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Registered Voter
The Print Debate Center
September 4, 1960
Presidential Print Debate: Kennedy vs. Nixon, Round 1

Dear Registered Voter:

A Print Debate is a structured debate forum that encourages an exchange of political ideas between opposing candidates. It is a successive, four round debate that unfolds weekly leading up to Election Day.

The following debate, between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy in 1960, is the first round of a complete sample that illustrates the direct dialogue a Print Debate fosters between candidates. More information on this debate and the debate schedule can be found here.

Print Debates are facilitated by The Print Debate Center, a non-partisan organization with the mission to contribute to a better informed electorate. About The Print Debate Center >

Senator John Kennedy, Democrat vs. Vice-President Richard Nixon, Republican
Presidential Campaign

November 3, 1960
Round 1, September 4, 1960

John F. Kennedy
Plans and Initiatives

Opening Statement
In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln said the question was whether this nation could exist half-slave or half-free... More >

Richard M. Nixon
Plans and Initiatives

Opening Statement
We cannot discuss our internal affairs in the United States without recognizing that they have a tremendous bearing on our international position... More >

Education
I support Federal aid to education and Federal aid for teachers' salaries. I think that's a good investment... More >

Education
We want higher teachers' salaries. We need higher teachers' salaries. But we also want our education to be free of Federal control... More >

Cold War/Communism/Foreign Policy
Mr. Khrushchev is in New York, and he maintains the Communist offensive throughout the world because of the productive power of the Soviet Union itself... More >

Cold War/Communism/Foreign Policy
How can we keep the peace--keep it without surrender? How can we extend freedom--extend it without war?... More >

Economy
I'm not satisfied to have fifty percent of our steel-mill capacity unused. The United States had last year the lowest rate of economic growth of any major industrialized society in the world... More >

Economy
If we look at the record of the Eisenhower administration, we see that America has been moving ahead. The Gross National Product has grown by 19%, to roughly 500 billion dollars... More >

Civil Rights
I'm not satisfied until every American enjoys his full constitutional rights... More >

Civil Rights
My intentions in the field of civil rights have been spelled out in the Republican platform. I think we have to make progress first in the field of employment... More >

Cuba
I hope some day Cuba will rise; but I don't think it will rise if we continue the same Eisenhower policies toward Cuba that we have in recent years, and in fact towards all of Latin America... More >

Cuba
There were eleven dictators in South and Central America when we took office in 1953. Today, there are only three left, including the one in Cuba... More >

John F. Kennedy's Questions for Richard M. Nixon
Question 1: Mr. Vice President, in his news conference on August 24th, President Eisenhower was asked to give one example of a major idea of yours that he adopted. His reply was, and I'm quoting; "If you give me a week I might think of one. I don't remember." Now that was a month ago, sir, and the President hasn't brought it up since. Do you have a response to this?... More >

Richard M. Nixon's Questions for John F. Kennedy
Question 1: The U.S. has taken a stand against Communist China on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu, threatening to use nuclear weapons if the islands are attacked. Do you believe that Quemoy and Matsu are unwise places to draw our defense line in the far East? Couldn't a pullback from those islands be interpreted as appeasement?... More >