JFK Moon Speech

We find ourselves in an hour of change and challenge in a decade of hope and fear in an age of knowledge and ignorance the more our knowledge increases the greater our ignorance unfolds no man can fully understand how far and how quickly we have come, but condense if Look at the 50,000 years of man's history recorded in a span of just half a century expressed in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except that by the end of them advanced man had learned to use animal skins for cover up then about 10 years ago under this standard man left his caves to build other types 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 arrived this year and then less More than two months ago during this entire 50-year span of human history the steam engine provided a new source of energy Newton explored the meaning of gravity lies love electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available Just last week we developed penicillin and television and nuclear power, this is an impressive pace and that pace cannot help but create new evils as it dissipates old ones, so it is not surprising that some make us stay where we are a little more time to rest until we are weak if this capsule history of our progress teaches us.

For us, anything is that man in his quest for knowledge and progress is determined and cannot be deterred. We will send a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall to the Moon, 240,000 miles away, on an untested mission to an unknown celestial body and then return it safely. to the earth, but why do some say the

moon

? I choose this as our goal and we may ask why climb the highest mountain 535 years ago next to the Atlantic we choose to go to the

moon

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 difficult because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and abilities because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept if we are not willing to postpone and, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing for the riskiest, most dangerous and greatest adventure that has ever existed.