JFK "A Man For The 60s" Campaign Button Memories

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Do you remember where you were fifty years ago--on Nov. 22, 1963?  

For some of us like me--too young to have witnessed the chill of the Cold War or the thrill of the Space Race, we ask our parents and or grandparents, “What was it like when JFK was president?” and “Do you remember the day he died, November 22, 1963?”  So, Dear Reader, I ask you, “What did John F. Kennedy’s presidency mean to you?”  and “On the fiftieth anniversary of his death, what does his legacy mean?”

At AYPToday, we have an original Presidential campaign button of his run in 1960 (see Item 36).  

Since last November was the 50th anniversary of his passing, I think it’s fitting to pause and remember him.  

From a large Irish family already in politics, “Jack” was born in Massachusetts to businessman and politician Joe Kennedy, Sr. and philanthropist Rose Fitzgerald.  In his high school yearbook, he had been chosen, “Most Likely To Succeed” in spite of (or maybe because of shenanigans and pranks at school.  Despite bouts of hospitalization, he traveled widely with his family--including listening in the British House of Commons in September 3, 1939 to speeches concerning their declaration of war on Germany.  His Harvard undergraduate honors thesis submitted the next year eventually became a bestseller, Why England Slept.  In fact, JFK is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.  

After being disqualified for the Army due to his health, he joined the Navy, served in WWII, and earned several medals for heroism (I did not know this; maybe, you did).  Soon elected a congressman and then a senator, he set his sights on the presidency and ran in 1960.  At the Democratic Convention of 1960, he gave his “New Frontier” speech saying, “we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier.  [...]  But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it is a set of challenges.”  In the Democratic Primary, he defeated Hubert Humphrey (who later became Vice President under Lyndon B. Johnson).  Agreeing to be on JFK’s ticket, Lyndon B. Johnson ran as Vice President.   

After JFK displayed his cool confidence during the first televised U.S. presidential debates in U.S. history, he defeated Vice President Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in U.S. history in terms of percentage of votes (49.7% to 49.5%).

At the time of his presidential election, JFK, at age 43, was the youngest president to be elected, and he is still the only Catholic to be elected president.  At his inauguration, he uttered the words which still make us reflect today, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  

Made by VariVue, this button’s hologram shows "The Man for the 60's" in white lettering on a black ground as well as his picture.

VariVue buttons were used in many political campaigns in the United States during this time.  Below is a picture of how their factory looked in 1962, just two years after this button was introduced in the 1960 presidential election.

It is amazing what a mark John F. Kennedy made on the American psyche during his short life.  Because of my love of science (see item 79), my favorite quote from his presidency is, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”  What’s your favorite quote of his?  

Happy Bidding!

Adrienne

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