November the candidates carry their message to the people. It started in july when the Democratic Party nominated john f. Kennedy for president of the United States and for Vice President senator lyndon b. Johnson. The party united behind its candidates. Richard m. Nixon was the choice of the republican party. Hi was president since 1953. Now he was a candidate for the presidency. His running mate was candidate lodge. They meet face to face in Television Debates seen and heard by millions of people. They will decide which of these two men should lead the country for the next four years. But personal contact with people is still than in essential feature of a american president ial campaign. Senator kennedy, a tireless campaigner, goes to all sections of the country spelling out his views on domestic and foreign policy. The overriding issue is the maintenance of peace and meeting the challenge of the international situation. On Domestic Affairs he stresses the governments role in demographic problems. Senator kennedys wife has to limit her Campaign Appearances because she is expecting a child. Still she is seen by thousands. Give me your health, give me your voice and your hands to move america forward. Senator kennedy asks the people to support his candidacy and his each of the two candidates travels more than 60,000 miles. They go to small towns and big cities. They meet the people of america. They are speaking to our program. They are speaking at the helm of the nation. The candidates visit American Indian communities seeking their votes. They meet, in the sunny first weeks of september, and the campaign stretches into early november where the first snow starts to fall in pennsylvania and new york. At this time the issues of the campaign have been made clear. Streets and buildings are decked with flags. The campaign clamber has died down and giving way to quiet reflection. In all of the 50 states of the union, this is a politic, many places of prison are closed. The people are urged to exercise their right to vote beginning in the Morning Hours they line up in front of firehouses, schools, Community Halls and election centers. In some places the voting is by paper ballot. In others it is by automatic voting machine. When you enter the booth they first register their choice for president and Vice President. In the different states they elect 34 senators. And 27 governors. They elect judges, assembly men, and other officials. They approve or reject tax proposals for school, road, or housing projects. They vote for and against amendments in their state constitution. Having an opinion as to how their vote affects the country. The main centers, the big question is how will the people vote. In what state will they favor the republican candidate. There have been many Public Opinion polls and many guesses, but no one really knows for certain. Everyone said this would be a close election. No in the early Morning Hours, a helicopter lands bringing president eisenhower to the polling place where he will cast his ballot. At the president s polling place, located in a firemans hall, it is still too early to vote. No exception is made for the president. He has to wait five minutes until 7 00. They ask the president jokingly for whom he is voting, but he wont say. Mr. Eisenhower is completing two terms in office as a president deeply loved and respected by the people. Of the two ballots he drops in the box, one is a proposed consolidation of local schools. A few hours later it is mrs. Eisenhowers turn to vote. Voting hours and voting regulations various. In maryland the at bass door of japan is part of the government. The ambassador is among the observers of a are used. Another famous signature on the election registers is that of Vice President nixon. Together with his wife pat, he casts his ballot in the small town of whittier, california where they both went to school and were married. They cast the most important vote of their lives. Senator kennedy and his wife jacqueline vote in his native town of boston, massachusetts. Photographers and reporters are all around them, for this is the man who, in the next 24 hours, may become president of the United States and she first lady of the land. In the cities of america, in thousands of election precincts, the signs of this special day are everywhere. With quiet pride, people go to the polls. Today, perhaps more than any other day, they feel deeply conscious of being part of their country, deeply committed to it, deeply involved in its future. In new york, the ambassador of burma is among those observing american citizens preparing to cast their ballot. The American Voters in turn observe the burmese visitors with interest and with a feeling of kinship. The kinship felt by all people who have the right to choose the leaders of their government. On november 8, 1960, 67 million americans go to the polls to do exactly that, to choose those who will govern the country in their name. That same evening as the polls close in the eastern states, the whole country begins to await the results. The Television Networks have made elaborate preparations to broadcast the election returns as they come in from different parts of the country. The headquarters of the major Television Networks are equipped with entire batteries of tabulating machines and with Electronic Computers to forecast the trend of the election on the basis of early returns. At party headquarters, people gather for what they hope will be a victory celebration. Huge tally boards post the returns as they come in minute by minute, hour by hour. From the very beginning it becomes obvious that this is going to be a close election. After some early encouraging reports for Vice President nixon, it appears that senator kennedy is moving into the lead. The news is splashed on the moving bulletin sign in new yorks times square. Then comes the electrifying news that senator kennedy has won the state of connecticut by a larger plurality than expected. He now has eight electoral votes. 269 are needed to win the election. His supporters are jubilant. Senator kennedy is recorded as leading in 17 states with a total of this turns into a seesaw battle between the states all night long. All night long, the figures keep building up. In state after state, millions of voters split their ballots, backing one president ial nominee and then voting for candidates from the opposing party for senator, governor or congressman. Senator kennedys early lead of 200 votes turn perilously as the other votes come in. It is checked regularly. At the press headquarters in hyannisport, massachusetts, all eyes are watching as they are about to make an announcement. On the west coast, it is 20 minutes past midnight. Vice president and mrs. Nixon appear before their royal supporters. The scene is broadcast on Television Screens all across america. The president ial candidate makes his statement. I want to say that we have political contests. They are very hard fought as this one is hard fought, and once the decision is made, we unite behind the man that is elected. I want you all to know [ applause ] i want senator kennedy to know and i want all of you to know that certainly if this trend does continue and he does become our next president that he will have my wholehearted support. [ applause ] it is in the best tradition of american politics rising above his own personal disappointment. Vice president nixon has shown to his support. As the night wears on, deserted chairs are the symbol of discouragement. But the popular vote is still dramatically close. In the end, it will be a narrow victory in minnesota that will give senator kennedy a sure hold on the electoral vote of the states. As morning comes to the cities of the eastern states, the newspapers headline senator kennedys election to the presidency. Yet at this hour the popular vote is so close that it appears he will win by a plurality of less than 1 . Other american president s have been elected this way. Some of them, including Abraham Lincoln and woodrow wilson, by an even lower percentage of the popular vote. So john f. Kennedy becomes president elect of the United States. As president of all the people, his family also becomes the center of nationwide interest. His threeyearold daughter caroline and his lovely wife jacqueline. Shortly after Vice President nixon officially concedes the election on the early afternoon of november 9th, president kennedy appears in hyannisport, massachusetts. With him are his wife, his father and mother, his many brothers and sisters. After addressing mr. Nixon, he addresses all americans. To all americans i say that the next four years are going to be difficult and challenging years for us all. The election may have been a close one, but i think that there is general agreement by all of our citizens that a Supreme National effort will be needed in the years ahead to move this country safely through the 1960s. I ask your help in this effort, and i can assure you that every degree of my spirit that i possess will be devoted to the longrange interest of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world. So now my wife and i prepare for a new administration and for a new baby. Thank you. [ applause ] it is the climax of one of the closest, most dramatic elections in American History. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3, explore our nations past. Cspan3 created by Public Service and by your television provider. In the 2004 president ial race between senator bush and john carey, the two met for a debate. It focused on foreign policy