On May 25th, 1961, the 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy proclaimed his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade in his Moon Speech. Besides his talent as an esteemed speaker, his speech was efficacious due to him alluding to the hardworking nature of the American people, and how further exploration into space was an ample distraction to the copious number of tense situations that had plagued the world at the present time. During the early sixties, Communist dictator Fidel Castro was running rampant in Cuba, and with the country being near to the United States, President Kennedy had to use his power as the President to attempt to end the tyranny in Cuba. With the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the failure of the …show more content…
He inspires the audience by alluding to the founding of the United States as he expresses, “… this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward…” (John F. Kennedy). The founding fathers of America did not idly sit about waiting for opportunities to present themselves, they actively pursued the next advancement in their new culture. Additionally, the foundation of America is due to the desire for the next considerable accomplishment. People strove to accomplish prodigious feats not for the reason that they desired to struggle, yet for the reason that they aspired to become an improved nation which could inspire people across the world. Kennedy encompasses this idea as he states, “We chose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard” (Kennedy). American citizens constantly motivate themselves to develop new ideas to become exceptional people. This is the sole idea behind the American dream and why this country is the focal point of various nations, and millions of people across the planet. However, there is an endless opportunity for improvement in this nation and space exploration was a necessary factor in maintaining morale in this dark …show more content…
As was previously stated, Kennedy was a popular president and by him alluding to how hardworking Americans were, he solidified his credibility by relating and understanding his audience. If Kennedy was a scientist and not the popular president, the space exploration would not have received the necessary motivation that was needed for the moon landing of 1969. Subsequently, the use of the Space Race as a distraction also served as a boost to morale. Tension was high during this time, and by the promise of beating the Soviets, which were becoming increasingly detrimental to the country, to space, Kennedy ignited the competitive and hardworking nature of American Citizens and allowed them to have an increase in their national pride. As seen in World War I, nationalism is an important factor in important events, and can cause for wars to start, or can cause for the discovery of an important factor that could change the world. To quote Neil Armstrong, the events that lead to man landing on the moon was one step for man, but a giant leap for
The world would have been very different if we had not landed on the moon and made it back safely those couple days in July of 1969. Many people were nervous and skeptical that the mission of Apollo 11 wouldn’t work, some even coming to the worst case scenario. As a president, President Nixon had to be prepared for any outcome of this great event in history. Regardless of the mission’s success, a speech was prepared for the outcome of Apollo 11 failing. The speech, In Event of Moon Disaster, written for President Nixon, effectively uses pathos and logos to appeal to a distraught nation in fragile time and uses descriptive language to regain the embodiment of hope again in the country. Because it was written before the event took place, however,
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.
Throughout his speech, President Kennedy utilized the ethos appeal. Being the President and citing important individuals and organizations gave him credibility. He “quote[d] their government, ‘the Soviet Union has so powerful rockets to carry
...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.
Samuel Crompton says,”Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition.”(Crompton 56). The real reason that the United States joined the Space Race was to compete with the soviet union. JFK makes this very clear. The Soviets were ahead of us and this was unacceptable, being behind technologically was detrimental to morale.The Cold War wasn’t really a war at all. It was just an arms race, the space race was just an extension of the arms race. It was never really intended to have any scientific, technological, or strategic benefits. Dwight D. Eisenhower may have planned for the space program to focus on science, but when kennedy took the office he used NASA as a piece of propaganda. He never had any intention of using the space program for research. When Kennedy was first deciding whether or not to create a space program he sent a memo to his vice president Lyndon B. Johnson asking him to research a few things. None of JFK’s questions had anything to do with science or technology. They were all about the Soviet Union 's space program. The first questions was, “Do we have a chance of beating the Soviets by putting a laboratory in space, or by a trip around the moon, or by a rocket land on the moon, or by a rocket go to the moon and back with a man.”(Kennedy). JFK’s sole interest was beating the Soviets. He didn’t care about any other benefits. Everything else came second to beating the
John F. Kennedy’s speech states that “there will be setbacks and frustrations and disappointment. There will be, as there always are, pressures in this country to do less in this area as in so many others” (98). This illustrates that major exploration is not worth the effort due to the difficulties of exploring the unknown. John F. Kennedy defends his statement to the many advocates that disagree with his opinion. The government should listen to their citizens, it is not a democratic country unless if the public decides what is right; which is not attempt major
So what was going on leading up to John F. Kennedy’s famous speech? After war world II and when America used nukes, everyone in the world was trying to gain nuclear capabilities so they could become a world power. So with everyone having nukes, there was a giant fear that “Dooms Day” was coming and the Earth would be destroyed. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite. This scarred Americans to death because they had no idea what they were dealing with. Is this satellite spying on them 24/7 or was it preparing to launch missiles at the USA? The fact of not knowing is what scarred the citizens of the United States. So with the 1960 election coming around and communism seeming to be getting stronger every day, America needed a strong leader.
He died on November 22, 1963, the same day he was shot. President Kennedy oversaw the launch of the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps. was an organization that would send young volunteers to underdeveloped countries. He also stopped Cuba from making any more nuclear and long-ranged missiles that were a threat to the United States. Also President Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the moon that was accomplished on July 20, 1969, about 6 years after his death. President Kennedy, as all presidents had, was
Kennedy, with America in mind, spoke to his fellow citizens in a captivating manner. The inaugural speech could have been terrifying due the difficulties of the Cold War; however, Americans left the location feeling at ease. He motivated everyone to do good deeds, give to the poor, and help the nation become better. The audience truly felt as if the speech was about the citizens, and for the citizens, rather than a speech about winning an election. America knew that JFK not only cared about the US, but would do everything in is power to see progress during his term. Citizens of the US had a true respect for their new leader. Kennedy told his country, “…united there is nothing this country can’t do .” His words, phrases, themes, gestures, and personality charmed
JFK made it sound that anything was possible, even going to the moon. Although Russia was the first country to send a satellite into space, Kennedy intended to advance the space program to make a statement and show that the US’ industrial superiority and challenge the U.S. into becoming an even stronger nation by setting allowances for the specific programs for instance before 1970 First Man on the moon.. The Kennedy Administration was known for it's foreign policy much more so than it's domestic policies. It had a sympathy for the Civil Rights movement and did back up integration every way possible but was unable to achieve any substantive reform.
John F. Kennedy served in the U.S. Navy and earned a purple heart, later went to work in the House of Representatives and lastly won the 1960 presidential election and became the 35th president of the United States (“Historynet.com”). News of the Russian’s sputnik urged Kennedy to direct America into leading space exploration (“History.nasa.gov”). Because of JFK’s desire to lead space exploration he looked towards the American people in hopes to persuade them to agree with the increase of taxes in order to get to space (“History.nasa.gov”).
Kennedy’s speech came in a very tumultuous time of American history. The height of the Cold War, the arms race to build nuclear bombs (for fear of nuclear war), and the Big Red Scare of communism had severely damaged the ties between
It was on this day that President Kennedy as well as Robert Kennedy were first notified that the Soviet Union was building missiles on Cuba (Kennedy, 20). After being notified a group was created that eventually became known as Ex Comm, a group full of, according to Robert Kennedy “men of highest intelligence,” It was within this group that discussions took place on how to handle this crisis. Two main ideas arose about how to handle Cuba. The first was to form a blockade around Cuba, the second was for a military attack. Though many seemed in favor of a strong military reaction President Kennedy instead chose to create a blockade. This response was met with some criticism from Congressional leadership, however he stood fast with his decision. This was because President Kennedy understood that a direct attack would force the Soviets to retaliate which would cause many American, and Russian lives. President Kennedy understood the ramifications on both sides of the conflict, and did not want any bloodshed. President Kennedy based his “initial” (Kennedy, 43) first step on this idea. He looked at both sides, American and Russian, and made a decision, a decision that kept us from the start of a nuclear
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard" (Kennedy). When John F. Kennedy said these famous words, he set the stage for one of the greatest accomplishments the United States of America has ever made. Over the course of that decade, the space race would be in full swing; a universal goal would unite the nation to achieve the dream of sending a man to the moon and safely back to earth. Through human determination, the United States made enough scientific breakthroughs to alter events back on planet earth. In one decade, this nation was able to prove that the sky is no longer the limit. How was the United States able to effectively accomplish such a colossal task, and what was the global significance at the time?
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.