Preview

Why Is John F Kennedy So Enamored With Going To Space

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
267 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is John F Kennedy So Enamored With Going To Space
Correspondingly, the issues of going to space. “The reason why Kennedy was so enamored with going to space in the first place was because of the Soviet Union. “The ubiquitous scare of the so-called "missile gap"- the supposed advantage of the Soviet Union in the field of missile armament- is representative of the contemporary discourse. The United States long possessed the strategic and psychological advantage of knowing its home territory to be protected by two oceans. Technological progress rendered this perception obsolete. The deadly combination of modern missiles and nuclear weapons fueled expectations of a conflict which threatened to destroy American cities and cause immeasurable loss of life” (Werth 567). John F. Kennedy fired

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in the 1960’s not long after President John F. Kennedy’s failure in the Bay of Pigs. In October of 62’ photographs of Soviet missiles were taken from planes flying over Cuban soil. This put Americans on the edge of their seat, not prepared for another war. Kennedy already looking like a “soft president” states to the public he must take action. In his speech he states seven steps that will be taken. Any of which are not followed peacefully, will be consider an attack on the United States.…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers and subsequently a period of tension and hostility arose, known as the Cold War. During this time, a new possibility of complete nuclear destruction that would claim the lives of many emerged, therefore “the easing or relaxing of tensions” on both sides was needed, this period would be known as detente. Both countries had been guaranteed mutually assured destruction as they had both managed to stay ahead in the development of nuclear arsenals. By the late 1960s the Soviets had surpassed the United States in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) by 1,300 to 1,054. Although the U.S was still ahead in various categories, it no longer enjoyed the immense nuclear advantage as before. However, neither side was prepared for the risk of a full scale war. Apart from the possibility of a disastrous nuclear war, factors in both the U.S and the Soviet Union also motivated the need for a relaxation of tensions.Both countries were in severe economic crisis due to the arms race and needed to diverge the funds to rebuild the economy. In the United States public opinion in America indicated that the Cold War was 'unjustifiable both economically and morally' due to the ongoing war in Vietnam. All these factors would eventually lead to the establishment of detente.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Take a step back over fifty years to 1961 when John F. Kennedy, the youngest president to be elected, was in office. John F. Kennedy is well known for many things throughout his presidency, with one being his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis against the Soviet Union in Cuba. This mark in history ultimately had our country trembling in the fear of a nuclear war that would affect us all. President Kennedy stopped what would have been devastating for the whole world and not just Cuba, Russia, and the United States. There has always been an arms race among various countries, but when a crisis, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, is discovered a practical, precise, and strategic strategy must be made to avoid such a crisis.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Project 1

    • 542 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It was through that the United States was no longer safe behind its ocean barriers. The Soviet Union could launch missiles directly on United States. The Space Race    April 12, 1961 the Soviets launch another satellite, Sputnik 2. This time they were able to put a dog in orbit around the earth.…

    • 542 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    His brother Robert Kennedy, who served as Attorney General during the Kennedy administration broke down on organized crime. One theory declares that the Mob was ireful with attempts by Robert. The mafia had no real interest in John F. Kennedy. Maybe his brother Robert, but not the President.Alliance between the Soviet Union and US were extremely low at the time of Kennedy's death, with both sides not able to trust each other. One popular theory is that Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, instructed the attack on Kennedy because he was abashed at having to give up following the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 gave very good reasons not to like Kennedy to the Soviet security agency KGB. A version of the theory also suggests…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kennedy explains, “it was possible that either side could take a step that – for reasons of “security” or “pride” or “face” – would require response by the other side, which, in turn …would bring an escalation into armed conflict” (Kennedy, 49). The Kennedy administration understood how dangerous the nature of any miscalculations to their responses would be. Kennedy of course couldn’t predict exactly how the Soviets would react to every response, but he did realize the severity of this issue and the damage there would be if he were to miscalculate a response in this cause and effect scenario. Therefore taking the most plausible course of action necessary trying to avoid any harmful after effects and consequences was Kennedy’s goal. For instance, when an air-force pilot flying over Cuba ,Major Rudolph Anderson Jr., was shot down and killed, the Kennedy administration kept quiet and stayed patience with a response and any immediate military attacks to try once more to negotiate with Prime Minister Khrushchev. Kennedys patience and caution that he took throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis is a testimony to why mankind avoided a nuclear war. Every step of the way Kennedy carefully analyzed and anticipated the Soviets response to his best understanding, and only executed prudent courses of…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Cuban missile crisis is one of the closest points America has ever come to Nuclear war, and even though our current president is trying to bring us closer by insulting world powers, Kennedy managed to come to agreements with America’s biggest threat and settle an extremely hostile situation. Even though it put us at bad standings with England for not consulting them and some of America saw it as a loss by coming to agreements with the communist USSR, Kennedy took these risks and carried through by doing whatever he could to keep that blockade strong in Cuba. Without Kennedy’s actions and cunning there is no saying whether America would even be here right now and not a smoldering pile of ash. Maybe we can take some notes from Kennedy’s book and look at certain American problems in a new light. The loss of a few small assets in the American arsenal is a small price to pay when you’re gambling the life of millions of people.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unlike Eisenhower's brinksmanship, Kennedy's flexible response took the focus away from nuclear weapons and reemphasized conventional forces as the best tool for undertaking limited and covert operations against the USSR. 2. The Space Race was so important to the US because it showed that the US possessed a better space program compared to that of the USSR and because it showed the relative strength of the US compared to the USSR. 3.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Faced with the evidence of Soviet nuclear-capable weapons in Cuba, Kennedy found his available methods of response limited. There were several factors that likely weighed heavily on Kennedy’s mind as he debated what action to take. First, the humiliation of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion attempt still resonated in the President’s mind. Kennedy believed he could not risk another disaster in Cuba without crippling U.S. prestige as well as his own. Second, during the 1960 Presidential election, John F. Kennedy made the “missile gap” between the U.S. and USSR as a major topic of his campaigning rhetoric. If the Soviets successfully established nuclear missile silos, he would appear to have failed to uphold his commitments to the American people. Third, the Joint Chief of Staff put severe pressure on President Kennedy not only to react militarily to the Soviet’s missile deployment in Cuba, but suggested that the president authorize an airstrike on the Soviet missile bases. Lastly, and perhaps the important factor that kept President Kennedy from escalating the crisis into a direct conflict, was his fear of Soviet retaliation for an American attack on Soviet or Cuban military assets or personnel. Instead of authorizing military intervention, President Kennedy sought to resolve the…

    • 2042 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union was one of the greatest rivalries of the 20th century. From 1955 to 1972, these two superpowers battled each other for supremacy in space flight technologies, with each country launching multiple satellites and manned missions into space. Their ultimate goal was to put a man on the moon. The 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviets had an immense effect on the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The launch proved that Eisenhower lacked leadership skills. He could not prove to his fellow Republicans in congress that space travel should be a top priority of the country. Democrats believed that not enough funding had gone into national defense and that the Soviet satellite…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John F Kennedy was very hesitant in the issue of Civil Rights. Kennedy's main issue was if he helped African Americans, then he would lose white supporters. Many people remember Kennedy for his crucial part in the space program and his assassination, but few people remember his role in the advancement of equality and the desegregation of the schools. Despite the fact the Kennedy was hesitant to act he did however support The Civil Rights legislation.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The JFK Era

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On October 14, 1962, CIA U-2 spy planes took photographs in Cuba of intermediate-range ballistic missile sites under construction by the Soviets in previous months. This quote was taken directly from the first announcement Kennedy made regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis: “This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military build-up on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive Missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.” The photos were shown to Kennedy on October 16, 1962, and a consensus was reached that the missiles were offensive in nature and thus posed an immediate nuclear threat to our country, and possibly the ones surrounding. If the U.S. attacked the sites, it might lead to nuclear war with the U.S.S.R., but if the U.S. did nothing, it would be faced with the increased threat from close range nuclear weapons. More than one third of the members of the NSC favored an unannounced air assault on the missile sites. But, there could be no assurance from the Council that the assault would be 100% effective. Kennedy decided on a naval quarantine, and on October 22nd dispatched a…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages

    After the United States invaded Cuba at Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union, forced to protect its only stronghold in the Americas, sent several missiles to Cuba to offset the power of the United States. From October 16th to October 28th, 1962, intense diplomatic and militaristic actions occurred in the United States. The Soviet Union had transferred nuclear missiles to Cuba, a neighboring country to the United States. John F. Kennedy, the president during the crisis of 1962, felt the missiles were a clear and present danger to the people of the United States. The Cuban missile crisis brought panic to many individuals due to growing worry of not just another world war, but an apocalyptic war that would most probably eclipse every other war before it. The Cuban missile crisis that occurred in October 1962 was successfully averted due to prudent choices by both Kennedy and Khrushchev.…

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    America had recovered from World War II, when Kennedy gave his famous inaugural speech to the American people. During this time a new conflict known as the Cold War began. Kennedy’s presidential term was during the space race against rivals the Soviet Union and the United States. The space race was a competition that was…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages

    By the end of 1962, both countries had shown that they had the capabilities to reach outside of Earth’s atmosphere. However, the U.S. was still behind the Soviets in technological capabilities. John F. Kennedy, the president during the Space Race, promised America and the world that we would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. This prediction was considered bold to many people considering that the U.S. only put a man into space just a year earlier. Following JFK’s announcement, NASA introduced the Apollo missions. These government…

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays