While this was the first televised debate between U.S. presidential candidates, Republicans Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen debated on radio in 1948. The next presidential debate on TV after this one found Democrats John Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey facing off before the 1960 West Virginia primary. That set the stage for the Kennedy-Nixon debates that fall.

@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491

3 жыл бұрын

Dewey and Stassen were fascists

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 your username alone shows how far your head is up your ass. If the Republican Party is comprised of fascists, the Democratic Party is comprised of anarcho-communists. See how idiotic that looks?

@RandomVidsforthought

Жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 😂

@PeterFlanagan0987

Жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 Dewey and stassen wouldn’t be out of place in the dnc of today in New England or California they’re hardly fascists.

@earthball2024

Жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 not true. Although They Might as well have doomed america.

1st debate on t.v amazing this is on youtube

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

@sparrowsnwires Great job, ABC, for your groundbreaking work. (I think ABC also beat the other two networks on RFK's shooting in 1968. I hope that is restored to look as good as this broadcast.)

citizens deserve politics more like this, compared to far less that has become pervasive and overwhelming.

2:40-5:45 Kefauver (Opening Statement - Destructive & Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy) 5:50-9:17 Stevenson (Opening Statement - What is America?) 9:39-10:39 Kefauver (Pro-Atomic Energy & Pro-Atomic Testing) 10:45-12:27 Stevenson (Anti-Atomic Testing & Pro-Procurement of Uncommitted Nations) 12:27-14:05 Kefauver (Pro-Atomic Energy for Commercial Purposes & Pro-Atomic Testing for National Defense) 14:05-15:05 Stevenson (Pro-Development of Guided Missile) 15:05-15:23 Kefauver (Guided Missile Details) 15:23-15:50 Stevenson (Guided Missile Details) 15:51-15:58 Kefauver (Guided Missile Details) 15:59-17:55 Kefauver (Pro-Atomic Energy for Commercial Purposes) 18:28-19:38 Stevenson (Pro-Procurement of Uncommitted Nations via Commercial Atomic Energy) 19:39-20:58 Stevenson (Speculation on Soviet Military Cuts) 21:12-22:48 Kefauver (Speculation on Soviet Military Cuts & Pro-Military Innovation & Pro-Open Lines of Communication & Anti-Reduction in Military Defense) 23:04-23:52 Kefauver (Observations from Trip behind the Iron Curtain & Pro-Maximum American Influence behind the Iron Curtain) 24:05-26:23 Stevenson (Pro-Procurement of Uncommitted Nations & Anti-Overreliance on Military Aid) 26:42-27:44 Kefauver (Pro-NATO & Pro-UN & Pro-Israel & Anti-Colonialism / Pro-Self Determination) 28:23-30:10 Stevenson (Pro-Desegregation) 30:32-33:41 Kefauver (Pro-Supremacy of the Supreme Court & Anti-Military Coercion) 33:53-35:14 Stevenson (Pro-LBJ / Rayburn & Anti-Politicalization of Desegregation) 35:36-35:53 Kefauver (Pro-LBJ / Rayburn) 35:54-38:06 Kefauver (Challenged Misrepresentation of Senate Absence Record) 38:11-39:11 Stevenson (Senate Absence Record) 39:12-39:47 Kefauver (Senate Absence Record) 39:48-40:26 Kefauver (Congressional Endorsements) 40:59-42:29 Kefauver (Plight of American Farmers & Pro-Agricultural Bill) 42:34-43:52 Stevenson (Plight of American Farmers) 44:01-44:05 Stevenson (Stevenson's Question) 44:07-44:09 Kefauver (Kefauver's Answer) 44:11-45:30 Kefauver (Pro-Small Businesses & Pro-Antitrust Laws) 45:31-46:16 Stevenson (Pro-Small Businesses) 46:36-47:15 Kefauver (Voter Outreach) 47:15-47:36 Stevenson (Political Use of TV) 48:06-52:50 Stevenson (Why I Am a Candidate) 53:00-58:10 Kefauver (Why I Am a Candidate)

These 2 debaters both seem like excellent candidates for any public office in the USA. RS. Canada

Excellent debate, especially the beginning about foreign policy and the Hydrogen bomb.

@stevebbuk

6 жыл бұрын

Yes but what about workers' rights in their country..did that not count as an issue?

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

@@stevebbuk What is your country?

@stevebbuk

3 жыл бұрын

@@653j521 United Kingdom.

I had no idea this even happened let alone survived!

@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491

3 жыл бұрын

I hate republicans

This is so great! Thank you!

Stevenson's opposition to Texas Gov. Alan Shivers at 33:40 was understandable. In 1952 Shivers had backed Eisenhower and helped him carry Texas, while LBJ and Speaker Sam Rayburn supported the Democratic national ticket headed by Stevenson. The liberal and conservative Democrats in Texas were still at odds in the 1960s, which led to JFK's trip to Dallas on November 22, 1963.

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

And that ended... well... yikes

@davemclallen7328

2 жыл бұрын

so sad that corruption in texas had not been rooted out by the time any contest would gloss over the mess in an effort to get support for any far removed from the stench in texas back then! i can only hope that now, years after bush was crowned in florida, by a hot bench in d.c., such corruption will not happen again, etc. evidently, hope is all many have about such--evidence is diminishing such hope coast to coast. such makes some very sad, others angry, and some, both.

Cuban Missile crisis 6 yrs off, atmospheric testing at the time yielded strontium 90, so nuclear testing was not insignificant. EK would be dead in 7 years, AES in 9. So civilized compared to today

@Adyman182

4 жыл бұрын

Stevenson didn't get to see Nixon get elected and Kefauver didn't even get to see Kennedy get assassinated. Crazy

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

ciroalb3 Shows how far medicine has come since then. EK died of a heart attack at 60. Nothing to be done for him in 1963. AES also died of a heart attack, at age 65. Again, nothing to be done for him in 1965. Nothing says civilized like the fear of nuclear annihilation, radiation poisoning, and WWIII that terrified and terrorized a generation.

@ciroalb3

3 жыл бұрын

@@653j521 quite true. EK, however was am alcoholic, and everyone in politics lives with a lot of stress. AES tried to resign, due to health, but LBJ wouldn't let him. LBJ himself died at 64. Stevenson's two predecessors as gov. died in their 60s

48:22 couldn't be any more spot on.

I think WTVJ was the only TV station in Miami at the time (there were a couple of UHF channels that went on and off the air prior to the spring of 1956) with two more VHF channels would launch within a year.

Exactly18 Years before I was born

Stevenson carried most of the south in the general election, but notably lost Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida, Texas and Louisiana (plus one elector in Alabama). This is compared to 1952 when he lost Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and Texas. The south was leaving the national Democratic Party (though they would continue a great dominance on the state and local level for sometime).

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

For any wondering, that one electoral vote in Alabama was a faithless vote for Walter B. Jones, a judge. The vote was similar to 1948 and 1960, in support of segregational policies. In other words, it’s a surprise tool that will “help” us later.

The Democratic Party bosses totally shafted Kefauver, who dominated the presidential primaries, but didn't earn enough delegates to win the nomination in 1952.

@navaladmiral2962

2 жыл бұрын

Kefauver would have done significantly better than Stevenson

@matthewnikitas8905

11 ай бұрын

@@navaladmiral2962Against Eisenhower? I don’t think anybody could have beaten him given his immense support from both parties because of his success as a general in WW2.

@navaladmiral2962

11 ай бұрын

@@matthewnikitas8905 I didn't said Kefauver would win, just by less than Stevenson.

@tbewin1z143

Ай бұрын

@@navaladmiral2962that is probably correct; he would have won the South by more and maybe won a state elsewhere

@sapnamukherjee6716

Ай бұрын

​​​@@tbewin1z143actually, Kefauver wasn't adored in the South at all. If anything, Stevenson did the best he or infact any Democrat could against Eisenhower

They ended up teaming up as a Stevenson/Kefauver ticket that got destroyed by Eisenhower/Nixon!!

history, don't let it be mystery!

A yawnfest, but a crucial piece of history! Thank you very much!

@Yobbie72

8 ай бұрын

lol

Kefauver is talking with a somewhat of a Midlands English accent.

Great men in politics.

What did this pre-empt on ABC radio and TV?

@LaptopLarry330

9 ай бұрын

The debate was broadcast on May 21, 1956, on a Monday night. Here is the ABC Monday night schedule for the 1955-56 TV season: Kukla, Fran, And Ollie, John Daly And The News, Topper (reruns), TV Reader’s Digest, The Voice Of Firestone (Pop music program), The Dotty Mack Show, Medical Horizons, and local programming at 10:30 PM Eastern Time.

@LaptopLarry330

9 ай бұрын

Note: The Big Picture was shown after Medical Horizons, and before Local Programming at 10:30 PM Eastern Time.

Just think. Less than ten years both men would be dead.

I wonder why only ABC covered this?

@gregb6469

11 ай бұрын

ABC put on the debate, not the DNC.

Estes Kefauver was a heavy drinker, much like LBJ. Yet, Kefauver has the distinction to (almost) die on the Senate floor, where so many of his bills suffered the very same fate.

@glennmillerfan

3 жыл бұрын

Estes Kefauver was generally a pro-civil rights Southern Democrat as well, having supported a majority of civil rights legislation from 1939-1963 with the exception of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Had he lived a few more years, he would have easily voted in favor of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

@ijiwarusensei89

3 жыл бұрын

He also led hearings that attempted to link juvenile delinquency to comic books leading to establishing the Comics Code Authority.

@gregb6469

11 ай бұрын

Was Kefauver a serial rapist like LBJ?

At 44:10 Kefauver hits the nail on the head!!!

Compared to something like ‘84, this debate was pretty boring, but I must say, Stevenson has a great voice. He sounds like the guy who would try to the best of his ability to comfort the nation during trying times, unlike the doofuses in Washington right now.

@gregb6469

11 ай бұрын

I was thinking that Kefauver sounded better, voice-wise.

@thezombiecreeper

11 ай бұрын

@@gregb6469 Kefauver is alright, voice-wise. It is rather interesting though that their two voices are seldom alike, and yet Stevenson is only a few years older than Kefauver.

It's OR-E--GUN not GONE. I went to see Mario Cuomo in Portland in 1996 and while he was a great speaker, his mispronunciation of Oregon is what I remember

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

Why was Mario Cuomo in Oregon..?

@grschott

2 жыл бұрын

@@thezombiecreeper He debated Rep Lynn Martin at Pacific Univ Tom McCall Forum, a great venue that ran out of $ over a decade ago. Pacific still has some version of it onsite, but not the dinner at the Hilton and debate at the Schitz like they used to

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

@@grschott ah, that makes sense

The claim that this was the first televised debate is false. In 1952, Kefauver and Richard Russell debated in Florida on television.

@mkfan1853

2 жыл бұрын

First televised presidential debate of any sort, though. Interestingly, WTVJ, then located in Downtown Miami, was a CBS affiliate; Miami's ABC affiliate started in 1957.

@dingers5days

2 жыл бұрын

@@mkfan1853 Yes. There were also a few other debates that year; I believe Stassen and Kefauver debated in Wisconsin and there was a debate with a bunch of Democratic candidates whose names I cannot remember.

Correct me, I think France has nuclear energy. It's actually, arguably cleaner energy.

What a good ticket they became! WTF happened with Missouri.

who else is here after that shit show last night

@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491

3 жыл бұрын

Drumpf embarrassed himself, Biden destroyed

@VaufFN

3 жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 agreed

@thezombiecreeper

2 жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 you can’t be serious. Biden continued on his dementia trip, although Trump probably should’ve shut up a few times

Three years ago it means 1953. What happened after 1953?

@LaptopLarry330

9 ай бұрын

Josef Stalin died, and The Korean War was suspended with a ceasefire agreement. The McCarthy Hearings were taking place.

if the wax model lived in Chicago, it likely cast a vote!

Odd how both started out with an issue [the hydrogen bomb] that turned out to be insignificant, since it was never used in war.

@baronvonnembles

6 жыл бұрын

Keep that thought in mind the next time you hear a politician claim that the sky is falling.

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

@@baronvonnembles Keep that thought when people act as if disaster can't be diverted so there is no sense in trying. It wasn't mere chance that the world survived. It was from hard work and determined negotiations that we are here today.

The trouble with anger is, it gets hold of you. And then you aren’t the master of yourself anymore. Anger is.” Jeanne DuPrau Author The City of Ember

I think Stevenson was the better candidate.

27:09 Palestinian refugee problem was an issue at the time. Interesting

Kefauver/Kofeffi ya think!

Smash like for BOMB PROPAGANDA

Good stock films

@RobertJones-my5of

2 жыл бұрын

Sen. E.K. was a high brow man

@joehickey8597

2 жыл бұрын

@@RobertJones-my5of Yea, he was a lit man.

Adlai one of the best politicians in US history.

@joehickey8597

2 жыл бұрын

He is for the 50s, I support Kefauver, he’s got a good brain!

@Godlovethepilot

2 жыл бұрын

Yes and so was Truman, Estes, Ike, and Warren the worst thing about the fifties was constantly finding out the guy on the other side was just as decent as your guy

At 9:21 it sounds like the moderator was about to say "bomb propaganda" but catches himself and said subject.

Oh, Adlai Stevenson, you were so cool. Hee hee hee.

@ferabra8939

6 жыл бұрын

Emma Rose actually, Stevenson was anything but cool. Intelligent, prepared, experienced, honest....cool, no. Charismatic, no. JFK was cool.

@Warriorcats64

6 жыл бұрын

Well the whole "Yes or No? Do not wait for the translation! Yes or no?" was pretty cool

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

Emma Rose He had a witty moment during the 46:35 exchange. Oh, Gov. Stevenson, you are a caution! tee hee

@emmarose4234

3 жыл бұрын

Let’s not forget how Adlai took the “egghead” remark and the worn sole and ran with them. Yes, JFK was cool too.

Kefauver comes off as little more left leaning.

Four years later, JFK kicked Nixon's ass.

@sirhc07

3 жыл бұрын

Nixon carried more states you want to talk a ass kicking ike and nixon did that to these 2 in the election

@lawrenceoswalt6706

3 жыл бұрын

Kennedy only won with a 112,000 popular vote lead lmao

@gregb6469

11 ай бұрын

Kennedy won only because of voting shinanigans in Chicago gave him Illinois and enough electoral votes to win.

@Yobbie72

8 ай бұрын

closest election of all time, and Nixon actually won MORE states than JFK (just not in the electoral college)

all nuclear progriymz suck

Wow...Adlai was pretty impressed with Adlai, wasn't he? Happy to report that Ike kicked his *** twice in a row.

Eisenhower didn't seem to make any effort toward racial equality. I read that he didn't think it was as important as what he was busy doing. (I really can't warm up to him despite his affable image, knowing he wasn't interested in social domestic issues. He was much more about, for instance, infrastructure like the interstate system. And because he and the Dulles Brothers set out to have every foreign leader they didn't like assassinated. They finally had to give up on Castro.) Kefauver and Stevenson are so low energy it is hard to picture either one as president. I'm sure they were good in other positions. I think the major issue of the day ought to have been that "we have lost a million small farmers. Small farmers have not been able to stay on the land." Why wasn't something done to find those small farmers and somehow provide shelter or even grappling hooks to keep them on the land? I don't know how very small they are but clearly they are being blown around and we can't locate them. I suppose they are something like Brownies who make shoes for the cobbler during the night. They must be doing farm work when the big farmers are asleep. I don't know how the nation can get along without them. I mean a million are missing!😢

@ciroalb3

3 жыл бұрын

ever hear of troops being sent to Little Rock to enforce SCOTUS Brown v. Board of Ed? He also supported a GOP Civil Rights Bill that congressional Dems defeated

@dongf5628

3 жыл бұрын

Eisenhower never publicity supported civil rights until the end of his presidency. He didn’t want to alienate southerners by supporting it until politically it didn’t hurt. Stevenson felt the same way but supported it a little more because he knew as a democratic candidate you needed the votes of northern blacks and whites

@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491

3 жыл бұрын

Eisenhower like most of the Republican Party is a racist

@tigerfishdivisionlancey2725

3 жыл бұрын

@@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491 you are applying 21st century biases to complex, 20th century ideologies

@kryptonianknight2344

2 жыл бұрын

Two different era’s of ideologies that aren’t comparable. Heavy hitters around this time like Eisenhower, Dewey, Rockefeller, etc wouldn’t be elected nowadays

Go Trump!

@p1xel449

3 жыл бұрын

this didn't age very well hahahaha

@joewonandtrumptardsarecryi8491

3 жыл бұрын

Drumpf lost