Memorable World History/Authors

History of US Presidential Debates

During presidential election campaigns in the United States, it has become customary for the main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two largest parties, currently the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) to engage in a debate. The topics discussed in the debate are often the most controversial issues of the time, and arguably elections have been nearly decided by these debates. Candidate debates are not constitutionally mandated, but they are now considered an intrinsic part of the election process. The debates are targeted mainly at undecided voters; those who tend not to be partial to any political ideology or party.

Presidential debates are held late in the election cycle, after the political parties have nominated their candidates. The candidates meet in a large hall, often at a university, before an audience of citizens. The formats of the debates have varied, with questions sometimes posed from one or more journalist moderators and in other cases members of the audience. The debate formats established during the 1988 though 2000 campaigns were governed in detail by secret memoranda of understanding (MOU) between the two major candidates; the MOU for the 2004 debates was, unlike the earlier agreements, jointly released to the public by the participants.

Debates have been broadcast live on television, radio, and in recent years, the web. The first debate for the 1960 election drew over 66 million viewers out of a population of 179 million, making it one of the most-watched broadcasts in U.S. television history. The 1980 debates drew 80 million viewers out of a population of 226 million. Recent debates have drawn decidedly smaller audiences, ranging from 46 million for the first 2000 debate to a high of over 67 million for the first debate in 2012. A record-breaking audience of over 84 million people watched the first 2016 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a number that does not reflect online streaming.

Background

While the first general presidential debate was not held until 1960, several other debates are considered predecessors to the presidential debates.

Lincoln–Douglas debates

The series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen A. Douglas for U.S. Senate were true, face-to-face debates, with no moderator; the candidates took it in turns to open each debate with a one-hour speech, then the other candidate had an hour and a half to rebut, and finally the first candidate closed the debate with a half-hour response. Douglas was later re-elected to the Senate by the Illinois legislature. Lincoln and Douglas were both nominated for president in 1860 (by the Republicans and Northern Democrats, respectively), and their earlier debates helped define their respective positions in that election, but they did not meet during the campaign.

Early presidential primary candidate debates

Wendell Willkie became the first 20th century presidential candidate to challenge his opponent to a face to face debate when in 1940 he challenged President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but Roosevelt refused.[citation needed] In 1948, presidential candidate debates became a reality when a radio debate was held in Oregon between Republicans Thomas E. Dewey and Harold Stassen during the party's presidential primary. The Democrats followed suit in 1956 with a televised presidential primary debate between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver, and in 1960 by one between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey.

Presidential debate history

In 1956, University of Maryland student Fred Kahn led an effort to bring the two major presidential candidates—Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee, and President Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican nominee—to the campus for a debate. Various newspapers were contacted and numerous letters were sent in an effort to generate interest and garner support for the proposal. Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was among those who received a letter. She replied, Kahn told Guy Raz, during an All Things Considered interview on NPR in 2012, saying, "not only would the students of the University of Maryland be interested, but also other students." Roosevelt also said that she was going to forward Kahn's letter to James Finnegan, Adlai Stevenson's campaign manager. In the end, no debate took place. However, Kahn's effort did receive national press exposure, and thus helped lay groundwork for the Kennedy–Nixon debates four years later during the 1960 presidential campaign.