Jfk Moon Speech

John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” is a rhetorical masterpiece, which painted a vivid picture of America’s upcoming role as being a world leader in space exploration. The 1962 “Moon speech” was delivered by John F. Kennedy at the Rice University stadium in the midst of the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Kennedy’s ultimate goal with the “Moon Speech” was to get the Nation on board to support the NASA space program and ultimately beat the soviets to get a man on the moon. John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech successfully persuaded the American public to support the space program. Much of the speech’s success lay in its thoughtful use of Kairos and style. John F. Kennedy’s use of Kairos in the “Moon Speech” lay a nations mind at ease in the midst of a time of tension between the U.S and the Soviet Union, while his use of style kept his audience’s attention and made curtail points that sunk into the minds of his audience.

Former president, John F. Kennedy, chose to deliver a speech to the public using specific rhetorical choices that convey a message of the importance of the space race, by using formal word choices and choosing specific words that convey deeper meaning when being said together. One example of how Kennedy uses specific rhetorical choices to convey a message is by creating a sense of purpose by using syntax. Additionally, Kennedy creates the idea of how much our world has developed in such a short period of time. He chooses to include the example of, "---but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half-century." He chooses to approach his point with Ethos, by trying to appeal to the audience by stating true information about our own development as a species.

In this essay, President John F. Kennedy builds an argument to persuade his readers in investing in space exploration. Kennedy uses analogies and reasoning to build his argument towards investing in space exploration. Kennedy’s speech had a powerful impact on the decision whether to direct the resources of the United States toward the construction of a space program.

9. JFK knew that one day history would remember the ‘60’s as “the beginning of a new age of discovery” (pg. 162). JFK also admired the boldness of this exploration. He viewed it as being “associated with great nations and visionary leaders.” Space was, and still is, the new frontier. Space was the new frontier not only for exploration, but for armed conflict as well. JFK sought to win control of space just as Britain won control of the Atlantic (pg. 162). In order to obtain this goal, it would require a lot of dedication from the American public, to include stopping undue work stoppages (strikes), hire materials and talent costs, and longer turnover time of

Kennedy traveled the country during the early 1960s advocating for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. On September 12th, 1962, he delivered the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort” at the Rice Stadium, in Houston, Texas, the home of NASA’s mission control. He began the speech by thanking the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the President of Rice University, Kenneth Pitzer. He commends Rice University for its knowledge, progress and strength and advocates for these virtues nationwide. JFK alludes to the Space Race by saying “the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds" (John F. Kennedy). He speaks of advances made throughout history including the wheel, printing press, steam engine, electricity, telephones, automobiles, planes and penicillin. He compares the past 50,000 years of to half a century to prove the amount of advancement that has occurred over a relatively short amount of time. He comments “this country was founded by those who move forward - and so will space.” (John F. Kennedy). JFK explains that we choose to go to the moon because it is a necessary challenge and part of our goal to lead as a nation. He highlights how close we are to achieving such goals by mentioning the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, the Saturn missile, satellites and the Mariner spacecraft. JFK points out that the space industry has created new jobs for Americans and puts the space budget in perspective by showing it is less that the annual spending on cigarettes and cigars. JFK concludes with a quote from Mt. Everest climber George Mallory who responded "Because it is there," when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain. JFK states, “Well, space is there and we're going to climb it." (John F. Kennedy) He ends by asking for God's blessing on the journey and thanking his

Kennedy played a major role in creating NASA and winning the Space Race. He persuaded Congress to fund space exploration which lead to the United States winning the Space Race and eventually NASA made many life changing discoveries that contributed so much knowledge and wisdom to science. Now we have a much better grasp on the outer space and the unknown. On September 12, 1962 at the Rice Stadium, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech that ignited and generated new-found excitement in the American people. Those who were previously against the funding of space exploration were now touched by Kennedy’s speech and were determined to discover more about outer space. In his speech Kennedy quoted George Mallory, a famous mountaineer. “Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there. "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.” Kennedy’s determination and leadership excited and interested the American people. Now there were not as many people against space

Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (Citation).

On September 12, 1962, John F. Kennedy delivers a speech to the students of Rice University and United States citizens who also showed up. This speech will live up to be one of his most influential speeches during his presidency. The Moon Speech will have a lasting impact on United States citizens during a time of fear. The Cold War was at its peak during President Kennedy’s presidency and every speech he gave out was crucial to Americans because of the Nuclear Arms Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. This speech was a change from that all together, he brought the United States together during a time of despair. John F. Kennedy uses rhetorical appeals to bring a nation of fear, together for the first time since the end of World War II.

His plan was for an American astronaut to be the first to walk on the moon. His dream became a reality in July 1969 when "tens of thousands of spectators gathered at Cape Kennedy to witness the launching of Apollo 11, the first manned spaceflight to the moon" (Davidson, 2005). Day's later astronaut's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the surface of the moon. This was witnessed by Americans all over the country; the worlds largest TV audience to date (Archer, 2007). Americans for the first time in years had something good to talk about, something that gave them hope for a better future. Although President Kennedy did not see his dream come to reality because of his assassination, it was his inspiration that gave all Americans hope, hope for a better future.

In 1965, NASA’s annual budget was $5.2 billion; this money was spent to heat up the Space Race (“Project Apollo”). The Space Race and its competitive nature is best illustrated in this passage from John F. Kennedy’s Address at Rice University on the nation's space effort, “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, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too” (“John F. Kennedy”). The launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1, was the event that began the Space Race (The First 13). It was launched on October 4, 1957 (Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; “The Space Race”). This metallic sphere created the panic of the Sputnik Crisis and the missile gap (Commager 628; Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; The First 13). Two products of the Sputnik Crisis were the National Defense Education Act and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“A Brief;” Apollo to the moon 19-20; The First 25). From that point on, the race was on. Although the Soviet Union had a head start in the Space Race, the United States caught up with and surpassed them because of their advanced education system, the German engineers, technology from the Second World War, and their different types of government and economic systems.

Kennedy’s audience was obvious as he was directing his motivation and goals to the American people. As the president of the United States, most statements made are to invoke emotion or a call to action within the American people. Although, there may be some underlying audiences within his speech. As Kennedy was also delivering his speech to the members of Congress, it could be possible that he was trying to sway members of Congress into the exploration of space in order to provide more funding for the programs and technological advancements. This would have given the speech a direct goal as to making members of Congress agree on the importance of the space race and the necessity of funding the selected programs. On the other hand, this speech could be indirectly related to the audience of Russia, as parts of the speech gave the impression that America is not giving up against Russia, as stated, “we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead.” in the race for space exploration. Having accepted that they are behind has made clear the set goals that need to be completed in order for the United States to regain control over the race. Kennedy delivers this as a confirmation that we will be ahead of the soviets after the accomplishment of the mission and goals. This leaves the president with a history of competitiveness that translates to the emotion of patriotism in his audience that can be felt throughout the country.

The news came as an ugly surprise to the Americans, who were not expecting the Soviets to beat them to space, but the United States responded quickly with a project of their own. Less than a year after Sputnik’s launch into space the US launched their own satellite, Explorer 1 into the atmosphere. Later that year, on the 29th of July, president Eisenhower signed off on the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. For the years following the launch of Explorer 1 the Soviets and Americans would send many satellites and probes into space, each more impressive than the last. On May 25th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy addressed congress, attempting to boost the funding for NASA.

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish” -John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961

The main purpose of John F. Kennedy 's speech “We Choose to go to the Moon” was to gain the support of the American people. He did this by pointing out why it was important to be the first ones to reach the moon with a man. Kennedy addresses many things that the United States has quickly and efficiently succeeded at, he then goes on to compare these successes to getting a man on the moon. The president also brings up how they are very close to obtaining the goal and that they just need the funding to make it happen. He continues on to make a powerful comparison between how

The powerful impact of President Kennedy's speech at Rice Stadium on the controversial decision to direct money of the United States towards building a preeminent space program lies in the eloquence and universality with which he weaves his appeal. Through analogies as well as acknowledging and addressing the concerns of those dubious towards the idea of space exploration, Kennedy crafts a persuasive argument, solidified by references to prior explorations and details of economic incentives.