JFK RETURNS TO WEST VIRGINIA TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF STATEHOOD
Charleston, West Virginia (JFK+50) On June 20, 1963, President John F. Kennedy returned here to the state of West Virginia* which gave him a huge primary victory on the way to the White House in 1960.
The President came to celebrate the 100th anniversary of West Virginia Statehood. West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the 24th state on June 20, 1863.
President Kennedy said...
"I would not be where I now am if it hadn't been for the people of West Virginia."
JFK+50 NOTE
On May 10, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy decisively defeated Senator Hubert Humphrey in the West Virginia Democratic primary. The victory proved that a Catholic could win in a predominantly Protestant as well as rural state. In 1960, only 5 percent of West Virginians were Catholic.
*West Virginia is famous for its mountains & rolling hills as well as coal mining & logging industry. From the Great Depression to the 1990s, WVA was a strong Democratic state with a tradition of union-based politics. Today, it is a solid Republican stronghold.
SOURCE
"Winning West Virginia--JFK's Primary Campaign," John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, www.jfklibrary.org/
