Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Challenger

888 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reagan innuagural speech

Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Challenger On the morning of Tuesday, January 28th, 1986, it was a normal day for the citizens and children of America. Although this may have been a normal day most of the nation’s televisions were set to watch the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) set a new milestone with its space shuttle the Challenger. During this time space exploration was very important in the American culture. The Challenger shuttle had a crew of seven men and women, including a teacher Christa McAuliffe from the space program. On this Tuesday morning most of America watched and listen as the twenty fifth shuttle mission took off with what was thought to be no complications. A short time of seventy three seconds after the shuttle was launched, a fire broke out and the space shuttle exploded. Landing in the ocean, all that remained was two smoking rocket boosters of what use to be the Challenger. This unexpected tragedy was seen first handily by the eyes of all Americans, and called for an immediate address by the president at the time, Ronald Reagan. Oddly, on the morning of January 28th, Ronald Reagans State of the Union address was to be delivered, but plans had quickly changed. Instead, Reagan decided to speak to the Nation about the tragedy that had just taken place. He refers to this day as “a day for mourning and remembering”. In Ronald Reagans address to the Challenger tragedy he spoke in attempt to pay his respects to the seven men and women who were aboard and their families, help the Nation recover from this terrible disaster while encouraging further space exploration, and reinstall all hope to the American people. Though many points, Reagan was successful as he spoke in remem... ... middle of paper ... ... Pathos approach while dealing with such an emotional situation. He expressed his personal feelings in a mournful tone to reflect the losses of the astronauts, and also used a very authoritative tone while ensuring his audience that there was hope and things were under control. Reagan’s speech to the Nation was extremely effective and full of very powerful words and impactful quotes, some of which were addressed above. He proves each and every one of his points throughout his address and reassures the Nation that the Challenger seven “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” References "Speech on the Challenger Disaster | Teaching American History." Teaching American History. Ashbrook Center, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Speech On The Challenger Disaster Rhetorical Analysis

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    On January 28, 1986, Ronald Reagan, the President who takes on the grievances of America and establishes hope, in his inspiring speech entitled the “Speech on the Challenger Disaster,” is able to guide the United States to prosperity. He guides the United States. by emphasizing the courage and bravery of the Challenger crew, then he drives the focus to the good that NASA allows us to accomplish, and finally tells the people that the crew dies doing what they loved. Through Reagan's use of Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals, tone, and rhetorical devices, he is able to inspire hope in the people instead of the failure of NASA.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Margaret Thatcher's Eulogy For Ronald Reagan

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Former Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, in her 2004 eulogy for Ronald Reagan, exemplifies both his impact and legacy on the world. Throughout her speech, Thatcher memorializes Reagan’s performance in office as well as the decisions he made as a person by illustrating their time together to the reader. By utilizing these examples, the reader can then understand Thatcher’s overall claim that Reagan was one of the most profound leaders in history; however, the impact of Thatcher’s use of diction and sentence arrangement both provoke thought in the reader and allows him or her to comprehend her message on a more sophisticated level.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan: Challenger Speech

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...er’s crew would not be in vain. Reagan chose not to use a teleprompter during his speech even though it was available at the time. Knowing this shows me that he wanted to address the American people on a more personal level. Even though he did have a manuscript I did not notice him look at it once. I felt his speech was truly heart felt and that he was very sincere in what was being said. He had great eye contact with the camera and you could see in his facial expressions that he was too deeply upset by the loss we as a nation endured. He succeeded in calming the nation, extending condolences all while effectively delivering a reassuring speech.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of George Bush 9/11 Speech

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    43rd President of the United States, George Bush, in his speech, “9/11 Address to the Nation” addresses the nation about the day of September 11, 2001. Bush’s purpose is to convey the events of September 11, 2001 and what was and will be done about them. He adopts a serious yet somber tone in order to appeal to the strong and emotional side of the public and to his listeners around the world.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Speech On The Tragedy Of The Space Shuttle Challenger

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reagan says in his speech, “Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle challenger” (1). For example, Reagan talks about mourning the loss of the astronauts from the space shuttle challenger. Reagan did not know what to think when he got the news of the shuttle challenger’s explosion. As president of the United States, he needed to send his remorse to the families of the individuals. Therefore, he would mourn with the families as well as the nation. Another example, Reagan talks about how space is not for the fainthearted and that he knew the school children, who had been watching the launch, would not understand what was happening (2). With the children watching the launch in their classrooms of their school the lesson started out to be about space, then when the explosion happened the children would have grown concerned and emotional, then would want to know what happened. They would have asked questions about what they saw that day of the explosion. Therefore, if the children of the astronauts were watching, they would need a little more attention and may need to see a guidance counselor. Thus, we as adults needed to be prepared to answer the questions that the children would

    Read More

  • ronald reagan: a true american hero

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    critical time. Reagan did not start out as a man of politics. In fact, he made his

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's Speech

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ronald Reagan, first starts off with empathy and his condolences when he says” Today is a day of mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of our country. This is truly a national loss.” He is in pain for the families and knows how hard it will be to recover. As well to this he lists all seven “heroes” names in commemoration. Reagan also tries to make this tragedy more positive by explaining to the children who were watching that things sometimes happen and it’s a part of life and growth. He does not give doubt and resent towards the goal of exploring space but hope that they will continue on. Throughout the whole address, Reagan seems very sincere and dependable which makes his rhetoric more effective and persuasive. Next, President Reagan gives his respect to the NASA and also adds “We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public.” What he is trying to show to the people is the sense of freedom in America in regards to other countries. This alone is a way of differentiating great countries, when he says that victims had a special grace and spirt that says “Give me a challenge, and I’ll meet it with joy” is a way of comforting the families and the nation. Reagan’s way of handling and talking to the nations after this tragedy was nevertheless effective and well

    Read More

  • Contextual Analysis Ronald Reagan

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    The day of the challenger explosion Reagan had originally planned on speaking to the nation to report on the state of the union, but this unfortunate event caused him to have a sudden shift in plans. He had to quickly put together a speech appropriate for the occasion and construct an argument to defend the NASA program. The shuttle challenger explosion caused many Americans heartache as well as great uncertainty about what would become of NASA. In the speech, Reagan spoke to the nation as a whole and tried to console everyone as best he could. He honored the men whom risked and ultimately lost their lives in this horrible accident. He also addressed the families of the seven brave men directly in his speech.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reagan began his speech slightly agitated due to the overwhelming response of the audience. He used hand gestures and repeatedly thanked the audience for their continued support. After regaining the audience's atte...

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1981, former president Ronald Reagan was inaugurated into office and just a couple days ago current president Donald Trump was inaugurated into office. When a president is inaugurated into house, they generally give an inaugural speech about what they will and can do for America. In Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, he shares his thoughts about America and plans to come. Using different literary devices Ronald Reagan characterizes America as a broken country but, by using hard work and effort, America can truly be great.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Space Shuttle Challenger

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is no doubt that the when the President of the United States speaks everyone listens to what he has to say. This credibility makes the Ethos of Reagan’s Speech almost unsurpassable. As mentioned Reagan was scheduled to give a State of the Union Address to our country on the evening of January 28, 1986. Instead, he postponed it, because “the story of the day was tragedy. Here he wanted to give an upbeat speech about America moving ahead. It just didn’t fit. It seemed in congruous (Weinraub).” He showed the country that his priority is the emotions of his people by, for the first time in history, postponing on the State of the Union speech in order to discuss the current event. This strengthened the creditability of his argument immensely. He likened the astronauts to pioneers and stated in his speech that “They had a special grace, that special spirit that says, ‘Give me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy.” With this he appeals to the spiritual side of his audience using the word grace to describe the fallen. Again, “The president concluded by attaching the nation’s sorrow to God’s grace (Ritter, 4).” He said “As they prepared for there journey and waved ...

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan Challenger Explosion Speech Analysis

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his speech in the aftermath of the Challenger explosion, Pres. Reagan used alliteration to convey his feelings of sadness to the families of the seven astronauts lost. He repeats the words special, spirit, and says to show as to what high regards he held the astronauts. Pres. Reagan said that the astronauts “had [a] special grace, that special spirit that says, “Give me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy” (Reagan 1). The repetition of the words special, spirit, and says means that Reagan believed that the astronauts had something no one else had that differentiated them from the rest of society. Additionally, Ronald Reagan

    Read More

  • The Challenger Disaster Explained

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Challenger disaster of 1986 was a shock felt around the country. During liftoff, the shuttle exploded, creating a fireball in the sky. The seven astronauts on board were killed and the shuttle was obliterated. Immediately after the catastrophe, blame was spread to various people who were in charge of creating the shuttle and the parts of the shuttle itself. The Presidential Commission was decisive in blaming the disaster on a faulty O-ring, used to connect the pieces of the craft. On the other hand, Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch, in The Golem at Large, believe that blame cannot be isolated to any person or reason of failure. The authors prove that there are too many factors to decide concretely as to why the Challenger exploded. Collins and Pinch do believe that it was the organizational culture of NASA and Morton Thiokol that allowed the disaster. While NASA and Thiokol were deciding whether to launch, there was not a concrete reason to postpone the mission.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of President Reagan's Challenger Address

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ent would have presented an ineffective speech. This was not an easy task for me, because I am not a Reagan admirer; however I shed my listener bias to finally appreciate the Great Communicator in his element.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of FDR's Pearl Harbor Address

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    FDR uses pathos to connect with the audience on a personal level, but more importantly to influence the listeners. FDR uses emotional appeal effectively by his particular choice in words and the tone of his voice during the delivery. While presenting, he showed anger, sorrow, and patriotism, standing as a representative of the United States, while relating with each individual American. First he says that America was ‘suddenly and deliberately attacked’, sparking the audience’s anger as they realize America was targeted with no warning. He then states that America was deceived and ‘under the impression that [Japan's] emperor [was] looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific’. This makes the listener conclude that the United States was the innocent victim, while making Japan look corrupt and strongly disliked for attacking unexpectedly. FDR then goes on to repeatedl...

    Read More

More about Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Challenger

Open Document