Masaryk University
Part III: Presidential Campaign
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- 3.2Kennedy Team
- 3.3Religion
- 3.4Wisconsin Primary
3Part III: Presidential Campaign3.1Early CampaigningNumerous speculations about Kennedy’s presidential nomination occurred towards the end of the 1950s, but Kennedy himself remained silent for long time, however, he did survey the situation months before he officially announced his candidacy. Since the 1956 election to the Senate, Kennedy traveled throughout the USA delivering numerous speeches at universities, various business and public organizations, seeking support from both the general public and from politicians. Kennedy was achieving great success with media because he attracted their attention very easily. According to O’Brien, “the media and the public found him fascinating” (328). Many newspapers and various magazines (Time, Life, American Mercury and others) covered Kennedy. Apart from his political standpoints, they were also interested in his personality, his social and family life. In 1958, when Kennedy ran for his second term in the Senate and won by 875,000 votes (“the greatest margin up to that point in Massachusetts history”), his chances of becoming the presidential nominee enhanced considerably (Schlesinger, Thousand Days 11). John F. Kennedy officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 2, 1960. In his speech he stressed that he had been in “the service of the United States” for eighteen years emphasizing his numerous trips to foreign countries and his experience in that field (Kennedy, “Statement of Senator Kennedy Announcing His Candidacy” par. 6). 3.2Kennedy TeamKennedy surrounded himself with a very qualified team – loyal advisers and organizers. Heath suggests that “Kennedy’s campaign organization may well have been the most efficient in American political history” (39). Robert Kennedy gave up his job and became John’s campaign manager. According to O’Brien, Robert Kennedy’s strength was the ability to “address specific situation,” choose the right staff that were devoted to do their jobs and to inspire them to great performances (428). Robert was responsible for the entire campaign except for speechwriting, which was the responsibility of Ted Sorensen. Robert Kennedy played a key role in decisions made by John Kennedy during his presidency when Robert Kennedy was appointed attorney general. He was highly committed to civil rights and during the crises which erupted in the USA during 1962 and 1962 Robert Kennedy was one of the closest advisors to the President. Harris Wofford, a former Civil Rights Commission attorney, was appointed as the Campaign Civil Rights Coordinator, and in certain situations he had been very influential. Wofford advised Kennedy to call Coretta King and express his support for Martin Luther King when he was arrested in October 1960. Wofford also advised Kennedy to strongly support civil rights movement in his first TV debate with Nixon and he prepared the statistical data about the disadvantages a black child has to face during his childhood compared to a white child which JFK presented during the debate (Bryant 171 – 174). In 1961 Wofford was appointed as Special Assistant to the President for civil rights. Wofford contributed largely to Kennedy’s image of civil rights advocate. 3.3ReligionKennedy’s weakest point during the campaign was his religion. Roman Catholicism was a very prominent issue in the USA. The majority of Americans were afraid that the Roman Catholic Church did not recognize the separation of church and state and that a Catholic president might be influenced by Rome. A massive anti-Catholic campaign was organized throughout the USA. Anti-Catholic materials were distributed by Protestant and Fundamentalist groups throughout the country. There had never been a Catholic president in the history of the USA. A Catholic candidate for presidency in 1928 Governor Alfred Smith (the first Catholic to run for president) suffered a crushing defeat. He was a target of numerous groups’ attacks, including the Ku Klux Klan (Barnes 42). Kennedy originally intended to avoid the question of religion and ignore the Catholic issue all together but he was forced by circumstances to cope with the religious bigotry. He had been discussing the issue since 1956 and he constantly assured Americans that he believed in the constitutional separation of church and state. However, his religion was a matter of doubt even among liberal Democrats. The suspicion “of divided Catholic loyalties between church and state” had been deeply rooted in the American society (Dallek, Unfinished Life 232). 3.4Wisconsin Primary“The first important test” in Kennedy’s campaign was Wisconsin with Hubert H. Humphrey from Minnesota as his opponent. Apart from the fact that Wisconsin was a predominantly Protestant state, Humphrey was popular with farmers, unlike Kennedy who had voted against higher supports to farmers during his years in the Senate.33 Kennedy did not focus much on the civil rights issues during the primaries because none of the major primaries were taking place in the South. Both candidates rather focused on the economical issues, nevertheless Humphrey was known for fighting in support of civil rights and New Deal34 social programs during his years in the Senate where he served since 1949 (Dallek, Unfinished Life 244), unlike Kennedy who supported the Southerners during the key votes on civil rights issues in 1957. In order to improve his chances in Wisconsin, Kennedy decided to devote himself to promoting civil rights, even though the African Americans counted only for a very small percentage of the Wisconsin population. In his speeches Kennedy often linked the problem of racism in the United States to the Cold War and the necessity to deal with it not only because it was morally wrong but also in order to avoid criticism from the Soviets. Apart from that, he frequently pointed out the fact that discrimination against minorities, particularly African Americans, in the USA, could play an important role in the international politics regarding “the newly emerging African and Asian countries” (Barnes 3). Eventually Kennedy won the primary election in Wisconsin receiving fifty-six per cent of the vote (Dallek, Unfinished Life 250). Kennedy certainly was aware of the discrimination against blacks and he was convinced that it was morally wrong, however, he was not familiar with the subject, because he did not encounter any particular problems regarding racial discrimination and therefore he probably did not feel the urge to deal with it. Download 236.92 Kb. Share with your friends:
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