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Notes on video lecture:
Kennedy and the Catholic Issue
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young, Texas, Frontier, Constitution, ring, 47, Bobby, Rome, pathways, nominating, Irish, Ministerial, unopposed, region, Protestant, Democratic, Vatican, Smith, health, Eisenhower, tolerance, tremendous, Pope
after 1960                      convention, Kennedy turned to convincing the American people to elect him
Kennedy was popular with the           
elderly were interested in his support of a national              insurance for the aged
picked Lyndon Johnson as running mate
over objections from his brother           
but without            and a "good chunk of the South", Kennedy could not possible defeat Nixon
LBJ wanted to be president, and history had shown that being vice president was one of the best                  to the White House
LBJ was put in charge of JFK's strategy in the South
the two toured the South, but LBJ made most of the speeches
Nixon was                   
first poll showed Nixon leading by 6%
JFK's youth bothered some voters
but Nixon was only      while Kennedy 43
religion loomed largest
nation was overwhelmingly                     
Kennedy "went into lion's den" and accepted invitation to speak at the Greater Houston                        Association
Nixon was also invited by declined
September 12, 1960 gave speech
visibly tense
300 skeptical Protestant ministers glared at him
Kennedy knew that this speech could make or break his campaign
delivered a memorable plea for religious                   
played down his connection to the Catholic church
he used this speech to win the public relations battle
in election, religion played a                      role
in the end
Kennedy received 80% of the Catholic vote
Nixon got 69% of the Protestant vote
more than race or             , religion explained the 1960 election results
Catholics were traditionally                     
even Elenore Roosevelt wondered aloud whether Kennedy could make decisions without the approval of the          in the Vatican
in 1928, Catholic Al            was swamped by Herbert Hoover, Democrats didn't want to repeat this
Kennedy came out against ties with the               
attacked the                      administration for being insufficiently tough on the Soviets
argued to strength military forces to face the Soviets
asked: if elected President, if he would be torn between two loyalties, church and state
I would not, I has sworn to uphold the                         , the first amendment states that one cannot make laws which favor a religion
Article 6 of the Constitution states that no religious test should be required to qualify for office
it turned out that introducing JFK as            Catholic instead of Roman Catholic made a difference with voters
61% in West Virginia
Democratic Convention in Los Angeles
name of JFK's program and administration: "The New                 "
after election, Kennedy's Catholicism wore off, became less important
everyone understood that the Pope was not calling the shots
to this day, Kennedy has been the only Catholic president
in June 1963, Kennedy met in          with Pope Paul VI succeeding Pope John XXIII
when Catholics meet the Pope, they are supposed to kneel and kiss his         , Kennedy did not, he simply shook his hand


######################### (1897-1978)
Pope from 1963-1978, continued the Second Vatican Council, improved relations with Eastern Orthodox Church and Protestants
  • succeeded Pope John XXIII
JFK's Rise to Power
1953-1960 Kennedy's Legislative Career
JFK Takes to the National Stage
Kennedy and the Catholic Issue