Almost not a President; JFK and Anti-Catholic Movement (1950s-1960s)

Although JFK's term was cut short by an assassination it is understood that his election was revolutionary on a few scales. JFK and Nixon had the first every televised debate for the presidency. For those that had heard it on the radio they felt Nixon had won the debate, while those who watched it felt that JFK presented himself better and looked more appealing.  This shows a shift in visual content over audio content. While JFK’s answer was not bad, but Nixon did a better job of explaining himself. This was not the only influence that JFK produced. 

JFK also had the Catholic stigma attached to his candidacy. People were in fear that the oath that JFK took to be a catholic would overrule the oath he takes as America’s President. In the West Virginia Primary JFK addressed his catholic faith to the American Society of Newspaper Editors by saying;

“Are we going to admit to the world that a Jew can be elected Mayor of Dublin, a Protestant can be chosen Foreign Minister of France, a Moslem can be elected to the Israeli parliament—but a Catholic cannot be President of the United States? Are we going to admit to the world--worse still, are we going to admit to ourselves—that one-third of the American people is forever barred from the White House?”

This brought a valid thought to the forefront of political discussion. This is a great tactic presented by JFK to help push him into the front of the voting race. But it is important to see that JFK is only talking about Catholic’s.  While many still were persecuted for race and gender. JFK’s presidency spark equality for all.

Source: https://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/JFK-and-Religion.aspx