Video: 'IFP:83B JFK Announces Candidacy for President'

(Saturday, January 2, 1960, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EST) — U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts formally announced today that he would seek the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

The 42-year-old Kennedy, the first serious Roman Catholic contender for the presidency since Alfred E. Smith was soundly defeated in the 1928 general election, delivered his announcement to a crowded news conference in the Senate Caucus Room in Washington.

Asked about whether being a Roman Catholic would affect his chances of winning, Kennedy said “I would think that there is really only one issue involved in the whole question of a candidate’s religion, that is, does a candidate believe in the separation of church and state?”