Essay Sample on 1960 Democratic Party Platform

Introduction

Over the past decade, the United States history has been evolving with various events unfolding before 1607. However, the most changes in the United States history are evident in the 1950s and 1960s depicting on events of national elections, particularly between the Democrats and Republicans. This paper will discuss the developments surrounding the 1960 US elections.

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During the 1960 U.S election, the major candidates nominated by the Democratic National Convention were John F. Kennedy, Stuart Symington, Lyndon B. Johnson, among others. A week before the opening of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, John Kennedy was significantly challenged by Lyndon B. Johnson and Adlai Stevenson who officially announced their candidacies in 1952 and 1956. However, in consideration to Kennedy's prowess, talent, and efficiency in campaigning for the presidency, none of them was a match for Kennedy in one way or the other. After numerous debates, it was evident that Kennedy was winning the nomination since most of the Americans believed that Kennedy won a contest against Johnson. Kennedy secured the nomination victory on the first ballot which alluded to his skills. In the development of the election involving the Democratic convention, Kennedy took a move that surprised numerous Americans in 1960 when he asked Johnson to be his running mate after he realized he needed the support of Southern Democrats who supported Johnson.

The occurrence concerning Kennedy's suggestion to have Johnson as his running mate delivered enormous feelings across the United States as various individual developed different perceptions. In the happening, the journalists gave contradicting stories which were among the reasons as to why there were significant reactions concerning the event. Individuals from the labor sector such as O'Donnell were angry at John Kennedy since they consider what happened as betrayal where Kennedy has set Johnson as anti-liberal and anti-labor. After the occurrence, John Kennedy had to respond to the labor opposition by meeting them where de delivered messages regarding the proposed ticket. Through the happening, there were various plans to undermine president John Kennedy; however, he was informed and take the right decisions which have so far resulted in many developments. During the 1960 US elections, Kennedy's campaign relied upon the youth and promised to deliver the required change. Through this strategy, John Kennedy garnered the votes of the young individuals as he also gave a slogan emphasizing on the preparedness and the importance of the youth in his regime.

On the other hand, Kennedy was embraced by various celebrities such as Harry Belafonte and Henry Fonda who believed in him. Kennedy delivered an emphasis to the American voters that he was the best and qualified to hold the presidency as a Democratic president and wanted the Americans to know that he was capable of taking in Communist threats. Under different considerations, despite the reservations Kennedy had concerning Johnson's nomination, choosing Johnson as his running mate was a proper move. Johnson campaigned for Kennedy which delivered a significant role in assisting Democrats to take several states that were skeptical of him, particularly in Johnson's home states of Texas.

During the events of the 1960 US election, the issue concerning the Cold War was among the issues that dominated the polls due to tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. As a Democrat, Kennedy took advantage of the Cold War tension as he emphasized a perceived "missile gap" between the Soviet Union and the United States. According to his argument, Kennedy claimed that Republican would trigger an advantage to the Soviet Union in terms of nuclear missiles. Moreover, a reason as to why I embrace the Democratic Party is as a result of the various policies delivered by Democrats. The Democrats tend to take a more liberal position regarding important issues as they believe that the federal government is responsible for taking action in people's lives, mainly the needy. In conclusion, the Democratic Party embodies the spirit of previous eras in various ways especially considering that the Democratic Party can sometimes be referred to as the "Party of the People." A significant example is the actions of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency (1933-1945) which was based on pulling the United States from an economic depression.

Bibliography

Kallina Jr, Edmund F. Kennedy v. Nixon: The presidential election of 1960. University Press of Florida, 2010.

Ushistory.org. 2015. "The Election Of 1960 [Ushistory.Org]". Ushistory.Org. http://www.ushistory.org/us/56a.asp.