The presidential debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in Philadelphia did not go well.

For the first time in history, in 1976, a presidential debate between the candidates of the major parties was held in Philadelphia.

It would be 48 years before candidates agreed to another debate in the city — in this case, it was Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald J. Trump.

It probably had nothing to do with waiting, but the 1976 event didn’t go so well.

The exchanges between Republican President Gerald R. Ford and Democratic candidate Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter at the Walnut Street Theater did not produce any memorable “Senator, you are not any Jack Kennedy,” Or “Are you in a better situation than you were four years ago??”

But it was indeed memorable, if not necessarily for the best of reasons. Ford and Carter endured a 27-minute silence after an electronic capacitor failure attacked the amplifier circuit.

It was the first of three debates between Ford and Carter, and the first presidential debate since 1960 between Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy.

Why was the Philadelphia debate held in 1976?

This may sound familiar, but Pennsylvania was a key swing state—one of the “most volatile”—during the 1976 campaign, which was crucial to Carter’s nomination campaign’s success.

Its electoral significance helps explain why Trump and Harris have will face off on Tuesday at the National Constitution Center.

» READ MORE: National Constitution Center prepares for presidential debate in the spotlight

But the main reason Philadelphia became the site of the first debate in 1976 was because Philadelphia was at the center of the nation’s bicentennial celebrations. The city has already hosted an impressive lineup of national events that year, including NBA and Major League Baseball All-Star games.

Who won the Ford-Carter debate?

Flash polls conducted by the Roper Organization and the Associated Press showed that respondents gave the edge to Ford, and Carter himself said he thought Ford fared better.

An editorial in the Inquirer stated that both artists gave “respectable but unspectacular performances” but that “the stage of the old Walnut Street Theater was enlivened by the more dramatic performances of its day.”

In the opinion piece, Carter began with a rambling and “philosophical” answer to a question about unemployment, an issue of concern to Democrats.

The editorial team writesRs noted that some may have viewed the prolonged silence as the most “tense moment” of the debate. However, he noted that Ford and Carter showed “commendable patience and good humor” during the break, “and the purpose of the debate was not to entertain or amuse.”

Elections 1976

Carter won both Pennsylvania — and its then-capture of 27 electoral votes — and the general election, both by narrow margins.

Ford’s decision to pardon former President Richard M. Nixon a month after Nixon was forced from office in the Watergate scandal probably had much more to do with the ultimate outcome than the 28 minutes of silence in Philadelphia.

You can watch the debate here