john f kennedy space race speech rhetorical analysis

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Rhetorical and Literary Devices of John F. Kennedy's Speech

Categories: John F. Kennedy

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Published: Sep 4, 2018

Words: 1133 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

Brinkley, A. (2012). John F. Kennedy: The American Presidents Series: The 35th President, 1961-1963. Henry Holt and Company.
Carver, R. (1994). JFK's inaugural address: Literary masterpiece. The English Journal, 83(1), 17-24.
Dallek, R. (2003). An unfinished life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Little, Brown and Company.
Divine, R. A., Breen, T. H., Fredrickson, G. M., & Williams, R. H. (2017). America: Past and present. Pearson.
Garthoff, R. L. (1994). Foreign intelligence and the historiography of the Cold War. Diplomatic History, 18(2), 159-171.
Kennedy, J. F. (1962). Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/rice-university_19620912
Lewis, J. (1997). The American space program: A historical perspective. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Logevall, F. (2012). Embers of war: The fall of an empire and the making of America's Vietnam. Random House.
Morrison, P. (2013). Cold War on the airwaves: The radio propaganda war against East Germany. University of Illinois Press.
Schlesinger, A. M., Jr. (2002). A thousand days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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111th Commencement of Rice University - May 3-4 - Watch All Ceremonies

“We choose to go to the Moon”

"We choose to go to the Moon", officially titled the address at Rice University on the nation's space effort, is a September 12, 1962, speech by United States President John F. Kennedy to further inform the public about his plan to land a man on the Moon before 1970.

President Pitzer, Mr. Vice President, Governor, Congressman Thomas, Senator Wiley, and Congressman Miller, Mr. Webb, Mr. Bell, scientists, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen:

I appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting professor, and I will assure you that my first lecture will be very brief.

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.

No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man’s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than two years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power.

Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America’s new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight.

This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.

So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward — and so will space.

William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.

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 have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.

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.

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 the 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.

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

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.

It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the presidency.

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 five 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.

Within these last 19 months at least 45 satellites have circled 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.

The Mariner spacecraft now on its way to Venus is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. The accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from Cape Canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the 40-yard lines.

Transit satellites are helping our ships at sea to steer a safer course. Tiros satellites have given us unprecedented warnings of hurricanes and storms, and will do the same for forest fires and icebergs.

We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public.

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.

The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions, such as Rice, will reap the harvest of these gains.

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. What was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of the West will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. Houston, your city of Houston, with its Manned Spacecraft Center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community. During the next five years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year; to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this center in this city.

To be sure, all of 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 $5,400,000 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.

But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun — almost as hot as it is here today — and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out — then we must be bold.

I’m the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute. [laughter]

However, I think we’re going to do it, and I think that we must pay what needs to be paid. I don’t think we ought to waste any money, but I think we ought to do the job. And this will be done in the decade of the sixties. It may be done while some of you are still here at school at this college and university. It will be done during the term of office of some of the people who sit here on this platform. But it will be done. And it will be done before the end of this decade.

I am delighted that this university is playing a part in putting a man on the moon as part of a great national effort of the United States of America.

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.

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Communication 300 Papers

Rhetorical analysis of choosing to go to the moon "and do the other things".

Skyler M. Kona Follow

On September 12, 1962, president John F. Kennedy visited Rice University in Houston, Texas, and delivered what is commonly known as one of the most iconic speeches in American history. The speech, titled “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort”, but more widely known as “We Choose to go to the Moon”, was an attempt to gain further support for the nation's efforts in the Space Race against the Soviet Union. In his speech, Kennedy uses various techniques in order to further boost the audience's understanding of the situation, as well as, crucially, inspiring them to lend their support to these efforts. The speech today is seen as a symbol of victory, given that since then, America has successfully landed the first astronauts on the Moon, but at the time the speech was given, it was difficult to gain public support while the nation was losing the Space Race. This paper is an examination on the rhetoric of the speech, and why it worked well.

https://youtu.be/XUVg8pipYTg

JFK, John F Kennedy, Moon Landing, Rhetoric, Rice University, We Choose to go to the Moon

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Speak to Lead!

An analysis of John F Kennedy’s Moon speech

JFK’s speech delivered in 1962 at Rice University in favour of the Apollo programme. Is in my opinion one of the best political speeches of the 20 th century. There is a lot that can be learnt from this speech.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post , this speech is a very good example of a speech with a clear purpose and a clear objective. The purpose of this speech is to persuade the audience that going to the Moon is a worthwhile endeavour. The objective is to make listeners see the Moon programme as the next step’s in mankind journey of progress. The objective is to be accomplished using all three components of tradition oratory, Ethos, Logos and Pathos.

Ethos is all about credibility and ethics. JFK’s opens right off the bat with references to the location of the speech to establish some rapport with the audience. He then establishes his mastery of the subject by taking the listeners on a whirlwind tour of scientific progress. Millenia of human history are condensed into just 50 years which is the lifespan of an average person. The following sentence:

“Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America’s new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight.”

Is masterful as it makes discoveries that everybody takes for granted look like recent achievements. It also concludes with reaching the stars which is a handy link to the speech’s topic.

Logos refers to logical arguments and facts. This part of the speech will appeal to logical minds. A lot of the timeline referred to earlier does appeal to the audience on a logical level. But the speech also includes a very factual assessment of the challenges of space flight.

“But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour.”

This whole paragraph explains the technical challenges associated with the Saturn V rocket. Facts are kept to a minimum and explained in a simple language. Two analogies feature pre-eminently too. The first one compares the height of the rocket to the length of a football field. The second ones compare the systems engineering of the rocket with a fine watch. To me though, the most masterful factual sentence of the speech is this one:

“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.”

While smoking was very common in the early 1960s the dangers of tobacco were already known back then. This sentence reduces the space programme to a matter of priorities, discovering a new frontier or indulging oneself.

Pathos is all about appealing to emotions and building a bond with the audience. JFK’s uses a number of techniques to take the audience on an emotional journey with him. The first one is to refer to himself and the audience as ‘we’. In fact, the word ‘we’ is used 46 times throughout the speech. That’s over 2% of the speech’s word count! Everybody is playing a part in this journey into space and the great endeavour will need everybody’s contributions.

Another way in which the speech appeals to emotions is through the use of imagery. Moreover, said imagery refers to symbols that will incite positive feelings in the audience’s minds.

“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.”

Losing leadership and not embarking on this journey might mean losing the peace and space becoming a warzone.

“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.”

This sentence is strengthened by the use of repetitions. The goal is hard and worthy but this sentences also portrays it as a test of energies and skills. This is a subtle challenge to the audience and also an invitation to set asides rivalries towards achieving a common goal.

Persuading with power

Watching a video of the speech provides a few clues regarding its delivery. JFK used s ascript to delivery this speech mainly read from it, making eye contact with the audience for about half of the time. The speech lasted for less than 20 minutes and the pace of speaking was only about 120 words per minute. This is an ideal speaking rhythm for projecting authority. It also provides plenty of time for the audience to absorb the speech as it is delivered. Specific emphasis is given to key words as “doing it right and doing it first.” Eye contact is spread across the audience, which is challenging given the huge size of the audience present.

john f kennedy space race speech rhetorical analysis

All in all, this speech is a fine example of a great persuasive speech. Back in the day it wasn’t broadcasted live or widely shown. But it would have a similar impact if delivered today with only minor edits to give reference points to present-day audiences.

Persuasive speeches can be difficult to get right and are sometimes confused with inspirational speeches. If you too are looking to persuade with power, get in touch with me and let’s craft a speech together.

1 thought on “An analysis of John F Kennedy’s Moon speech”

Thanks alot for the analysis. Really appreciate your viewpoint on this great speech.

I will want to hear more about your analysis of great speeches.

The Space Race, a Rhetorical Analysis

A rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches given during the space race and modern eras.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Jfk's appeal to ethos.

3 comments:

I agree with your post in that John F. Kennedy was a very influential public figure in his time, allowing for Ethos to be felt intensely throughout his Moon Speech. By appealing to the United States' sense of community, his aim was to elicit a sense of pride and confidence that would allow the country to propel further in the space race. However, I think in your post it would have been helpful to expand on your explanation of Kennedy's use of logos. When you say he created "logical arguments," I think giving an example or two would be beneficial for your audience.

I like how you differentiated between the extrinsic and intrinsic ethos in John F. Kennedy's speech. His credibility allowed his audience to listen to him because he speaks with such authority. Also, he already has an established trust with his audience. I agree that using logos helps establish the intrinsic ethos, but you should add an example to support the statement.

I agree that John F. Kennedy had great credibility. I recommend you provide a quote (such as "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.") to further strengthen your argument about Kennedy's intrinsic ethos. Kennedy captured the American public's attention and encouraged them to serve the country.

Help inform the discussion

Presidential Speeches

September 12, 1962: address on the space effort, about this speech.

John F. Kennedy

September 12, 1962

Kennedy's speech at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, is imbued with a sense of historical grandeur. The President marks out the race to put a man on the moon as a pivotal moment in human advancement, and in America's struggle for international preeminence.

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President Pitzer, Mr. Vice President, Governor, Congressman Thomas, Senator Wiley, and Congressman Miller, Mr. Webb. Mr. Bell, scientists, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen: I appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting professor, and I will assure you that my first lecture will be very brief. 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. No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only 5 years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than 2 years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than 2 months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power. Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight. This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward. So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward—and so will space. William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. 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 this 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 have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. 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. 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. There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain. Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? 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. It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the Office of the Presidency. 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 five 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. Within these last 19 months at least 45 satellites have circled 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. The Mariner spacecraft now on its way to Venus is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. The accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from Cape Canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the 40-yard lines. Transit satellites are helping our ships at sea to steer a safer course. Tiros satellites have given us unprecedented warnings of hurricanes and storms, and will do the same for forest fires and icebergs. We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public. 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. The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions, such as Rice, will reap the harvest of these gains. 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. What was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of the West will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. Houston, your City of Houston, with its Manned Spacecraft Center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community. During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year; to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this Center in this City. 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 8 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. But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, reentering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun—almost as hot as it is here today—and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out, then we must be bold. I'm the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute. [Laughter] However, I think we're going to do it, and I think that we must pay what needs to be paid. I don't think we ought to waste any money, but I think we ought to do the job. And this will be done in the decade of the sixties. It may be done while some of you are still here at school at this college and university. It will be done during the terms of office of some of the people who sit here on this platform. But it will be done. And it will be done before the end of this decade. I am delighted that this university is playing a part in putting a man on the moon as part of a great national effort of the United States of America. 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. Thank you.

More John F. Kennedy speeches

Michael Carroll

Rhetorical analysis draft + speech outline.

In the middle of the Cold War, Americans needed something to hang their hats on. President John F. Kennedy gave them their hook: sending an American astronaut to the moon. In his speech at Rice University in 1962, Kennedy makes an effort throughout to gain the trust of his audience, as he was not deep into his presidency and was heavily scrutinized as the first Catholic president. Kennedy must consider the rhetorical situation that surrounds him: America is fighting its rival, the Soviet Union, for space supremacy as another add-on to its overall advantage in world order. Kennedy’s word choice throughout is also critical to his speech, as he works to appeal to the common man and leans into the commonplace of American exceptionalism. The second artifact takes a much more drastic approach, suggesting that communism is coming for America if we do not stop it immediately. The vivid imagery and obvious threatening situation work to make the audience fearful of what could come if the Soviets have their way. Both artifacts do, however, establish American superiority. Kennedy’s speech uses captivating diction and emotional appeals in order to instill the importance of innovation in the space industry into his citizens, while the propaganda image preys on the audience’s emotions and preconceived notions in order to call Americans to action against communism.

Kennedy began his speech at Rice by taking his audience for a bit of a history lesson, showing them how recently significant advancements have been made if you condense human history. He notably includes the invention of the printing press and steam engines, two manufacturing marvels that sparked huge economic growth in the world. This leads well into Kennedy’s speech discussing America’s role in the space race and the need to continue to innovate. Kennedy clearly wants America to push beyond the capabilities anyone believes is possible; to advance in society at a time when America is in a vicious — but unofficial — battle with the Soviet Union for dominance in world pecking order. He pushes his audience towards the commonplace of American exceptionalism: we are the best country in the world, and we will prove it by continuing to advance in industry and innovation, culminating in sending a man to the moon. The propaganda image takes a different side to the same coin of American exceptionalism: it works to instill the idea that America is at risk of being beaten by the Soviets and must fight off the “invasion” that is communism. The 1947 pamphlet cover shows violence in the streets, including a man strangling a woman, in what it states would be “America Under Communism.” Where Kennedy uses inspiration and hope, the pamphlet works to drag down the enemy instead of building up the ally (or, in this case, the home country). Considering times in America during the Cold War, both artifacts are likely effective in their own way; however, they take far different approaches at getting to the idea of American exceptionalism.

Kennedy’s word choice throughout his speech is the shining star of the artifact. He tells those listening that America “means to lead” the space race, similarly to how America has led the “ first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power.” He repeats the “first wave” idea three times, contributing to the notion that Americans have been here before when it comes to leading the charge on innovation and will be here again for the space race. Kennedy, as president, reasonably would have many concerns about the Soviet Union during the Cold War but he also must prioritize America’s benefit. In this case, those goals can work together as America and NASA work to put a man on the moon before the Soviets did. Yuri Gagarin beat Americans into space; they won’t be beat to the moon if Kennedy has anything to say about it. As the 60 th anniversary of the speech recently reminded us, Kennedy said that “we choose to go the moon.” This is probably the most iconic line of the speech and one that received much applause from the crowd at Rice. Kennedy wanted to inspire his people and to show them the importance of going further than anyone has gone before.

Word choice is also critical in the propaganda pamphlet, as the use of all capitals leaves nothing unseen. The blaring “IS THIS TOMORROW” at the top of the pamphlet catches the eye easily and does not bother using a question mark when the situation is so dire. Punctuation is not omitted in the lower text which states “AMERICA UNDER COMMUNISM!” and it is clear that the art is shouting at the audience. The entire goal of this pamphlet is to scare the audience in any way possible and establish how evil the Soviet Union and communism are. The pamphlet works to leave the people wondering what would happen to their great country if the Soviets are not defeated. Much how President Kennedy wants to defeat the Soviets in the space race, this poster encourages Americans to defeat communism throughout their lives.

As in any presidential speech, working to control the emotions of your audience is important. It keeps them engaged and attentive to your mission. Kennedy does not lack for emotion-grabbing, and he works to appeal to the common man in his speech. On a broad level, one can notice throughout the address that there is very little sophisticated language. The Harvard-educated Kennedy did not blow any listeners away with technical terminology, which he most likely had the ability to given his deep investment into space exploration and Ivy League education. Kennedy simply calls the mechanism that will enable one of America’s greatest feats a “giant rocket.” The man is in part staking his presidency to this goal, and yet he uses some of the most basic terminology available. This is intentional in order to not lose anyone in pursuit of his goal. Kennedy speaks in a way that engages the listener, and clearly has the attention of his audience. Earlier in the speech, Kennedy makes a joke about Rice playing Texas in football. This plays off his idea of taking on the biggest challenges, as Rice is historically bad at football and Texas is a blueblood of the sport. Kennedy is doing his best in his Rice address to show the people why this effort is so important. He acknowledges the massive cost of the project – “a staggering sum” – and sympathizes with Americans who may be wary of tax increases. He emphasizes that “we must pay what needs to be paid” while not wasting money on the efforts. Anyone convincing Americans of tax increases is starting in a very deep hole, but Kennedy explains throughout the speech the importance of exploring space and invigorates his audience with the idea of being the first country to reach the moon.

The pamphlet image leaves very little to the imagination and goes for audience’s emotions much like Kennedy’s speech. However, the prime factor in this image is fear whereas Kennedy aimed for inspiration and joy. Behind the scene of 6 individuals fighting is a very large American flag burning, which in the time of the Red Scare is likely what most Americans believed would happen to their lands under Soviet rule. The burning of the flag, which has raised debates even in present times, has typically been viewed as one of the ultimate signs of hatred of America, and during the Cold War almost every citizen would have taken much exception to it. With flags burning, women being strangled, and what appears to be a Soviet solider arresting a citizen, it is clear to see what the pamphlet aims to accomplish: the Soviet Union and communism are an evil that must be rooted out in America. Using fear, the pamphlet successfully manipulates the audience’s emotions to push them even further against any notion of communism.

While word choice and delivery were very important for Kennedy to deliver his message, he also needed to consider the rhetorical situation that surrounded him. America was in the middle of the Cold War, fighting the Soviet Union in just about every industry they could. The space race was one of the more publicized areas of interest, but both countries were also working towards establishing and growing their spheres of influence. Each new advancement in innovation would just be one more push that encouraged a third-party country to take America’s side. Kennedy had to deal with global pressure from all the implications of the Cold War, but he also dealt with pressure from within. As the first Catholic president America had chosen, Kennedy dealt with criticism from other sects of Christianity, particularly Protestants, and there was the occasionally thrown around idea that America would be ran by the pope. This was all conjecture, of course, but Kennedy still needed to prove himself to his citizens. He was not yet two years into his term as of the time of this speech and was proposing a major shift in America’s focus on space and the spending that came with it. Lucky for Kennedy, America was well onboard with anything that would advance them past the Soviets.

Ultimately, each artifact lends itself to the commonplace of American exceptionalism via rhetorical appeals. Both artifacts take direct aim at the emotions of their audience, while using different techniques to get there. Kennedy’s speech looks to inspire his audience and encourage them to invest in the space race as he has, while the propaganda image instills a fear of communism and the Soviets.

Speech Outline:

September 1962 @ Rice
include “We choose to go to the moon”
audience, including demographics
choosing to do so in Houston, home of NASA
Rice’s status as elite university
still proving self to citizens
faced scrutiny as first Catholic president
ties to need to establish ethos
basic, non-advanced terminology
establish personal connection
alludes to American exceptionalism heavily
references quote of British explorer
we’ve lead before, we’ll lead again
wants to bring country together behind united goal
success of sending a man to the moon

3 thoughts on “ Rhetorical Analysis Draft + Speech Outline ”

I like what you have done with the essay so far. I also like the outline for the speech. you have a lot of information on your outline if you are able to get all of that into your speech that will be very impressive.

I really like your essay so far. The introduction is very captivating and makes me curious about what the essay is focusing on. I wish I could see the pamphlet you are describing but I really don’t need to because you break down each element of it very well.

This is so good, I don’t think I have anything worth adding. Great job!