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Jfk Inaugural Speech Essay

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“Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.” - President JFK September 12, 1962
These words were heard by over 35,000 people at the Rice Stadium as President John F. Kennedy addressed the progress of US space exploration. Four years earlier, with the successful launch of Sputnik 1 by the USSR, the American people were sure they were on the losing end of the Space Race. This is when JFK steps in reassuring and reliving hope in Americas space superiority. He informally asks the nation to collectively commit to completing a goal “before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth”. Highlighting past accomplishments, effective usage of rhetorical appeals, and the inspirational nature of the speech makes it stand out as one of the most influential public speeches in history.
Kennedy opens with an interesting summary of human progress as a whole. He states that although the nations scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years, three times the rate of growth of the US population the vast unknown and unanswered questions of the universe far outweigh the perception of mankind. He reinforces the astronomical speed of human progress by condensing 50,000 years of recorded history into 50 years. In these

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