When were the first presidential candidate debates?

Answer 1

Kennedy/Nixon 1960 (I saw them.)

"For the first time, the nominees of the two major parties met to debate during a general election. Congress suspended the equal time provision of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, and both Vice President Richard Nixon (R) and Sen. John Kennedy (D-Mass.) believed they had something to gain by debating. (928K QuickTime movie)

There were a total of four debates, which still stands as the record number for a general election, and the major theme was the threat of global communism. There were no Vice Presidential debates in 1960.

What everyone remembers is the first debate, where the telegenic Kennedy won the image battle over Nixon who, recovering from the flu, appeared pale and refused make-up."

P.S. Lincoln/Douglas was for a seat in the Senate, and Lincoln lost the race.
"The debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were held during the 1858 campaign for a US Senate seat from Illinois. The debates were held at 7 sites throughout Illinois, one in each of the 7 Congressional Districts [ Map of Congresstional Districts].

Douglas, a Democrat, was the incumbent Senator, having been elected in 1847. He had chaired the Senate Committee on Territories. He helped enact the Compromise of 1850. Douglas then was a proponent of Popular Sovereignty, and was responsible for the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The legislation led to the violence in Kansas, hence the name "Bleeding Kansas"

Lincoln was a relative unknown at the beginning of the debates. In contrast to Douglas' Popular Sovereignty stance, Lincoln stated that the US could not survive as half-slave and half-free states. The Lincoln-Douglas debates drew the attention of the entire nation.

Although Lincoln would lose the Senate race in 1858, he would beat Douglas out in the 1860 race for the US Presidency."

Answer 2

During presidential elections in the United States, it has become a convention for the two main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two main parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) engage in a debate. The issues discussed in the debate are often the most hot-button issues of the time, and some have said that elections can be won or lost based on these debates.

In the race for the American presidency, a series of debates between the two main candidates is held frequently. The first televised debate to be held was on September 26, 1960, in a debate between Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy and Republican nominee Vice President Richard Nixon. Nixon was generally considered to be the “loser” of that first debate, mainly because he did not prepare for the possibilities and peculiarities of the medium of television. His poor makeup, haggard appearance due to a knee injury and hospitalization earlier in the month and his grey suit, which blended into the backdrop of the set, contributed to Nixon's poor showing. While the consensus of the subsequent debates saw Nixon clearly perform better and even win in some cases, the performance of that first debate haunted him for the rest of the season. As the candidates in the following elections of 1964, 1968 and 1972 feared to make the same mistakes and maybe lose an election because of such a debate, it took until 1976 for the second series of televised presidential debates after 1960 to be held. On September 23, 1976 it was the Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter and the Republican incumbent, President Gerald R. Ford, who agreed to debate publicly on television. Since then, televised debates have become a regular part of presidential campaigns in every election. There was a single Vice Presidential debate that year, but it wasn't until 1984 that it has been included as part of the presidential debate cycle.

Two polls examining the 1976 debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were taken. One of the polls had been taken 12 hours or less before the debate, the other one 12 to 48 hours after it.[citation needed] The shifts in the public’s opinion were dramatic.

Shortly after the second debate, more than half of those interviewed felt that Ford had won, whereas days later the majority felt Carter had won. The reason for this dramatic shift has been attributed to a comment made by President Ford. He said "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration." For several days, it was not acknowledged that he might have said something wrong. In subsequent interviews, Ford has said that what he was trying to say during that debate was that the Russians will never dominate the spirit of the Eastern Europeans.

During September and October 2004 George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry met in a series of three televised debates face-to-face.

Moderators of nationally televised presidential debates have included Bernard Shaw, Jim Lehrer and Barbara Walters.

Answer 3

Since Washington ran unapposed, I believe, then the next presidential debates had to begin with Jefferson. Of course, debating was accomplished by public speeches and written articles in those days. The first televised debate was Kennedy/Nixon in 1960. A hundred years before, Lincoln/Douglas had a public debate.

Answer 4

My guess is it was the Lincoln/Douglas debate in the 1860s. Very famous debate. Lincoln of course out did Douglas and went on to win the presidency..I might be wrong but that is my best guess without checking it out on the net. You can do that.

Answer 5

1860 - Lincoln/Douglas (I didn't see them)