User:Gsueaglethm

Nixon visited Atlanta, Georgia on August 26 and acquired a very large turn out to his event. Nixon rode through a parade in Atlanta and was greeted by 150,000 people.[20] Nixon mentioned in his speech in Atlanta, “in the last quarter of a century there hasn’t been a Democratic candidate for President that has bothered to campaign in the State of Georgia.”[21] However, Kennedy would not let Nixon take the Democratic states that easily. Kennedy would change that statistic and visit some surprising states, including Georgia. Senator Kennedy visited the cities of Columbus, Warm Springs, and Lagrange on his campaign trail in Georgia. In his visit to Warm Springs, state troopers tried to keep Kennedy from an immense crowd, however Kennedy reached out to shake hands of those who were sick with polio.[22] He also visited small towns all throughout Georgia on his trip and saw a mass of 100,000 people in the entire trip. Kennedy spoke at a rehabilitation facility in Warm Springs. Warm Springs near and dear to Kennedy’s heart due to the affects the facility had on Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt spent time there at the rehabilitation facility and passed away there in 1945.[23]

A letter to the Governor of Georgia regarding Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrest also helped Kennedy garner many African American votes. John F. Kennedy asked the Governor Ernest Vandiver to look into the harsh sentencing and stated his claim that he did not want to have to get involved in Georgia’s justice system[41]. A member of Kennedy’s civil rights team and King’s friend, Harris Wofford, and other Kennedy campaign members passed out a pamphlet to black churchgoers the Sunday before the presidential election that said, ““No Comment” Nixon versus a Candidate with a Heart, Senator Kennedy.””[42]Gsueaglethm (talk) 05:16, 1 March 2017 (UTC)