Why Did President Kennedy Send Americans To The Moon

From the start of the Space Race, the Soviet Union had the United States beat by sending the first satellite, the Sputnik, and the first man, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, into space. However, President Kennedy would not stand by as the Soviet Union began to run away with the space race. Kennedy addressed the nation by consulting Congress to “increase NASA’s budget by nine billion dollars”(Cox). This bold move made by Kennedy enabled the United States to make it to the moon first. Going to the moon first was a much higher feat than simply going into space because it required much more “precision while launching and higher equipped technology to go the extra distance”(Exploring Space). Due to the extra skill required to go to the moon, it showed how by the end of the Space Race the United States had superior technology. Since the Cold War was a fight for Global Power, going to the moon was a significant move for the United States because it showed that they had exceptional machinery. With this admirable technology, it solidified the United States’s reputation as a Global

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

Kennedy had done a lot of work for being president only for three years. Some of the legislative laws he passed was that he abolished the federal death penalty. He also made executive orders prohibiting racial discrimination and laid the groundwork for Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also initiated the project Apollo to take a man to the moon. One of Kennedy’s biggest failures was the Bay of Pigs which made Kennedy look bad and had distrust between himself and the so called experts. Kennedy’s political analysis to explain the outcome of the space program was that the Soviet Union already had someone fly to space. So the United States out did the Soviet Union by taking it a step further by putting someone on the moon and leaving the American flag on the as

John F. Kennedy once said, "No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space...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”. The main motive for this quote was to ensure that the United States wanted to beat out the Soviets in the space race. Ever since the Soviets tried to advance on the moon, the United States wanted to be the first successful nation to accomplish the first ever moon landing. At the time, the tension between the United States and the Soviets was very strong because the Cold War just ended and neither nation wanted to lose to each other in the space race. Just as the

Kennedy was a major influence in the US during the Space Race. He gave several speeches in order to raise awareness about the Space Race and triggered a small wave of nationalism. One of his famous quotes was, “ "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 earth.” - President John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961” (John F. Kennedy- Space Race). Another famous quote was, “We set sail to this new sea because there is new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.” (Walter). Although some people doubted President Kennedy, his inspiring speeches persuaded Americans to ultimately support the Space Race. As you can see, Kennedy made many inspirational speeches to raise awareness and help bring support for the Space

In doing research on space exploration and specifically the Apollo Missions, I have learned a lot about the purpose and significance behind this exploration. The goals set by NASA for these missions was to “establish technology to meet other national interests in space, achieve preeminence in space for the United States and develop man's capability to work in the lunar environment”. The motivation to get a man to the moon (Apollo 11) had a lot to do with the Cold War with the Soviet Union. President John F. Kennedy gave a speech that was aimed to convince the people that it was time to advance and play our part in the world. Thousands of people worked on this project, but it was really a national effort. Several questions arose as each of the

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

I’d say we’ve all heard of JFK’s famous speech, “The Decision To Go To The Moon,” which he gave at Rice University on May 25th, 1961 to an audience of 35,000 people. This speech is one that marks the sixties, as JFK had just been elected and was rallying the people to support the space movement. Many Americans doubted they could beat or even catch up to Russia in the space race. So, his speech focuses on convincing Americans that they should support the US government’s movement to get a man on the moon before the Soviet Union.

on May 25, 1961, he stood before congress to deliver a special message on “urgent national needs.” He asked for an additional $7 billion dollar to $9 billion dollar over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nation’s lagging space efforts. Skeptics questioned the ability of the NASA to meet the President’s timetable. Within a year, however, Alan Shepard Gus Grissom became the first two Americans to travel into

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).

JFK was involved in many aspects of domestic policy including civil rights and space exploration. JFK laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by proposing the legislation the year prior. President Kennedy supports equality for all, saying, “And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free” (Document G). President Kennedy also pushed for innovation and exploration of space. He “[believed] 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” (Document D).

I think what motivates Presidents Kennedy is people working hard that there alive and working today ,the manpower id "doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than threee times that of our population as a whole ".Some rhetorical strageties that he uses most to advance his purpose is by opening vistas and hardships of space high costs, as well as high reward.I find his arguement of what he says about all the information about him knowing space stuff and all.President Kennedy also has equipment needed "for proopulsion" such as communications ,control ,food and survival.I do find this arguement persuasive because he gives a lot of information like he can inform readers into doing stuff just like how i felt and of other read it they'll

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 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and

"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