One of the unique aspects of the US Presidential election is the face to face debate of the Presidential nominees. The debates are seen as an important opportunity for the candidates to put forth their points of view and for the independent voters to make up their mind. Here is an explainer on the history & format of these debates. The United States of America (USA) is one of the oldest modern democracies in the world. Over its existence as a democracy for nearly two and half centuries, it has developed institutions and practices which strengthen the idea of democracy. Democracy wrests the choice in the people to choose a government to preside over the administration. Hence it is imperative that the people know about the political party or the individual that they would be voting for. This knowledge includes – the ideology, stance on various issues, vision etc. In a Presidential democracy like the USA, the individual attributes of the contesting candidates may have a larger bearing than that of the political party, compared to that of a parliamentary democracy where it is vice-versa in most cases. In the USA’s presidential election, knowing about the vision, attributes and plans of the presidential candidate becomes key for the non-partisan voters to decide, who play a key role in the election of the President. As such, the US Presidential debates provide a platform for the voters to gain more insights about the presidential candidates. On the other hand, it gives a final opportunity to the candidates to present their point of view to the electorate. Over the past many decades, presidential debates have become a common fixture in the Quadrennial US Presidential elections. With the first of the Presidential debates in the run up to US Presidential Election 2020 coming up later this month, we take a look at the history of the presidential debates, their framework and related information. The first General election presidential debate was held in 1960 US Presidential Debates are not constitutionally mandated but have become an integral part of presidential elections. The first Presidential Debate was held in 1960, between Democratic Presidential nominee John F. Kennedy and Republican Nominee and Vice-president Richard M. Nixon. However, there are several others debates which are considered to have set the precedent to this debate. Lincoln-Douglas debates – 1858 The series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln & Senator Stephen Douglas, for United States Senate in Illinois, are considered to be the first face to face debates between two candidates. Although, they both were contesting for the Senate in 1858, they both were nominated for president in 1860 and the debates defined the respective positions in the ensuing presidential election in 1860. Republican Presidential primary debate – 1948 and debates in ensuing primaries Although Republican presidential nominee in 1940, Wendell Willkie challenged his opponent, President Franklin Roosevelt, to a face to face debate, it was refused by the later. However, in 1948, candidates during Republican Presidential Primaries, Thomas.E. Dewey and Harold Stassen, engaged in a debate in Oregon, which was broadcasted on radio. This was followed by Democrats in their primaries during 1956. A televised primary debate was conducted between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. There was another debate in 1960, again during Democrat Primaries, this time involving John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey. Kennedy – Nixon debates in 1960 – The first presidential debates While there have been efforts since 1956, to organize debates with the presidential candidates, it materialized during the Presidential elections in 1960. The first general election presidential debate was held on 26 September 1960 between U.S Senator John F. Kennedy (Democratic nominee) and Vice President Richard M. Nixon (Republican Nominee), at CBS’s studio. There were three other debates which followed. The series of debates were sponsored by broadcasting networks – CBS, ABC and NBC. The moderating panel consisted of reporters & journalists and varied with each debate. Political observers have commented that Kennedy’s better performance in the first debate gave him an edge in the presidential contest, in spite of his relative inexperience to Nixon. The first debate had over 66 million viewers, more than the following three, with each of them also crossing 60 million in viewership. Hiatus and resumption of the presidential debates in 1976 After the 1960 elections, it took 16 years to organize another presidential debate, with the next presidential debate being in 1976 between President Gerald Ford (Republican) and his opponent, Democratic nominee, Jimmy Carter.