How Did Ronald Reagan Address The Nation After The Challenger Explosion

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Ronald Reagan addressed the nation after the Challenger explosion. In his speech he used rhetorical analysis to describe what was going on. Reagan was supposed to report on the state of the union, instead he talks about the challenger disaster. Reagan is talking about the challenger explosion to inform everyone about the risks of the shuttle flight and the risk that the volunteers took. Reagan honors the men and women that have died, and he explains to the children who were watching at schools. Because of the visual experience of watching the death of seven astronauts on live TV, the unexpected nature of the explosion, the nation was confronted with the problem of processing and responding to the deaths, ordinary people thrust into national …show more content…

Americans had high expectations of the space programs which intended to provide the United States a great sense of achievement. The significance of the space program lies in which symbolized American glory in science and technology. To pay tribute to the men and women who lost their lives. He explains that they will keep trying to send astronauts into space. Ethos - To quote Sr. Francis Drake “He lived on the sea, died on it, and was buried on it”. The explosion happened on the anniversary of Sr. Francis Drakes death. President Reagan compares the work that the seven astronauts were doing to Drakes work. Deductive reasoning Drake was remembered with honor since he died exploring hos frontier. Effect - the seven that died will be honored the same way. Nothing ends with this tragedy. We will continue to move forward with more flights and they will have more volunteers and teachers in space. There was such an emotional response to what happened. President Reagan talks about how the seven astronauts were pioneers that meant they were brave and noble. We will mourn the loss of the seven as a nation together. Epideictic Rhetoric is referring to the seven Astronaut that are named heroes, they are Michael smith, Dick scobee, Judith Resnick, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. The credibility admits weakness for the families of their loved ones. President Reagan does not understand what the families are going