mate.Two weeks later the Republicans nominated Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., for vice president. In the fast-paced campaign that followed, Kennedy made stops in 46 states and 273 cities and towns, while Nixon visited every state and 170 urban areas. The two candidates faced each other in four nationally televised debates. Kennedy’s manner, especially in the first debate, seemed to eliminate the charge that he was too young and inexperienced to serve as president, and many believe these debates gave Kennedy the edge he needed for victory.The election drew record 69 million voters to the polls, but Kennedy won by only 113,000 votes that made it the closest popular vote in 72 years. Because Kennedy won most of the larger states in the Northeastern United States, he received 303 electoral votes to Nixon’s 219. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he emphasized America’s revolutionary heritage, "The same beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe,"2 Kennedy said. "Let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generations of Americans."3 Kennedy called for "a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved."Kennedy’s first year in office brought him considerable success in enacting new legislation. Congress passed a major housing bill, a law increasing minimum wage, and a bill granting federal aid to economically depressed areas of the United States. Kennedy put legislation through Congress which was a bill creating the Peace Corps, an agency that trained American volunteers to perform social and humanitarian service oversees and promote world peace, which was important at the time because of unsettling foreign affairs.In 1959, after several attempts, a revolution led by Fidel Castro finally overthre...
