War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its

size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you. your host, James Early. By the fall of 1963, Kennedy began focusing more on his upcoming re-election campaign.

A few days after the South Vietnamese coup, the Republican governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller, announced that he was a candidate for the Republican nomination.

Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater had yet to announce, but he was widely expected to run.

He and Kennedy were friends and old colleagues from the Senate.

Some accounts indicate that the two looked forward to running against each other if Goldwater

could get the nomination.

Kennedy felt that it was going to be a tough race.

He told his aides that he doubted whether he could make any

inroads into the states he lost in 1960, saying, quote, let's quit on Kansas and Nebraska.

North Dakota? That's impossible. He added, quote, what is it we have to sell them? We hope to sell

them prosperity. But for the average guy, prosperity

is nil. He's not unprosperous, but he's not very prosperous. He's not going to make out well-off,

and the people who are well-off hate our guts. Kennedy had also proposed the civil rights

bill earlier that year. He feared that this would cost him politically in the South, saying, quote,

we're the ones shoving the Negroes down his throat.

Texas was key to his re-election hopes.

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