On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered his "We Choose to Go to the Moon" speech to a crowd of thousands at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas. The country was unsure about the time and cost of sending a man to the moon, and President Kennedy's speech addressed their uncertainty. Read the excerpts from Kennedy's speech. Then, respond to the prompt that follows.
I am delighted to be here, and I'm particularly delighted to be here on this occasion. We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a State noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.
Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that the world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation's own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than three times that of our population as a whole, despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip our collective comprehension.
If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.
Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it—we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace.
We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. I do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.
We choose to go to the moon. 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.
In the last 24 hours we have seen facilities now being created for the greatest and most complex exploration in man's history. We have felt the ground shake and the air shattered by the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, many times as powerful as the Atlas which launched John Glenn, generating power equivalent to 10,000 automobiles with their accelerators on the floor. We have seen the site where the F-1 rocket engines, each one as powerful as all eight engines of the Saturn combined, will be clustered together to make the advanced Saturn missile, assembled in a new building to be built at Cape Canaveral as tall as a 48-story structure, as wide as a city block, and as long as two lengths of this field.
And finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies, and tens of thousands of new jobs. Space and related industries are generating new demands in investment and skilled personnel, and this city and this State, and this region, will share greatly in this growth.
To be sure, all this costs us all a good deal of money. This year's space budget is three times what it was in January 1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined. That budget now stands at $5,400 million a year—a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year. Space expenditures will soon rise some more, from 40 cents per person per week to more than 50 cents a week for every man, woman, and child in the United States, for we have given this program a high national priority—even though I realize that this is in some measure an act of faith and vision, for we do not now know what benefits await us.
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. 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.
In a well-written paragraph of at least seven sentences, explain how President Kennedy uses rhetorical appeals and rhetorical devices to achieve his purpose. Your response should
identify the speaker, purpose, and audience
identify and cite examples of at least one rhetorical appeal
identify and cite examples of at least two rhetorical devices that support the appeal
explain how the rhetorical appeal connects to and achieves the purpose
use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation
In his speech, President John F. Kennedy appeals to the audience's sense of patriotism and national pride in order to persuade them to support the United States' mission to go to the moon. The purpose of his speech is to rally the American people behind the ambitious goal of space exploration and to emphasize the importance of the United States taking the lead in this endeavor. President Kennedy addresses the audience at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, a crowd of thousands composed of students, faculty, and members of the local community.
One example of a rhetorical appeal used by President Kennedy is ethos, as he establishes his credibility and authority by highlighting the scientific advancements and economic benefits that have already been achieved through space exploration. By stating, "We have seen the site where the F-1 rocket engines... will be clustered together to make the advanced Saturn missile," he appeals to the audience's logic and reason, demonstrating the progress that has already been made in space technology.
Additionally, President Kennedy employs the rhetorical device of parallelism in the phrase, "We choose to go to the moon... not because they are easy, but because they are hard." This repetition of the structure "we choose... not because... but because..." emphasizes the importance of the challenge and inspires determination in the audience. Another rhetorical device used is imagery, as Kennedy vividly describes the power of the Saturn C-1 booster rocket and the size of the new building at Cape Canaveral. This imagery evokes a sense of awe and wonder, capturing the audience's imagination and excitement about space exploration.
The rhetorical appeal of ethos, supported by examples of scientific progress and economic growth, helps President Kennedy achieve his purpose of persuading the audience to support the United States' mission to go to the moon. By emphasizing the importance of national leadership in space exploration and highlighting the potential benefits for all people, Kennedy inspires a sense of pride and unity among the American people, encouraging them to embrace the challenge and commitment it will take to achieve this historic goal.