JFK First Catholic President (1960)On September 12th, 1960, John F. Kennedy addressed the issue of religion while on his presidential campaign circuit. He gave his speech at Greater Houston Ministerial Association to Protestant ministers. At this time, the nation was questioning whether a Catholic man could be president. Many were passionately against his presidential campaign just because of his religion. Their main worry was that his faith would blind his decision making in office. Kennedy wanted to negate the accusations involving Catholic stereotypes and prove that the criticism he received was just untrue. He begins his speech listing off more critical issues than his religious values; including the spread of communism, growth of poverty, and the lack of education. He then mentions that because he is Catholic, the real issues that should be surrounding his campaign have been "obscured." And finally lets his frustration known by addressing his true feeling about church and state: "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him." He continues by proclaiming his hopes for an America with religious tolerance and acceptance: "I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end; where all men and all churches are treated as equal; where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice; where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind; and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood." These words have created a new era of American ideology that would follow for years. And Kennedy's iconic presidency proved to the American population that a person's religion doesn't dictate how they'll perform their job. He is currently voted as the most loved president in United States history, and will forever be remembered as the man who proved his critics wrong.
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Bibliography:
Graham, David A. "Video of the Day: John F. Kennedy's 1960 Religion Speech."
The Atlantic. The Atlantic.
65-784. John F. Kennedy speaking in front of Springwood, the Roosevelt home. 14
Aug. 1960. flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/fdrlibrary/5853195263/in/
photolist-9Vea2H-93uD7m-93whPo-93widm-93wiCW-93whWN-93wi5L-j3ne5f-8S4xRB-gtFV5m-9
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mBjCB-8PLLAM-8jLJ-8PLLAV-f8JyoW. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Masugi, Ken. The Houston Speech. Real Clear Religion, www.realclearreligion.org/
articles/2013/12/13/vatican_ii_saved_jfk.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Giossi, Marie Elena. JFK WITH POPE PAUL VI. The Tablet, thetablet.org/
tiny-christian-sect-produced-three-u-s-presidents/
file-photo-of-jfk-with-pope-paul-vi/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Graham, David A. "Video of the Day: John F. Kennedy's 1960 Religion Speech."
The Atlantic. The Atlantic.
65-784. John F. Kennedy speaking in front of Springwood, the Roosevelt home. 14
Aug. 1960. flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/fdrlibrary/5853195263/in/
photolist-9Vea2H-93uD7m-93whPo-93widm-93wiCW-93whWN-93wi5L-j3ne5f-8S4xRB-gtFV5m-9
3uyFU-9bMNJj-hfzLD7-5CwANs-ago1FV-fprfo3-fXXyf3-fv4tFL-93rtxM-5Gsi6t-gtGPpo-bmjac
2-fKNdMH-qm4PsM-CknBLm-fKGxii-93uD4h-iJ1aAk-7JnYAw-9d25ad-dia1Ke-eMJqe5-j3goZY-di
9Zeh-9d25ah-hfzL7V-qAecBb-b3Jbu2-6NtgVH-hGrD5B-tGsJh-aomboy-fvhgD6-8PLLB4-8RL8Fb-
mBjCB-8PLLAM-8jLJ-8PLLAV-f8JyoW. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Masugi, Ken. The Houston Speech. Real Clear Religion, www.realclearreligion.org/
articles/2013/12/13/vatican_ii_saved_jfk.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Giossi, Marie Elena. JFK WITH POPE PAUL VI. The Tablet, thetablet.org/
tiny-christian-sect-produced-three-u-s-presidents/
file-photo-of-jfk-with-pope-paul-vi/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2018.
Letter to White Protestant Voters (1960)crooked election machines brought over by the Catholic Church into the United States 35 or 40 years ago are "fixed" to prove that the minority white catholics are more than the majority White Protestants, and in this way through crooked electoral votes and crooked electoral machines they have "elected" a catholic president for the first time since the United States was established as a nation, which is a most disgraceful situation for the United States" Ryan, H.J. writes to "All White Protestant Voters of Nashville and Davidson Country" asking for their vote in the 1962 election. He conveys his thoughts against having a Catholic president, and calls to voters who agree with him. He wants to ask for support in the congressional candidacy so he can "get rid" of these "machines."
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Bibliography:
Ryan, H.J. "All White Protestant Voters of Nashville and Davidson County."
Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, digitalcollections.baylor.edu/
cdm/compoundobject/collection/cs-vert/id/7691/rec/4. Accessed 26 Oct. 2017.
Letter.
Ryan, H.J. "All White Protestant Voters of Nashville and Davidson County."
Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, digitalcollections.baylor.edu/
cdm/compoundobject/collection/cs-vert/id/7691/rec/4. Accessed 26 Oct. 2017.
Letter.