Outline
John F. Kennedy vs. Nixon

Thesis Statement: John F. Kennedy and Nixon were both very popular presidents of the United States of America. They both had tremendous influences on history that can never be forgotten.

Intro: 1. Both first elected in Congress 1946 2. Both had unorthodox view points 3. Nixon- conservative Republican, Kennedy- conservative

Body: I. Friendship
- Both in navy
- Nixon agreed with Kennedy on issues.
- Kennedy-play boy wealthy and charming, Nixon was poor. II. Campaign
- Kennedy won the Great debate
- Kennedy won do to his looks
- saved the country from nuclear destruction
- Nixon supporters not happy, heard the plan to assassinate Vietnam president. III. Nixon presidency
- Nixon president 1968
- Nixon kept the countries reputation in the world
- Met with a Chinese leader, built china- America relations IV. Both supported the space program
- Kennedy focused on traveling to the moon
- Nixon approved 5 year long program with Soviet Union
- Both pushed integration in schools. V. Nixon Watergate Scandal
- “deep throat” revealed Nixon used aid to commit crimes.
- Nixon having secret alliances, tarnished reputation
- Nixon rejected to leave office, resigned VI. Kennedy presidency
- Fatal end, assassinated in Dallas
- Oswald killed him, than killed by Jack Ruby
- FOX news poll showed there was cover up with Kennedy’s assassination
- “Zapruder” film approached, “Magic Bullet theory” VII. Conclusion
- Many influences, good and bad with both
- Both ended early, popular conspiracies, scandals
- Hold a good/ bad reputation
- Modern right support Nixon, Modern left wing support Kennedy

Meltem Colak
November 5, 2012
English
Compare Contrast Essay

Nixon vs. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were both very popular presidents of the United States of America. They both had tremendous influences on history that can never be forgotten. Both of them were first elected to Congress in 1946, which was a period in time when the Republicans were taking control of Congress. During their Presidential Election of 1960, both candidates had unorthodox viewpoints. Nixon, who is supposed to be the conservative Republican, actually pushed an anti-New Deal reform, however, Kennedy started out with a fairly conservative description of himself. Both Kennedy and Nixon were opposed to the approaching Cold War the day that they were sworn in. While on the campaign trail, Kennedy told a radio show that he berated a bunch of youngsters for having flawed views of the Soviet Union, which reinforces his conservative view of domestic policy. It was natural that the two men to form a friendship. They both were in the Navy and thought of themselves as a very integral and important part of the respected parties. Nixon continued to agree with Kennedy on certain issues, which furthered him from his right wing colleagues. So, after a certain while, Nixon found Kennedy to be one of the only outlets in politics that he had, as well as one of his most trusted connections.
Kennedy was more of a playboy in the public’s view. He had the support of many young voters and minorities. He was charming, motivational, and influential. At first, he didn’t seem so daring and revolutionary. He came out to be a modest, passive politician who was interested in certain reforms. Along with his charm, he had a substantial amount of wealth to back him. He made massive donations all around the country to not only gain support, but show that there is a direct influence from politicians.
Nixon however, was not as wealthy. He wasn’t as charming, not as likeable. He came out as an old conservative that only became a politician because he was in the right place at the right time. His family had no political background as Kennedy’s did, nor were there any public figures. The biggest difference between two in terms of the campaign trail, was how they went about competing with each other. While Kennedy often focused on talking about plans for international relations and United States itself, Nixon went on to try and find some skeletons in the closet of his opponent. He hired specific people to go and search for anything he can use in a smear campaign. Soon, Nixon would be known as a vicious, heartless opponent to run against.
After a long campaign and the suspenseful “Great Debate”, Kennedy won the election. The citizens showed that they trusted the nation more with the charmer more than a man who has nothing better to do on the campaign trail then find negative things to say about his opponent. Kennedy continued into the history book as an American hero, a courageous individual who handled the relationship with Cuba and saved the country from nuclear destruction during the missile crisis.
However, supporters of Nixon were not short on pointing out all the shortcomings of Kennedy after his administration. They mentioned his agreement to assassinate the president of Vietnam, how the Bay of Pigs invasion turned into a complete catastrophe with the Cubans. The ones with the ill opinion of Kennedy made claims that Nixon would have not “sold out” the country to the communists. Some even feared a communist coup between the Soviet Union and the United States.
When Nixon was elected president in 1968, he did a lot of things differently than Kennedy. Although Nixon was known as a man who furthered the Vietnamese war, he ended up putting the war to cease in 1973. Nixon was a firm believer in keeping up the nation’s reputation across the world, but still managed to make historic relations with leaders all across the world. He had a historic meeting with Mao Zedong, the leader of the communist party in china in 1972. This made way for Chinese-American relations. In a fear of a stronger alliance between the two, the Soviet Union pressured the United States for stronger peace talks. Both Kennedy and Nixon were all for a space program. Both of the supported the government’s decision to fund a space program and go to the moon. While Kennedy was focused on an all American space program during his presidency, Nixon approved a five-year long program between both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, creating the Apollo-Soyuz Project. Nixon and Kennedy also both pushed for integration in schools, including equality acts and anti-racism legislation.
Nixon’s popularity came to a peak during the Watergate scandal. At a time where people though Nixon might be a better leader for the country the Kennedy was, he went from famous to infamous. An informant by the name of “deep throat” revealed that Nixon used his aides to commit crimes against his Democratic opponents. So many conspiracies turned up about Nixon having secret alliances and working for other countries, which really tarnished his reputation. After a long fight with the courts over tapes and witnesses, after Nixon rejected to leave office for so long, finally came to a halt when his resigned on August 9, 1974. That was the end on the Nixon Era.
Kennedy also had a Presidential term that came to an early end, but his end was a complete and fatal end. On November 22, 1963, during a presidential visit to Dallas, John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Book Depository that he took the shot from. He denied killing the President, and before he could be tried in a court of law, Oswald was shot and killed by a man named Jack Ruby. This made it difficult to conduct a full investigation. Even though there were a lot of holes in the story, the U.S. released the “Warren Commission” which concluded that Oswald was a lone shooter.
A FOX news poll showed that most Americans believe that there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy and that there had been a cover up. This all started after the “Zapruder” film was released. This showed the direction Kennedy’s head went after he was shot, which conflicted with what the Warren Commission said. The media tagged this the “Magic Bullet” theory, and most people believe that it is not plausible and against the laws of physics.
Potentially the two most popular American Presidents, Nixon and Kennedy both had things to be proud about, and things to frown about. Both of their terms ended early, and both had very popular conspiracies and scandals behind them. Their reputation is subjective and could be viewed as both good and bad. Modern Right wings usually support Nixon, and modern left wings support Kennedy. As time goes on, more and more similarities seem to arise, but most Americans will always see these two individuals as very different people.