Fifty years ago Illinois was considered very much a bellwether state of presidential candidates and Galesburg was a popular campaign stop for state and national candidates. In 1960 Knox College, through the efforts professor Dr. Joe Bindley, invited candidates John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Stuart Symington and William Proxmire to speak on the Siwash campus. Senator Kennedy originally indicated he would appear in Galesburg a week prior to the November election in 1960, however he sent his brother Robert to represent him. Robert Kennedy, who also served as his brother’s campaign manager, drew a crowd that jammed Beecher Chapel with more than 500 supporters on Nov. 3, 1960. At the close of his remarks, Kennedy spoke and visited with an additional 300 persons outside the chapel. Robert Kennedy told the standing-room-only Beecher Chapel audience that he was confident his brother would win the presidency because the debates on television and radio had changed the course of the election. Kennedy said, “The Democrats and his brother were going to win because the people want a change.” Robert Kennedy stopped in Galesburg as part of an Illinois airplane tour under the auspices of the Young Democrats of Knox College. More than 100 persons greeted Robert Kennedy at the Galesburg airport terminal and many more waited in a long line of automobiles to escort the future attorney general to Beecher Chapel. Dirksen fills armory for Richard Nixon At ...
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Fifty years ago Illinois was considered very much a bellwether state of presidential candidates and Galesburg was a popular campaign stop for state and national candidates. In 1960 Knox College, through the efforts professor Dr. Joe Bindley, invited candidates John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Stuart Symington and William Proxmire to speak on the Siwash campus. Senator Kennedy originally indicated he would appear in Galesburg a week prior to the November election in 1960, however he sent his brother Robert to represent him. Robert Kennedy, who also served as his brother’s campaign manager, drew a crowd that jammed Beecher Chapel with more than 500 supporters on Nov. 3, 1960. At the close of his remarks, Kennedy spoke and visited with an additional 300 persons outside the chapel. Robert Kennedy told the standing-room-only Beecher Chapel audience that he was confident his brother would win the presidency because the debates on television and radio had changed the course of the election. Kennedy said, “The Democrats and his brother were going to win because the people want a change.” Robert Kennedy stopped in Galesburg as part of an Illinois airplane tour under the auspices of the Young Democrats of Knox College. More than 100 persons greeted Robert Kennedy at the Galesburg airport terminal and many more waited in a long line of automobiles to escort the future attorney general to Beecher Chapel. Dirksen fills armory for Richard Nixon At ...