Kennedy-Nixon First Presidential Debate, 1960

On September 26, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon stood before an audience of 70 million Americans—two-thirds of the nation's adult population—in the first nationally televised Presidential debate. This first of four debates held before the end of October gave a vast national audience the opportunity to see and compare the two candidates, and ushered in a new age of Presidential politics.

Film footage © John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.