Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Challenger

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Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Challenger On the morning of Tuesday, January 28th, 1986, it was a normal day for the citizens and children of America. Although this may have been a normal day most of the nation’s televisions were set to watch the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) set a new milestone with its space shuttle the Challenger. During this time space exploration was very important in the American culture. The Challenger shuttle had a crew of seven men and women, including a teacher Christa McAuliffe from the space program. On this Tuesday morning most of America watched and listen as the twenty fifth shuttle mission took off with what was thought to be no complications. A short time of seventy three seconds after the shuttle was launched, a fire broke out and the space shuttle exploded. Landing in the ocean, all that remained was two smoking rocket boosters of what use to be the Challenger. This unexpected tragedy was seen first handily by the eyes of all Americans, and called for an immediate address by the president at the time, Ronald Reagan. Oddly, on the morning of January 28th, Ronald Reagans State of the Union address was to be delivered, but plans had quickly changed. Instead, Reagan decided to speak to the Nation about the tragedy that had just taken place. He refers to this day as “a day for mourning and remembering”. In Ronald Reagans address to the Challenger tragedy he spoke in attempt to pay his respects to the seven men and women who were aboard and their families, help the Nation recover from this terrible disaster while encouraging further space exploration, and reinstall all hope to the American people. Though many points, Reagan was successful as he spoke in remem... ... middle of paper ... ... Pathos approach while dealing with such an emotional situation. He expressed his personal feelings in a mournful tone to reflect the losses of the astronauts, and also used a very authoritative tone while ensuring his audience that there was hope and things were under control. Reagan’s speech to the Nation was extremely effective and full of very powerful words and impactful quotes, some of which were addressed above. He proves each and every one of his points throughout his address and reassures the Nation that the Challenger seven “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” References "Speech on the Challenger Disaster | Teaching American History." Teaching American History. Ashbrook Center, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .

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