JFK ACCEPTS DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) On July 15, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States here in Los Angeles.
The Senator gave his acceptance speech at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He became the first Roman Catholic candidate for the office since Al Smith of New York in 1928.
JFK speechwriter Theodore Sorensen said that the decision to move the acceptance speech from the indoor Sports Arena Convention Hall to the outdoor Coliseum was not made until "after the convention started."
One of the major issues in the 1960 campaign was religion. Mr. Kennedy addressed the issue by saying...
"I hope that no American...will...vote either for me or against me because of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant."
SOURCES
"Obama Outdoor Speech Echoes JFK's 1960 Move," by Rick Hampson, USA Today, August 28, 2008, www.abcnews.com/
"The New Frontier": Acceptance Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Democratic National Convention, 15 July 1960, www.jfklibrary.org/
