{ The Space Shuttle “Challenger” Tragedy Address Ronald Reagan Sam Kemp, 4 th block, April 11

 Ronald Wilson Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.  He became the 40 th President of the United States in 1981 after serving as the Governor of California and being a radio, television, and film actor.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Eureka College. Background

 _embedded&v=mt_6S25JsV4 _embedded&v=mt_6S25JsV4 _embedded&v=mt_6S25JsV4 Video of the Challenger Address

Video of me giving the Challenger Address

 The subject of this speech was the space shuttle disaster that happened earlier that day, January 28, He was reporting about how the Challenger space shuttle exploded in flight, killing seven astronauts.  “  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “ Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.” Subject

 The occasion of this speech was the day of the space shuttle “Challenger” exploding in flight and killing seven astronauts, on national television.   “Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off…” Occasion

 The audience of this speech was the American people, in wake of the tragedy that happened earlier that day.  The speech was also to the families and friends of the astronauts that died that day.  “  “Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen.” Audience

 The purpose of this speech was to explain to the American people what happened and to console them and the astronauts families.  Reagan also assured that the space program would go on.  “  “Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.”   “For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.” Purpose

 The speaker was Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40 th President of the United States, during his second term in office. Speaker

 The tone was mournful, grieving, and full of sorrow.  “…  “…Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “We've never had a tragedy like this.”   “We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.”   “We mourn their loss as a nation together.”   “For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much” Tone

 “  “And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.”   In this excerpt, Reagan is saying that to move forward, you have to take risks, and sometimes, these risks have some negative outcomes.   He is also saying that America will continue to take risks to continue advancing. Analysis-Paraphrase

 “For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.”  In this quote, Reagan is saying that the American people were sorry for these families’ losses, and that the astronauts were great men and women. Analysis-Paraphrase

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “We mourn their loss as a nation together.”   “The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."   Reagan was essentially trying to say that America was deeply saddened by this tragedy and that it will be remembered. Major Premise

 “  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.”   This shows his credibility because the State of the Union Address is a speech given by the President every year to discuss how the nation is doing. The administrator of NASA is the Senior Space Science Advisor to the President, and was able to give Reagan the best description of what happened. Ethos

 “  “ Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen.”   “For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. ”   These quotes stirred at the emotions of the American people because he kept emphasizing how sad the situation was and how the families were hurt by this. Pathos

 “  “We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.”   “It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.”   These quotes show logical appeal because Reagan says that disasters like this were part of the process of discovery, and that they had to continue taking risks to advance. Logos

 “  “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye…”   “We'll continue our quest in space.”   “The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.”   “They served all of us.”   “We've grown used to wonders in this century.”   “We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country.”   “We've never had a tragedy like this.”   Reagan repeats the words “we” and “us” many times throughout the speech, showing his unity with the American people. Repetition

 “  “The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God.“   This quote says that the Challenger crew will never be forgotten, and that they are in a better place now.   “And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.”   Here Reagan is saying that you have to take risks to get rewards, and they will continue taking risks to be able to advance into space. Phrasing

 “  “Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.”   “But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.”   “We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.”  “  “I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it." Powerful Lines

 “  “There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.”   Here Reagan is using a lesson from history to compare the Challenger crew to an explorer from the 15 th century. Literary Devices

 “  “We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.”   Here Reagan is using hyperbole to explain how America has gotten more technologically advanced, even though we still have much to learn. Literary Devices, Part II

 This speech was at the beginning of Reagan’s 5 th year in office. To follow…  Reagan ended the Cold War in  Reagan authorized the bombing of Libya in response to terrorism that originated there.  Reagan convinced the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the Brandenburg Gate, more commonly known as the Berlin Wall. To Follow…

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