In The Making of the President 1960, Theodore White recounts the 1960 presidential election
between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. White’s book is one of the earliest examples of a
genre known as a campaign book and a great influence on later American political reporting.
In an essay of at least five pages, analyze White’s depiction of post-World War Two American
politics. What are the major issues at hand in the 1960 presidential campaign? How did the
transformation of American life (such as suburbanization, the Civil Rights Movement, and
television) play into the election?
A good essay will:
• Begin with an introduction that makes an explicit argument about which issues are most
prominent in the 1960 presidential election and how they relate to the broader historical
context.
• Identify and analyze at least two issues.
o Briefly describe each of the issues. (I have read the book, so you do not need to
provide lengthy descriptions).
o Analyze how these issues appear in the context of the 1960 presidential election.
o Relate these issues to the larger historical context.
• Place White’s book into the historical context discussed in class or the textbook.
o Consider when The Making was published, who would have been reading it and
why would they have been reading it.
o Briefly consider how the events described in The Making relate to later political
developments.
• Have a brief conclusion.
• Be at least 5 pages long with standard formatting: 12-point Times New Roman font,
double-spaced, one-inch margins, and page numbers.
• Include page numbers (of the book not PDF) for all quotes and an indication of which
edition of The Making you read.
