Ronald Reagan Challenger Speech Summary

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On January 28, 1986, President Ronald Reagan responded to the dreadful crash of the space shuttle, Challenger, with words of sorrow about the loss of seven men and women. The situation at hand called for a sincere message from the leader of the country by giving his respect and thank those who died on that unfortunate day. Ronald Reagan made the dreadful event into a speech that motivated the American citizens to keep being brave and exploring whether it is in regard to the NASA space program or just the ambition of achieving the freedom that America stands for. Knowing that the direct audience would be the citizens of the United States and the indirect audience would be other countries like Russia who were competing for the exploration of space, Reagan knew he had to pressure the citizens to not give up and not become scared because this one incident. The speech emphasizes this point through Reagan’s directly mention of “the schoolchildren of America.” The schoolchildren that Reagan is mentioning is the future of the United States. These children are the future of the free country; if these children become scared and never have the courage to fly to space or travel to new places then are they really free? Reagan gives examples of …show more content…

It was needless to say that at that point after the crash everyone was scared. There were more than just random individuals on that shuttle. The crew on the shuttle was relatable to every American citizen. On that day, husbands, wives, and children were stripped of their hopes and dreams as their loved ones died on their journey. Reagan knew that he had to mention this fear while promoting individuals to keep their hope alive and to keep trying. By somehow mentioning these people who died doing this brave acts, Reagan turns the speech into a motivational speech that we have to keep searching in this world and cannot lie back due to being