THE MAKING OF A NATION 209 - Election of 1960

THE MAKING OF A NATION -September 5, 2002: Election of 1960

By Jeri Watson

VOICE 1:

This is Richard Rael.

VOICE 2:

And this is Doug Johnson with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the
history of the United States.

(Theme)

Today, we tell about the American presidential campaign and election of nineteen-sixty.

VOICE 1:

Dwight Eisenhower was elected president in nineteen-fifty-two by nineteen-sixty, he had served two terms. The
twenty-second amendment¹ to the constitution said he could not be re-elected. Eisenhower was hugely popular
when he first came to office. And his first term was considered successful.

He created a new government agency for education and health care. He led a congressional effort to improve the
tax system. And, under his leadership, a peace treaty ending the Korean War was signed.

Eisenhower also met with Soviet² leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev. This began a tradition of
meetings between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union. Experts believe these meetings probably
helped prevent a nuclear war between the two countries.

VOICE 2:

At the end of Eisenhower's first term, he was still very popular. He had suffered a heart attack. But he felt strong
enough to campaign again. His Democratic Party opponent was Adlai Stevenson. They had been the candidates
in the presidential election four years earlier. This time, Eisenhower won almost ten-million votes more than
Stevenson. That was an even bigger victory than in nineteen-fifty-two.

VOICE 1:

Eisenhower's second term, however, presented problems. The Soviet Union launched the space age by putting the
world's first satellite into earth orbit. Fidel Castro established a communist government in Cuba. Many white
Americans were fighting the supreme³ court's decision to end racial separation in schools. And the American
economy suffered a recession. Eisenhower's popularity dropped during his second term. This would make it more
difficult for the Republican Party's next candidate for president.

VOICE 2:

The delegates who attended the Republican nominating convention in the summer of nineteen-sixty feared that
the party would lose the election in November. They had to find the strongest candidate possible. Many believed
that Richard Nixon was the strongest.

Nixon had been a senator and a member of the house of representatives. He had been Eisenhower's vice⁴ president
for eight years. When Eisenhower suffered several serious illnessess, Nixon had a chance to show his abilities to
lead the nation. He showed great strength while facing an angry crowd during a trip to South America. He also
gained support when he defended the United States in an unofficial debate with Khrushchev during a trip to the
Soviet Union.


VOICE 1:

Nixon's closest opponent for the Republican nomination⁵ was nelson rockefeller. Rockefeller was governor of
New York. He came from one of the richest families in America. At the convention, Richard Nixon easily won
the support of the Republican Party. The delegates elected him on the first vote. He accepted the nomination. And
he called for new efforts for peace and freedom around the world.

VOICE 2:

The race for the Democratic nomination was much more difficult. He Democratic Party thought it would have no
problem winning the presidential election. Many candidates entered the competition for the nomination. One was
Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Another was Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Humphrey had been elected to the Senate three times. He was a strong activist⁶ for civil rights, peace, and social
improvements. Kennedy was a Navy hero in World War Two. He was handsome and only forty-three years old.
He also was a member of the roman catholic church. And no catholic had ever been elected president of the
United States.

VOICE 1:

Kennedy and Humphrey began to enter local primary elections in different states. The purpose of the primaries is
to test voter support for candidates. Kennedy won an important primary in the state of Wisconsin. However, the
Protestant Christian⁷ areas of the state did not support him. The question then became: could he win in West
Virginia. Most of the voters in that state were Protestants.

VOICE 2:

On the last night of the primary campaign in West Virginia, Kennedy spoke⁸ about his religion. He said the
president of the United States promises to defend the constitution. And that, he said, includes the separation of
the government from any religion or church.

Kennedy won a large victory in West Virginia. He then went on to win many votes in other primary elections. He
received the nomination on the first vote of the Democratic Party convention.

In his acceptance speech, he said he would ask Americans to help their country. He said he would ask them to
sacrifice for their country.

VOICE 1:

After the party conventions, the two candidates -- Kennedy and Nixon -- began to campaign around the nation.
Nixon charged that Kennedy was too young to be president. He said Kennedy did not know enough about
governing. Kennedy attacked the Republican record of the past eight years. He said president Eisenhower and
vice President Nixon had not done enough to bring progress to the nation.

Protestant groups expressed concerns about Kennedy's religion. They wondered if he would be influenced by the
pope. They asked if the leader of the Roman Catholic Church would try to make policy for the United States.
Kennedy answered by repeating his strong support for the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and
state.

VOICE 2:

Public opinion studies showed the election campaign to be very, very close. Then, the candidates agreed to hold
four debates. The debates would be broadcast on television.

In the first debate, they showed they did not differ too widely on major issues. Kennedy, however, appeared calm
and sure. Nixon, who did not feel well, appeared thin and tired. Many people who had not considered voting for
Kennedy now began to change their minds. To them, he looked like a president.

VOICE 1:


In the fourth debate, they expressed widely different opinions about whether the United States was making
progress. Kennedy believed there had been little progress under Eisenhower and Nixon. He said:

KENNEDY: "Franklin Roosevelt said in nineteen-thirty-six that that generation of Americans had a rendezvous⁹
with destiny. I believe in nineteen-sixty and sixty-one and two and three, we have a rendezvous with destiny. And
I believe it incumbent¹⁰ upon us to be defenders¹¹ of the United States and the defenders of freedom. And to do that,
we must give this country leadership. And we must get America moving again."

VOICE 2:

Nixon disagreed sharply. He believed the United States had not been standing¹² still. Yet he believed it could not
rest, either. He said:

NIXON: "It is essential with the conflict that we have around the world that we not just hold our own, that we not
keep just freedom for ourselves. It is essential that we extend freedom, extend it to all the world. And this means
more than what we've been doing. It means keeping America even stronger militarily than she is. It means seeing
that our economy moves forward even faster than it has. It means making more progress in civil rights than we
have, so that we can be a splendid example for all the world to see."

VOICE 1:

Another issue of the nineteen-sixty presidential debates was the Chinese attack on the islands of Quemoy and
Matsu in the Formosa [Taiwan] Strait. Another was how to deal with Soviet leader Nikita khrushchev. Most
people seemed to feel that Kennedy won the first debate. Experts thought Nixon probably won the second one.
And both men did about the same in the last two.

VOICE 2:

After the debates, the presidential candidates campaigned around the country again. Nixon proposed a trip to
eastern Europe and a meeting with Khrushchev, if he were elected. Kennedy proposed what he called a Peace
Corps¹³. The Peace Corps would be a program to send Americans to developing countries to provide technical aid
and other help.

VOICE 1:

On election day in November, the voters chose John Kennedy. His victory, however, was a close one. Almost
sixty-nine million people voted. He won by fewer than one-hundred-twenty thousand votes. The United States
now had its thirty-fifth president. He was the youngest and the first Roman Catholic. The beginning of John
Kennedy's administration will be our story next week.

(Theme)

VOICE 2:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson.
This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE 1:

And this is Richard Rael. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of
the United States.

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1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

10 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

11 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。