• The Survey Research Center found that 6 months before this first launching, half of the American public had never heard of an earth satellite. Fear of Communism • Public opinion demanded federal aid and action in the wake of Sputnik’s launch • Initially people feared the satellite because they didn’t know if the satellite was a weapon of war or a device used to spy on the Americans War with Soviet Union • With launch of Sputnik, President Eisenhower deemed the principle of “freedom of space” o American’s created a top-secret project, CORONA, to create a spy satellites to tell where every Soviet missile was located. • With the launch of Sputnik, the perception of American weakness and complacency was created. • Diplomatically, Sputnik helped realign the United States and Great Britain as allies.
Soon after the Cold War came to an end, the United States and the USSR both began military technological advancements. If the USSR could get missiles into space, they could set them off at anyone anywhere. In the interest of protecting America and possibly the rest of the world, the main objective for the Space Race was to protect us against missiles from the USSR military. These advancements led to a competition between the US and the USSR to see who would be the first to space. America and the USSR were two of the most powerful countries in the entire world at that point in time.
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, and this was atrociously embarrassing for the United States. President Eisenhower refused to be showed up so he invested millions into NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program. When the United States U2 planes flew over about Soviet Union to spy, many Americans were anxious because they feared it would only worsen the tension of the cold war. One of the U2 planes was shot down and captured. This is only increased the tension, and this incident became known as the U2
Dam Nation- The documentary Dam Nation is a multi-issue, semi-historical argument against dams in the United States. While it addressed many reasons why dams are detrimental, it did not discuss the any particular problem in depth, nor did it offer serious counter-arguments in support of dams (I don’t consider political stump speeches to be a fair representation of an opposing perspective). As a critical viewer, this biased representation made me suspicious of all the arguments. How can I accept the credibility of someone who won’t describe the whole picture?
Sputnik can therefore be seen as responsible for a number of significant changes in American education as well as influencing the Americans directly to begin the space race and advance intellectually to surpass the Soviet
These achievements were portrayed as evidence of the superiority of each nation's political system and way of life, fostering a sense of collective pride and identity. In the Soviet Union, space successes were used to reinforce the narrative of socialist progress and unity under the Communist Party's leadership. Similarly, in the United States, space triumphs bolstered American exceptionalism and reinforced the belief in the nation's destiny as a leader in science and technology. Overall, the Space Race served as a unifying force, transcending political divides and fostering a shared sense of national purpose and pride in both countries. Despite the intense competition of the space race, there was a gradual shift towards cooperation as both the United States and the Soviet Union recognized the mutual benefits of collaboration in space exploration.
The United States viewed the space race as a way to stop the spread of communism and prevent the spread of the Soviet Union's influence on Western European nations including France, Italy, and Greece (“The Space Race”). They also used their acomplishments to create new alliances or strengthen old ones as well as spread capitalism. While In the Soviet Union the race and war were seen as a way to strengthen and expand the communist system. They used their success to showcase the superiority of communism (Schlesinger,
After the Soviet Union made the first of many achievements, such as the first moonwalk, the U.S. wasn’t far behind and was determined to achieve what the Soviets achieved and more. The Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions were all big steps for the U.S. toward a man on the moon. It wasn’t until 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and the U.S. supposedly won the Space Race. After twenty years of the Cold War still taking place, the Berlin Wall fell and eventually the Soviet Union did as well. After this time, the U.S. and Russia “entered into cooperative agreements, most notably the assembly and occupation of the International Space Station.”
The backdrop of the Cold War between the United States and The Soviet Union through the mid-to-late 20th century promoted multiple international policies that reflected the tensions and the hostilities between the bipolar world. The conflicts not only remained on Earth, but what has been termed as a “space race” occurred after the USSR launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit in October 4th, 1957. The politics of space seemed suddenly more vital than it ever had before, and serious political thought was contemplated. What could space have to offer that would benefit for humanity? As the two superpowers competed over the next decade, the questions became more difficult.
The Jungle v. Fast Food Nation Brenton Beardsley Illinois Valley Community College In the book, The Jungle and Fast Food Nation, there was several points that were brought up about the values, beliefs, political ideas, and institution. These topics played an important role in both of the books, as many people just like the family in, The Jungle, face several hardships in our country to this day. During these hard times people find several ways to get to their inner self and overcome these hardships that are in their path to success. Also, migrants go to different countries and bring their traditions with them. Involved in their traditions are their beliefs, and then they also try to expand their traditions with other people surrounding them in their new society.
Sputnik, so far, helped create and introduce new military, political, scientific and technological developments. It’s launch and success had a major impact on the United States as well as the Cold War itself because the United States’ fear of falling behind on the race led to the policymakers of the US to dramatically change and try to advance their weapons and programs. Both countries were discussing about nuclear testing and how there was going to be a treaty that would ban it, but that faded away for a few years. They were researching new technology, trying to achieve more than the other in order to have victory (“Sputnik, 1957”). One of the political impacts was that many people thought the Soviet Union and USSR was technologically uncable
This sparked some fear and excitement in the United States, fear because the Soviets launching Sputnik meant that they could deliver ballistic missiles anywhere in the world and then excitement because this was a huge step forward into crossing the final space frontier. President D. Eisenhower later remarked in a speech he made after the launch of Sputnik, “From what the Soviets say, they have put one small ball in the air.” and “no additional threat to the United States.” About a month
They provided them with good conditions, pay, and stuff that they would appreciate it. They did this because they knew that having enthusiasm would accelerate the pace of the project (Degroot 140). Thirdly, the scientists were even more enthusiastic to work on the project because of their patriotic duty of keeping their country free of attack and safe. When it came to space technology, people were enthusiastic about this because of the great visions they had for what the technology would bring them. The development of Sputnik helped instill that feeling as it made them feel superior to the Americans (Josephson 20).
The launch of Sputnik shocked many Americans and Sputnik then was the start of the
The schools started changing; their curriculums became much stronger in math and science. It was more a goal to develop an engineer than attorney; it just really affected our schools.” From this quotation one can see that the space race influenced the education in the United States and changed it for the better. Bradt says, “Though Sputnik was a relatively simple satellite compared with the more complex machines to follow, its beeping signal from space galvanized the United States to enact reforms in science and engineering education so that the nation could regain technological ground it appeared to have lost to its Soviet rival” (Bradt). Although the Sputnik was not known to be technologically advanced it was the first thing to orbit the earth, it stunned people in the United States and caused an instant response.
