidential action in education, voting and public accommodations and federally funded housing” (ibid. 130). Harris Wofford arranged a private breakfast between Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Kennedy and the civil rights leader met for the first time face to face on June 23, 1960. During their conversation, Kennedy confessed that “it was only in recent months he had come to comprehend fully the true moral force of the civil rights struggle” (Stern, Calculating Visions 25). Afterwards, King expressed his confidence in Kennedy’s morality regarding civil rights issues. He described him as “having definite concern but not deep understanding” (Silvestri 243). 3.8Sit-in MovementsOn February 1, 1960, four black students were refused service at a whites-only lunch counter at Agricultural and Technical University in North Carolina. The so called sit-in movement was started and it spread across the country throughout eleven cities in two weeks. White people also participated in the movement, mostly in Northern cities. On May 10, six lunch counters in Nashville started serving African Americans, however, sit-ins continued and by October they had been organized in a hundred and twelve Southern cities. Kennedy made his comments on the movement on March 23, 1960, at the Democratic Midwest Conference. He supported the protestors, pointing out the fact that the opportunities were not equal for all Americans. He stated: “We have not yet secured for every American, regardless of color, his right to equal opportunity...and that includes equal opportunity at the polls, in the classroom, in the five-and-ten cent stores and at the counter” (Bryant 118). Kennedy said that “it was in the American tradition to stand up for one’s rights – even if the new way was to sit down” (Brauer 33). Many members of the Kennedy’s team were worried that these words would outrage white Southerners; however, Kennedy decided to make this statement. Even though King expressed his positive opinion about John F. Kennedy (In a letter to his friend he wrote: “I was very impressed by the forthright and honest manner in which he discussed the civil rights question. I have no doubts that he would do the right thing on this issue if he were elected President” (Stern, Calculating Visions 25)), there were still many others who were having doubts about Kennedy’s interest in the rights of African Americans. For instance, Roy Wilkins of NAACP said: “It is very difficult for thoughtful Negro voters to feel at ease about the endorsement of Senator Kennedy by Governor John Patterson36... Anything with an Alabama odor does not arouse much enthusiasm among Negro citizens” (Williams 140). Kennedy beat another candidate, Wayane Morse, in Maryland and Oregon, but a few days before the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Los Angeles from July 11 to July 15, another opponent came to the scene - Lyndon B. Johnson announced his candidacy. He started to publicly attack Kennedy by pointing out his frequent absences in the Senate and he kept calling for public evaluation of Kennedy’s health. Out of 4,509 Democratic delegates attending the Convention, only eighty-nine were black; however, they were important because they represented such states which were necessary for Kennedy’s victory. The night before the convention Kennedy spoke in front of the NAACP (6,700 members) and he promised that “as president he would deliver 'moral, political, legislative and, above all, executive leadership in civil rights'.” (Bryant 142). Kennedy expressed his support for sit-in movements and he also pointed out that the solution to racial issues in the USA was important for the American image abroad. Media differed in their description of how Kennedy’s speech was accepted. Some suggested that the audience accepted his speech very positively and his performance was a success but others stated that although he received applause it was only polite (ibid. 140 – 143).
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