On the 12th of September in 1962, at Rice University in Houston, Texas, President John F. Kennedy addressed our nation's efforts in the "space race". At the time, we were quickly falling behind the Soviet Union in this race to discover the unknown about outer space. This speech explains Kennedy's reasons for making one of the most important decisions he will make during his entire presidency. In Kennedy's speech, he does a miraculous job of explaining our nation's accomplishments, as well as our weaknesses, in order to motivate our country to not give up. In the opening sentences of his speech, when Kennedy says, "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", he sets the mood for the rest of the speech, and he gives a glimpse of what he is going to talk about. It is clear that Kennedy's central moves for this speech focus around three key ideas: "change and challenge", "hope and fear", and "knowledge and ignorance", as described in the previous quote. By admitting our failures, accepting how far behind we are, and noting how far we have come, Kennedy persuades our nation that we can win this race.

Firstly, Kennedy admits our nation's failures to the audience. His motive for focusing on our failures firstly in his speech could be our national sense of competitiveness. By doing this so early in the speech, Kennedy is able to put the whole situation in perspective for the audience. Travelling to the moon is certainly not an easy thing, and at the time of this speech, it seems impossible for us to accomplish. Kennedy speaks on all of our past efforts and failures in discoveries, but he focuses mainly on our efforts within the space race. These past failures are what set the nation so far behind in this space race. Kennedy shows his modesty and humbleness when he does this, because he is not ashamed of his country. It is so easy for leaders in this world to turn their back on their people and deny the fact that they have made mistakes. Kennedy is almost proud of what we have done wrong, because he knows that we are not the only ones. When he says, "We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public", he acknowledges this. Kennedy is speaking of the failures and mistakes we have made so far during this space race. As a whole, our country has always been in first for discoveries, which he notes later in this speech, but for some reason, the space race is different. Kennedy clearly believes in the people of his nation, and he sure does want to win. Admitting our mistakes and failures is just one of Kennedy's many attempts to motivate his country.

Secondly, by admitting how far behind we are, Kennedy once again shows his modesty in this situation. The nation, but more specifically Kennedy's audience, feels very competitive with the Soviet Union because of how far behind we are. It is clear that the Soviet Union is dominating us in this space race; however, Kennedy is nowhere near discouraged. He wants to encourage the people of his nation to strive to win this race. When Kennedy says, "To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead", he is restating the fact that yes, we are behind in this space race, but he is determined to get us ahead. Kennedy acknowledges the fact that with this pace of growth comes obstacles, problems, and dangers. By realizing this, he is not surprised that we are hesitant to move forward in this race. Kennedy firmly establishes the fact that we are choosing to go to the moon, not because it is going to be easy, but rather because it is going to be hard. He knows that by setting this goal, we are accepting the challenge as a nation, but he has the intention to win. He explains that in previous years, our country has been first in all major discoveries. Whether it was the industrial revolution, modern invention, or nuclear power, our nation has always been "first". He proves that we have the capability to be first, so why stop now? By firstly explaining our prior victories, and then admitting how far behind we are in the current space race, Kennedy clearly gives the crowd a sense of determination. Who doesn't want to be first? By realizing that we are behind, which is unusual for our country, this gives the people a sense of motivation and a goal to strive for. He thoroughly explains that if we want to be first, we are going to have to work very hard, but he is not discouraged. He does not want our nation to be discouraged either.

Finally, Kennedy notes how far we have come, which no doubt motivates our nation. This is a powerful way to end this speech because it leaves the crowd in high spirits thinking about our accomplishments. Throughout his entire speech, Kennedy cites things that we have accomplished and overcome in the past, but more importantly, as recently in our efforts for the space race. He explains our previous efforts, both good and bad, to give the crowd a sense of what we have been doing and why we have been doing it. It is clear that Kennedy's motives for this speech are centered on encouraging the audience. Our nation is clearly discouraged by the fact that we are already so behind in the space race, and that the Soviet Union has almost conquered us. Stating facts of our accomplishments is a reassurance to the people of our country that winning this race is something that we are capable of, and it is certainly possible. One example of the facts Kennedy uses is when he says, "Within these last 19 months at least 45 satellites have circle the earth. Some 40 of them were 'made in the United States of America' and they were far more sophisticated and supplied far more knowledge to the people of the world than those of the Soviet Union." By stating this fact, Kennedy proves to his country that yes, we are behind, but we are surely capable of coming ahead. The Soviet Union is ahead in the space race at the time of this speech, and by comparing our accomplishments to theirs, Kennedy proves that we are better than them and we can win this fight. He goes on to acknowledge the fact that our science and education as a country is constantly growing, and it will only continue to grow with knowledge of our universe if we succeed in this space race.

The speech that John F. Kennedy gave on September 12th, 1962 at Rice University was a landmark in our nation's efforts during the space race. It not only set the goal for our efforts, but it also acknowledged our prior accomplishments. I believe Kennedy made his most powerful, and motivating statement when he said, "Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation." When Kennedy says this, he sums up the speech as a whole, and expresses his intentions of being the leading nation in the world's space race. This speech outlined some of Kennedy's most important decisions that he made while being president of the United States of America. This speech no doubt sends the crowd through an emotional rollercoaster; however, if we closely look at the order in which Kennedy states major facts, overall this speech has an enormous impact on the audience. By admitting our failures, accepting how far behind we are, and noting how far we have come, Kennedy proves to our nation that we can win this race. Throughout the entire speech, Kennedy clearly shows that he firmly believes that we can indeed win this race. This speech is one that will be remembered as one of the most motivational and uplifting ones of its time. Even today, some 50 years later, this speech is acknowledged as a landmark in our nation's efforts during the space race.
