“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
John F. Kennedy
Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort (Primary source)
A defining statement of America’s ambition during the Space Race. Delivered at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, the speech rallied public support for the Apollo program and the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s—a direct response to Soviet advances in space exploration.
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“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
John F. Kennedy
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“For, in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’ every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“A man does what he must—in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures—and that is the basis of all human morality.”
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“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Disputed“When you’re good to others, you are best to yourself.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“If you want a faithful servant, and one that you like—serve yourself.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“’Tis easy to see, hard to foresee.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source