John Kennedy accepts Democratic presidential nomination, July 15, 1960
The forty-three-year-old patrician with the movie star good looks steps to the podium and gazes at the 80, 000 delegates in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, who are on their feet cheering loudly. Two days ago, the Democratic National Convention gave him the necessary votes to secure the presidential nomination. With many high-ranking Democrats looking on, and Kennedy celebrity backers such as Henry Fonda and Frank Sinatra joining the festivities, Kennedy now launches what will become known as the “New Frontier” speech: “The world is changing. The old order is ending. The old ways will not do.”