“I think the most important issue is the security of the United States and the peace of the world. But I don’t think we are going to be secure, and I don’t think we are going to maintain our freedom unless we are building in this country a strong society on all fronts.” — Remarks of John F. Kennedy, Treadway Inn, Niagara Falls, New York, September 28, 1960

A president in the making, Senator John F. Kennedy made a campaign stop in Niagara Falls on September 28, 1960. In a speech at Bell Aircraft, Kennedy called for achieving full employment, confronting the threat of the Soviet Union and Communist China, and fighting for what would become the country’s Medicare program. “We do not come to Niagara to see the falls,” said Kennedy. “We come to see you and the people of Northern New York.” As this photograph documents, Kennedy did make a stop at the falls. On November 8, he was elected, defeating Richard Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century.

Image courtesy of The Buffalo History Museum. Used by permission.