John F. Kennedy – the Space Exploration
James Moyer Mr. Sims U. S History Period 3 16 May 2012 John F. Kennedy – The Space Exploration I. Introduction A. Background Information All honor and respect lies within John F. Kennedy; his famous speech “We choose to go to the Moon”, was the reason why Space Exploration reached its peak on July 21st in the year 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first and only people, the first and only Americans to step on the moon.
It took eight-years, a month, and two days to complete what President Kennedy dreamed for our country, our people. Without his actions, his famous words, his heart-felt, prosperous speeches, we may have not accomplished the impossible, which we struggle to achieve, and prolong for it to happen again; to set foot on the moon. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second born out of nine siblings into a multi-millionaire family whose father is Joseph P.
Kennedy. He was a very educated man not only this; he was a war hero during World War II. When he would return to civilization, he would go into the newspapers business, and be a successful writer; he would choose to be politically active just like his father and Mr. Kennedy would later become a candidate for the House of Representatives. From here on was the beginning and legacy of the famous John F. Kennedy. 1. The Dream How did one man create such a big difference?
Look at the Presidents before Kennedy, the first President, George Washington, it was because of his actions and mindset that we out witted the British and became the independent country; President Lincoln who helped bring slavery to end, who brought the Confederacy and the States together; President Teddy Roosevelt who initiated the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act, which would prove very beneficial to the economy and its people. Now there are a ew other fine Presidents such as these listed few, but Kennedy is the first and only President to reach the impossible, to do the impossible, to even think about the impossible, have America walk on the moon. All due to his will to reach far beyond the sky and enter space itself to come across and walk upon the moon. B. Why it Matters NASA, (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is responsible for the Space Program and Kennedy was the one responsible for Space Exploration. Apollo 11 was the manned spaceship which landed on the moon, to achieve what Mr.
Kennedy wanted to see and experience himself; to see his dreams come true. Unfortunately his untimely death singled-handedly shocked the people; his assassination would spark the will for Space Exploration to accomplish his dream of landing on the moon. II. Body Paragraphs a. How It All Began John Fitzgerald Kennedy, born May 29, 1917, at 83 Beals Street in the middle-class suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, was the second of nine children (Baughman et. Al). The Kennedy bunch ended up moving to Bronxville, just outside of New York City.
They would reside here for Kennedy’s schooling throughout the years until 1941 where they would dismantle and search for a new home. Kennedy had a secret illness which was life threatening: chronic stomach disorders, back problems, frequent and severe allergic reactions, and the undiagnosed, until 1947, effects of Addison’s disease. “Addison’s disease is a failure of the adrenal glands, which sapped his energy, weakened his immune system, and left him vulnerable to infections and dangerously high fevers” (Baughman et. Al). Kennedy’s father wouldn’t let his health affect the publicity so he covered it up with Kennedy’s “war injuries. 1. His Career In 1941, instead of continuing with his works, John F. Kennedy followed his brother Joseph Jr. into battle alongside the U. S Navy during World War II. Kennedy was assigned to duties of Naval Intelligence in Washington. On August 2nd, 1943, the PT-109, a boat under his command, was rammed and suck by a Japanese destroyer, Amagiri. Although his seamanship and commands were questionable at the time, he was still a courageous man; he proved this by saving his injured crew or being able to sustain them behind enemy lines to wait for rescue.
Awarded a few medals such as the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Purple Heart, also being considered a hero in the eyes of New York Times, he would later be discharged for medical reasoning and thrown into politics right away by his father, due to his eldest sons death, Joseph Jr. now being able to fulfill his father’s dream; to become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States. 2. Political Life In 1946 John Kennedy won election to the U. S. Congress from Massachusetts’ 11th District, representing parts of Boston and Cambridge.
His father spent exorbitant sums on the campaign and involved the entire Kennedy family except his sister Rosemary who was ‘retarded’. In 1952, at his father’s urging, Kennedy challenged Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. for the U. S. Senate from Massachusetts. Most observers gave Kennedy little chance. The 1952 campaign featured sophisticated, often unique methods of reaching the voters. Among the first to make the best use of television for advertising and fundraising, Kennedy enrolled in a special CBS-TV seminar to promote on how to use TV effectively.
His naturally poised and unrestrained manner fitted the new scene conditionally. “Highlighting the campaign were the appearances of the candidate’s mother and sisters at hundreds of invitation-only social events where the Kennedy women served tea and charmed an estimated 70,000 women voters. A record turnout gave Kennedy a slim 76,000 vote margin over Lodge” (Baughman et. Al). Kennedy attracted large support from Boston, Irish-Catholics, Jews, labor union members, and some Republicans who thought Kennedy was more conservative than Lodge. 3. JFK, How he Became President Mr.
Kennedy did his best to become and persuade people for him to become Vice-President, as that proved to no avail, he went towards a more direct approach, becoming President himself. In order to get votes and win the nomination of running for his party, he had to persuade some hard-headed mules that Catholics are able to win votes as well. In doing so, he set off a campaign which would be a very rough one for him indeed, for he was matched against Nixon. Without his televised broadcast of him against Nixon, he would have probably lost the election of becoming President for the argins between the two men were ever so slightly apart. b. Introducing John F. Kennedy with the Space Program The Space Program would be introduced in 1946, not as NASA but its ancestor NACA. While they have been preparing themselves for space, they constructed with planes and aerodynamics. When Sputnik 1 was launched by the U. S. S. R a strike of fear and lack of knowledge devoured the United States especially the government. In order to retaliate, they devoted their studies and enhanced science and math subjects in order to redeem themselves from this feat.
On July 28, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established NASA from there. NASA did not only evolve from its ancestor, but it absorbed everything from it. NASA took over and started its own missions on October 1st of the same year. When President Kennedy beat Eisenhower’s famous Nixon, he did his best to prove he was worthy of being U. S. A’s President. He worked with domestic and foreign affairs before heading into the Space Race. He knew the people of the United States needed to have the same confidence they once had before Sputnik 1 was launched.
In order for this to occur, he went to Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962 to address the nation, that the Space Race must continue but needs the help of the government to help pay for the program (Logsdon). Before announcing this, on February 20, 1962 John Glenn was the first man to be launched and orbit around the Earth’s atmosphere. This is what sparked the hope of the Space Exploration to continue. With President Kennedy’s power of words and the hope NASA has instilled into the people’s hearts, it seemed anything was possible.
Even through Kennedy’s assassination, the Space Program continued its works to accomplish Kennedy’s dream of landing on the moon. 4. Kennedy’s Assassination and the Moon It was 12:30 Friday afternoon, on November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Texas when four gunshots were heard across the globe. Kennedy was fatally shot and died the same day, he was assassinated and although it may have said Lee Harvey Oswald was responsible for Kennedy’s death, it is still a conspiracy on whether he did it and if he did if there were other people involved.
This case is still an unraveled mystery which hasn’t been solved ever since. Kennedy’s death shocked the globe but that didn’t stop NASA from reaching the moon. His death may have been very mournful, but NASA was devoted into finishing this last project Kennedy sent them out to do and that was to reach the moon. Some years later on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin accomplished the amazing feat of being the first and only men to land on the moon. III. Conclusion
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a remarkable man capable of reaching the impossible. One of the youngest Presidents ever, and had the mind of the wisest. Without his leadership and devotion of accomplishing the race to the moon, we wouldn’t have had the same spark of hope as we do today. His actions have led us to a new age, one that will forever be remembered. Although the Space Race has led us far, we haven’t had the time and money to go back to the Moon. Mr. Kennedy is the hope of all dreams. He is the moon and will forever be walking on it, while he waits for our return.
Works Cited Baughman, Judith, Victor Bondi, Richard Layman, Tandy McConnell, and Vincent Tompkins. “American Decades. ” Gale Cengage Learning, 1 Jan. 1998. Web. 16 Dec. 1998 <http://go. galegroup. com/ps/retrieve. do? sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=long02813&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=9&contentSet=GALE%7CBT2304100024&&docId=GALE|BT2304100024&docType=GALE&role=SUIC> Kennedy, John F. We Choose to go to the Moon. ” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 12 Sept. 1962 Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <http://www. jfklibrary. org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-at-Rice-University-on-the-Nations-Space-Effort-September-12-1962. aspx> Logsdon, John M. John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2010.
