KENNEDY DECLARED WINNER
Barnstable, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On November 9, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy was declared the winner of the Election of 1960. The Senator turned in just before 4 a.m. having worked through the night at his campaign headquarters at the home of his brother Robert F. Kennedy.
JFK learned of the outcome when his three year old daughter, Caroline, came running into his bedroom with the news. He would be inaugurated on January 20, 1961 and at age 43 would become the youngest elected Chief Executive in American history.
According to Chris Matthews, a detail from the Secret Service showed up in Hyannis at 5:45 a.m. and the agents already "knew the names, faces and roles of each of Kennedy's people." When JFK "greeted and thanked his top political aides (Kenny) O'Donnell and (Larry) O'Brien" that morning, (the President-elect)...struck them both as a different man."
The President-elect made his first public statement at the Hyannis Armory* here in Barnstable. Accompanied by his family, Mr. Kennedy received an unprecedented standing ovation from the press corps as he stepped up onto the stage.After reading the text of telegrams from both Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, JFK said...
"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 mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and the cause of freedom around the world. So now my wife and I prepare for a new administration and for a new baby."
SOURCE
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Shuster, New York, 2011.
Barnstable, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On November 9, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy was declared the winner of the Election of 1960. The Senator turned in just before 4 a.m. having worked through the night at his campaign headquarters at the home of his brother Robert F. Kennedy.
JFK learned of the outcome when his three year old daughter, Caroline, came running into his bedroom with the news. He would be inaugurated on January 20, 1961 and at age 43 would become the youngest elected Chief Executive in American history.
According to Chris Matthews, a detail from the Secret Service showed up in Hyannis at 5:45 a.m. and the agents already "knew the names, faces and roles of each of Kennedy's people." When JFK "greeted and thanked his top political aides (Kenny) O'Donnell and (Larry) O'Brien" that morning, (the President-elect)...struck them both as a different man."
The President-elect made his first public statement at the Hyannis Armory* here in Barnstable. Accompanied by his family, Mr. Kennedy received an unprecedented standing ovation from the press corps as he stepped up onto the stage.After reading the text of telegrams from both Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, JFK said...
"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 mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and the cause of freedom around the world. So now my wife and I prepare for a new administration and for a new baby."
*Hyannis Armory (1958-2005) was the headquarters of the Massachusetts National Guard. There was discussion of tearing the building down after 2005 but today the Armory is part of the Kennedy Legacy Trail & is open to the public.
SOURCE
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Shuster, New York, 2011.
Hyannis Armory
Photo by John Phelan (2012)
President-elect & Mrs. Kennedy
Hyannis Armory
November 9 1960
