JFK in Troy, 1960
The ultimate Presidential candidate visit; John F Kennedy speaking to thousands in Monument Square, #Troy, 9-29-1960 pic.twitter.com/jLhfUwucEs
— Albany Archives (@AlbanyArchives) April 11, 2016
Albany Archives shared this photo today of then-Senator John F. Kennedy campaigning in Troy in September of 1960 today (you are following @AlbanyArchives, right?). And it struck us how informal the whole scene looked, especially in contract to the large campaign events that have recently happened in the Capital Region.
Anyway, we were able to find a transcript of some of JFK's remarks that day in Troy. He mostly talked about Russia and China and communism. Here's a clip from the American Presidency Project at the University of California-Santa Barbara:
So I come here to Troy and ask your support. The name of Troy goes back in history. Therefore, in this city you connect the old with the new but the cause is still the same, the maintenance of freedom, the maintenance of self-government, at a time when it is under far more serious challenges than the city of ancient Troy ever faced. I come to Troy and ask your help in this campaign.
Kennedy would, of course, go on to the win the presidency against Richard Nixon later that fall. He won New York State 52.5-47.3 -- though the only Capital Region county he won was Albany.
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