Presidential Debates

The First Presidential Debates

The first presidential primary debate was May 17, 1948, between two Republican candidates, Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen. At that time, Thomas Dewey was the governor of New York and Harold Stassen was the former governor of Minnesota. The debate took place in Portland, Oregon, just prior to the Oregon Republican primary, and was approximately one hour long. Dewey and Stassen debated on outlawing the Communist Party in the United States; it was the first presidential debate to cover only one topic. Dewey went on to win the Oregon primary and, eventually, the Republican presidential nomination. Stassen unsuccessfully competed for the Republican nomination eight more times from 1952–92.

Eight years later, on May 21, 1956, the second presidential primary debate occurred between former Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson and U.S. Senator from Tennessee Estes Kefauver. Stevenson and Kefauver were competing for the Democratic presidential nomination. The debate took place in Miami, Florida, shortly before the Florida Democratic presidential primary. The moderator for this debate was Quincy Howe from ABC News. The issues debated included both foreign and domestic policies. After this debate, Stevenson went on to win the Florida primary, and, eventually the Democratic presidential nomination. Kefauver was nominated and ran as Stevenson's running mate for their unsuccessful 1956 presidential bid.

Significant Presidential Debates

The most famous presidential debate occurred on September 26, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois, between Vice President Richard Nixon and Massachusetts Senator John F Kennedy. This was the first national television viewers. The moderator for this debate was Howard K. Smith from CBS News.

The debate included questions on presidential leadership, farm surpluses, the federal debt, teachers' salaries, divided government, and Communism in the United [Page 546]States. It was also the first of the Great Debates between Nixon and Kennedy.

The first televised presidential debates, between Vice President Richard Nixon and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, had an audience of over 60 million television viewers in the fall of i960.

Nixon and Kennedy again debated on October 7, 1960, in Washington, D.C., with Frank McGee from NBC as the moderator; issues ranged from Civil Rights to the Cold War. The third Nixon and Kennedy debate was on October 13, 1960, with Bill Shadel from ABC as the moderator. This debate used an unusual method of a split screen with Nixon in an ABC studio in Los Angeles and Kennedy in an ABC studio in New York. The issues in the debate included Communism, labor unions, economic growth, gold, and American prestige. The final debate between Nixon and Kennedy was on October 21, 1960, in New York City with Quincy Howe from ABC as the moderator. The issues included Cuba, Communism, presidential appointments, nuclear testing, and American prestige. Each of these four debates between Nixon and Kennedy had over 60 million viewers. Kennedy went on to win the presidential election that year, just a few weeks after the last debate. However, 1960–76 there was a hiatus in the general presidential debates, either because of the federal communication laws requiring equal times for all candidates, and/or because of the refusal of the candidates to debate. Then in 1976, changes in the law and the willingness of the candidates to debate allowed for the general presidential debates to resume.

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