Sputnik Impact On American Education

The criticism of the American education system, especially its public schools, increased immensely with the launching of Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite, by the Soviet Union in October 1957. Eisenhower, in his Message to Congress on January 27, 1958, called for aligning educational programs with national defense needs and recommended the federal government play an important part in this activity. The NDEA was the result of the enlarged federal role in education (britannica).

The launch of the Sputnik had such a big impact on America because “America thought of themselves as the world’s technological leaders” (Richerme 35). Also “the Soviets, after all, were not supposed to be good at technology” (DeGroot 3). This scared America and brought them into a big crisis or as some call a race. This race was known as the space race and it was a very long and twisted path that it bared on its shoulders.

In addition to initiating a space race between the two current superpowers, the Sputnik spacecraft launch also had alarming military implications. The Sputnik satellites used intercontinental ballistic missiles that were initially used for their thrust capabilities but could theatrically be capable of flying from the Soviet Union to United States military targets in less than an hour—cutting the flight time to a fraction of a conventional bomber aircraft. In response to the launch of Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The act created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . To prevent the rise of Soviet dominance in military matters, Eisenhower also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense. This was symbolic of a serious revelation of the standing of the scientific and technological capabilities of America in comparison to other countries, and also led to President Eisenhower issuing a proclamation to increase funding for education in America in science and engineering to combat this widening deficit. The quick Soviet lead in the newly emerging space race caused much panic, which shaped American foreign policy for the following decade(Document E). An example is avoiding “an all-out war with China” for fear of having to combat communism on two fronts.(Document

Russia launched Sputnik, a satellite to orbit the earth, into outer space on October 4th, 1957. With tensions already running high in the Cold War, Americans panicked at the thought of the Russians building space and nuclear energy, fearing it could be used on them. The conflict now called the Space Race resulted in Americans creating NASA and pushing the sciences in school.

The Space Race has impacted the political, social, and economic aspects of the US society greatly. It mainly affected the political aspect. A way that the lead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race affected the US Society is “the Vanguard rocket was prepared for launch at Cape Canaveral. On December 6/1957, the slender, delicate instrument was fired, began to rise, and then sank back down on itself, crushing its engines and erupting into a huge fireball. The pathetic collapse was carried live on television, right in front of the world. This was what we were capable of, while the Russians rode the heavens (from Document F).” Another reason why the US was very shocked is because that “it took them four years to catch up to our atomic bomb and nine months to catch up to our hydrogen bomb. Now we are trying to catch up to their satellite (from Document B).”

After the USSR launched Sputnik 1, man Americans were frightened by what they would do next. “...(the launch of Sputnik) showed clearly that the United States was no longer safe behind it’s ocean barriers.” (Document A) America had long relied on the oceans to keep European and Asian powers at bay, however, when the Soviets entered and took control of space, the US was surrounded and the Soviets could bomb them from any location. The US wanted to regain control of the situation so the Vanguard, a rocket with a more advanced satellite than anything seen before, was set to be launched on live television (Document F) The rocket fired but it fell back down, collapsed, and exploded for the world to watch. Americans were humiliated by this disaster, however they knew they must continue to fight communism, which meant beating them in the Space Race. During this time Americans became extremely anti-soviet and anti-communist, which continued long after this and still exists

After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle involved the two world’s greatest powers the democratic and capitalist United States against the communist Soviet Union. Beginning later in the 1950s, space would eventually become another very dramatic arena for competition between the U.S and U.S.S.R, each side looked to prove the superiority of their own technology, along with its military firepower and of course their political-economic systems. Sputnik, name of the first of several artificial satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1961. Successfully launched and entered Earth 's orbit. Thus, beginning the space age. The successful launch shocked the

During 1957, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The U.S were concerned that the Soviets would attach a missile to the satellite and consequently gain the ability to fire down at the U.S with little to no notice. As fear rose in the U.S, the government seized the perfect opportunity to gain public support for NASA and the space program. The government used this as the ideal time to magnify the nation's fears of communism into the form of propaganda. As the U.S produced high quantities of propaganda, the Soviets responded with their own, highlighting their personal attitudes and ideologies.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the space race was on. The Soviet’s triumph jarred the American people and sparked a vigorous response in the federal government to make sure the United States did not fall behind its communist rival.

Over the past (almost) hundred years, society and education have both changed drastically. Typically, the things that have happened in history, such as wars, technological advances, and changes in culture, changed education as a result. Some of these changes include popular culture in the 1920s, economic factors in the 1930s, military intervention in the 1940s, Sputnik in the 1950s, and racial issues in the 1960s. One theme of education is that it has gradually become more important over the years. Before high school diplomas could be rare, and today most high school graduates go to college in the United States.

The purpose of the was that many American’s thought that Soviet Scientists were well educated than American Scientists. Congress felt that American schools education needed teacher to prepare the students for a higher learning with better curriculum in mathematics, engineering, foreign language and many other academic subject. It was also to improve test programs and counseling for the students. Provision were made for the student in a form a scholarship, loans to advance the students in their education. This efforts was to generate new American Scientists to advance the United States ahead in the Space

The report portrayed a negative picture of american education. In the report, schools in america had failing test scores, illiterate americans, and underpaid, uneducated teachers. Our nation was at risk of falling behind in the race of science,

After the ravages of World War II, the United States experienced a long period of economic boom, thanks to the increased production of weapons during the war and to the low price of oil. However, despite the nationwide economic prosperity, Americans felt increasing fear in the looming shadow of the communist Soviet Union. Sputnik’s successful launch increased tensions that had been building since the aftermath of World War II; as a result, President Eisenhower and his administration instituted numerous measures to calm down the hysteria that pervaded the US, but these attempts had no real effect on reducing tensions felt by both sides.

Perhaps the most significant impact of the space race came through education reform. At the beginning of the 1950s most americans had atleast a high school education. But education, especially in technical fields was not seen as overly important or necessary. After all, the United States was built on farming and factory work, jobs that don’t require advanced schooling. After the second world war however the game changed. There was a sort of technical renaissance which

President Dwight Eisenhower tried to fight that fear by discrediting the significance of the Sputnik launch to Americans. However, he immediately put additional funds and resources into starting a space program to take things more seriously. After Sputnik’s successful launch, the U.S. Defense Department approved funding for another U.S. satellite project, partly to respond to the “political furor.” Also as a result of Sputnik’s successful launch, the U.S. government created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to have a department that could head up the space race.