KENNEDY DECLARED PRESIDENT-ELECT
Hyannis, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On November 9, 1960, John F. Kennedy was declared the winner of the 1960 presidential election over Richard M. Nixon. The electoral vote tally was 302 for Kennedy, 219 for Nixon, and 15 for Byrd.
The popular vote margin proved to be one of the closest in American history. JFK won 34,220,911, RMN won 34,108,157. It has been said that if just one vote had flipped in each district in the United States, Nixon would have won.
Secret service agents arrived at the Kennedy compound here in Hyannis at 5:45 a.m. already knowing "the names, faces and roles of each of Kennedy's people."
Senator Kennedy made his first public statement as president-elect at the Hyannis Armory* in Barnstable.
JFK said...
"The next four years are going to be difficult and challenging. A supreme national effort will be needed to move this country safely through the 1960s."
*Hyannis Armory (1958-2005) was headquarters of the Massachusetts National Guard. Reporters who waited for JFK to appear, gave him a standing ovation when he made his entrance. Today the Armory is part of the Kennedy Legacy Trail.
SOURCE
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Shuster, New York, 2011.
JFK+50 NOTE
Eleven years ago today, November 9, 2010, JFK+50 made its first posting. We have published daily since that time and have over a million hits. We average over 200 hits per day and appreciate all who have logged on over the years.
In writing this post today, I marveled at how close to the same the electoral vote count was in 1960 compared to 2020. JFK (D) got 302, Joe Biden (D) got 306, RMN & Byrd got 234, DJT got 232.
Politically we were a sharply divided nation in 1960. We remain sharply divided today. Some states have shifted party allegiances over that 60 year period, but otherwise the political divisions remain.
Perhaps what is most different today is the fact that we don't seem to want to unite behind the winner. Nixon could have easily contested the result in 1960. After all, he was so close, but for the good of the nation he did not. He graciously accepted defeat and pledged his support for president-elect Kennedy.
Thomas Jefferson said, "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." We would be so much better off if we would say today, "We are all Democrats, we are all Republicans." I don't like to be pessimistic, but the chances of that happening soon are about the same as my Tennessee Vols beating the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
GO VOLS!
Statement by the President-elect
Hyannis, MA
November 9 1960
