"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names" (Smart Quotes). John F. Kennedy said it during one of his speeches, and ironically no one will ever forget the name of the person who killed him, Lee Harvey Oswald, an enemy of American public opinion. When Kennedy ran for office, he had to seem like the most experienced candidate and appeal to all people. During his speeches, Kennedy engaged his audience and they hung on his every word. However, the tragic event of his assassination devastated the country and is something that is still talked about and remembered fifty years later. John F. Kennedy had a major impact on the 1960s and today through his election, his influential public speeches, and his heartbreaking assassination. The 1960 election was an election that could have gone either way. The Republican Party nominated Richard Nixon, the 47-year-old previous vice president, while the Democrats nominated John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John F. Kennedy was the youngest president to run for president in the Democratic Party. People loved him even though he was inexperienced and he was a Catholic Christian. At the beginning of the election Nixon had an advantage because voters considered him more experienced and mature. Richard Nixon wanted to continue the Eisenhower administration and told voters that he would maintain military strength, provide strong leadership, and keep American prestige high. While in office Kennedy promised to make a difference in people's lives by creating new civil rights laws. For the first time, underappreciated Americans began to see hope in the battle for equal rights through Kennedy's promises. This election was important to the American people because... center of paper...... November 20, 2013. Brauer, Carl M. "What John F. Kennedy Meant to Americans." The assassination of John F. Kennedy. Ed. Sylvia Engdahl. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. 20-32. Perspectives on modern world history. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. November 15, 2013. "Campaign of 1960." John F. Kennedy. Presidential Library and Museum, n.d. Web. November 13, 2013. Freidel, Frank, and Hugh Sidey. “John F. Kennedy.” The White House in Washington. Np, 2006. Web. November 13, 2013. "Historical Discourses." John F. Kennedy. Presidential Library and Museum, n.d. Web. November 13, 2013. "John F. Kennedy." Clever quote. Bookrags Media Network, 2001. Web. November 21. 2013. .