The Soviet Union sent the first satellite in orbit in 1957, to start the marathon of deceptions to be the first country to the moon. The Soviets had a serious head start, sending a dog, Laika, into space, becoming the first country to send a living being into space. The U.S. had some serious catching up to do, and we did not want to be second to the Soviets in anything. Because of the dangerous drive that the U.S. imputed into the quest for domination in space, we were able to top the Soviets, and prove our power once again. Although we ended up victorious in the space race, the country needed to be convinced to join the competition. President Kennedy delivered a riveting speech to Rice university, thoroughly convincing the country of the importance of space exploration. He used many good arguments, and tugged on emotional and ethical heartstrings. His arguments were accurate, …show more content…
He condenses the 50,000 years of human history into 50 years, and condenses U.S. into 1. JFK reminds the audience of the progress the U.S. have made since the founding of the country, and reminds us of the rise to becoming a world power. Kennedy goes on to suggest an exploration of space, saying “Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward”. The condensation of history achieves 2 things. First, it give the listeners or readers a sense of how much the U.S. has actually achieved in it’s short time as a country. Second, it provides belief and hope to the audience, making them wonder what the U.S. can achieve in another “2 years”. Maybe the U.S. can send a man to the moon, and beat out the Soviets to the next frontier. Achieving space exploration though was impossible though, without the support of the country, and this speech, and this opening persuasion is vital to convincing the country into joining the space
In the 1960s the Cold War was at its peak, with both the USSR and America trying to spread their ideologies onto the rest of the world. The world was still uneasy due to the Korean War. In the public’s eyes, nuclear Armageddon was only a press of a button away. The Space Race was a welcome peaceful distraction for the world. The USSR and the United States were constantly trying to best each other in celestial exploration. In 1962, American President, John F Kennedy announced to America that by the end of the decade America would land a man on the moon. Kennedy carefully chose the audience and language of his speech to convince the public to support the Apollo Moon Program.
The speech I am mentioning is often referred to as the “We Choose To Go To The Moon” speech. It was roughly 20 minutes long and was delivered in Houston, Texas, at Rice University to students and faculty. He starts his speech by providing the audience with facts about man’s inventions and discoveries, mentioning all the way back to cave men and how they used animal skin as clothing. From there John F. Kennedy moved on in history chronologically to discuss how we learned to write, use a cart with wheels, study religion, create the printing press, and develop the steam engine. He also mentioned television, airplanes, nuclear power, and telephones. He says that we need to move forward, and talks about how space will be the means of the progression of the United States. Kennedy explains that the race to space will go on whether the United States takes part in it or not, and a nation that wants to be a world leader needs to come first in the race, and not be behind. He says that we, as a country, have vowed to fill outer space with instruments of knowledge and understanding, not weapons of mass destruction. He explains how he wishes to e...
To begin, Kennedy gave the exigence and explained what the current situation was in America. He gives his thesis to let the audience know what his feelings are, and what the main point of the speech is going to be. The first sentence discusses the steel companies raising their prices which, “constitutes a wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of the public interest” (2-3). This sentence sets up the rest of the speech and what can be expected to follow. After giving the exigence and thesis, Kennedy expands on the issue in the paragraphs that proceed. His ideas flow right from one to the next. Beginning with the issues in America, the steel companies raised prices, national security, and finally how it affects Americans.
Kennedy had realized that the only way to overtake the Soviets after falling so far behind, would be by putting the first man on the moon. The US morale had taken a serious blow following Sputnik and the first cosmonaut in space, Yuri Gagarin. On September 12th, 1962, Kennedy delivered his famous speech, saying “We choose to go to the moon.” Kennedy knew that it was essential to gather support behind a manned mission to the moon from the American public. Although many argued that it would be easier, and more efficient to send an unmanned mission to the moon, it was more about the morale boost and the message a man on the moon would send to the
His speech contained persuasive appeals such as logos and pathos. Kennedy says “This peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers...our neighbors know we shall join with them to oppose aggression anywhere…let every power know this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.” This strong quote corresponds with pathos, it pertains to the emotion of hope and courage that the U.S. needs to maintain its high ranking status among other countries. This shows that he wants us to be ready for anything
...space, so he asked congress for 7 billion through 9 billion dollars over the next 5 years, for the space program. Within a year Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard became the first Americans in space. Although America wasn’t the first to space we had accomplished Kennedy’s goal.
The Cold War presented the United States with a unique decision. The Soviet Union had created a space program and the United States needed to decide if a space program would be beneficial for them. The Soviets sent probes out to space, and soon American probes followed. There are many reasons that the U.S. could have made this decision, but two reasons are more prominent that the others. Firstly the United States found it necessary to compete with the Soviets, and they could not accept the fact that the U.S.S.R had something that they didn’t. Secondly, JFK and his administration thought that space was the final frontier, and it would provide valuable scientific research. Ultimately, John F Kennedy and the United States decided to create a space
In the passage, Kennedy uses significant type of diction such as asunder, foe, forebears, writ, and wrought. Many of the words used have a formal and mature connotation. Considering that Kennedy was so young, he was often critiqued for this. Therefore, instead of speaking in an informal tone, he spoke formally and respectfully to give the effect that he was wise with his knowledge. He uses many different forms of syntax to put emphasis on moving forward with the nation. “Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.” and “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” are examples of his expectations of how the future will bring new and improved innovations. In the speech there are many different situations where he tends to use opposites next to each other in comparison. “Symbolizing and end as well as a beginning” these quotes throughout the speech, imply that the tone has adjusted from the original course, wandering from the tradition it has always been. His tone was well understood, civil and defined by diction allowing all of the audience to be
The Americans took a much more urgent approach after seeing what the U.S.S.R. was truly capable of. The United States would respond with various satellites including those of the Explorer Series and more. However, the Soviet Union would again one-up the United States, and all of their now seemingly feeble satellite launches, by putting the first man into outer space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Now the quest gained an even more competitive drive and the United States soon put Alan B. Shepard into space twenty-three days later. The Space Race was truly a trek for the firsts of history, essentially just exterrestrial one-ups throughout an extended period of time. That very same year, John F. Kennedy founded NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just for that purpose, to explore the world beyond their own, while maintaining the central aim, to beat the Soviets outright. JFK was a leading power in this race, and “by giving NASA programs top priority, his actions essentially played on American fears of communism and implicitly inferred that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to meet the Sputnik challenge. Too many Americans were beginning to feel a need to vindicate the ‘long-standing communist boast that theirs was the superior system for galvanizing human productivity’” (Koman 43). Winning this space race was way more than just an extraterrestrial victory, it would hopefully squander the communists’ hopes and assert true American dominance. The United States sought to eliminate any presumption of communist superiority and did so in the near future by winning this Cold War space race, thanks to the execution of a truly unimaginable
In September 1961, president John. F. Kennedy delivers one of his best inspirational speeches titled “We choose to go to the Moon”. This notorious speech was addressed at Rice University in Houston Texas to a very fortunate crowd of students. The significance of his timing is both vital and genius for at the time being the cold war between the United States of America and Russia had been in mid-hype, Russia leading in the space race. This brought doubt to the Americas power and authority thus giving his speech more influential drive. Kennedys fear of the Soviet Union landing on the moon first is because he did not want to see the accomplishment “governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of
Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).
(Kennedy). Kennedy’s usage of “we” rather than “I” gives the audience a sense that they exist as part of something big, perhaps a family, while portraying Kennedy as a people’s president who desires to be a “person in the crowd.” Throughout his address, Kennedy establishes pathos mainly by appealing to American patriotism, a significant concept during the Cold War period in which Americans needed a jingoistic spirit to succeed. By reminding his audience of their forefathers and instigating parallels between “the first revolution” and the present generation, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage,” the president grasps the attention of the audience. He even stresses the value of liberty and this generation’s dedication to the survival of that value to rouse this patriotic spirit.... ...
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,
President Kennedy has shown the commitment, justified the struggles, and now developed the need in every listener’s mind why America needs to be the first country to land a person on the moon. Looking back, he obviously succeeded. His speech was the major turning point in making the move happen, and rhetorical questions, allusions, and repetition all played an important role in making the speech so persuasive and inspiring.
...erful for social objectives. Technology, especially in aerospace engineering and electronic communication, advanced greatly during this period. Today over a thousand artificial satellites orbit earth, relaying communications data around the planet and facilitating remote sensing of data. The moon landing stood for a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown. To win the Space Race we had to be the first to land a man on the moon and for that moment in the tumultuous 60’s, our country came together in celebration and pride. The citizens of the U.S made the journey possible; through their contributions to the space effort, or even if they just supported the effort they were helping the cause. John F. Kennedy requested, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We responded, we prevailed, we triumphed.