LITR 5535: American Romanticism

Sample Student Research Project 2006

Aaron Morris

American Romanticism Journal: Romantic Language of Exploration

Introduction

Of interest in the readings this semester was the use of setting, particularly when it was used to influence an argument.  This journal contains an examination of the various literary devices used to describe American Romantic settings and the effect that such devices can have on a piece of writing.

A practical avenue for my studies in romantic settings was realized with the announcement of an essay contest in NASA’s monthly newsletter, The Roundup.  The essay contest involved writing a 600-750 word essay titled “Why Space Exploration is so Vital to the Nation.”  Many techniques used in descriptions of space and exploration are similar to romantic literature.  An essay could be written with elements of the sublime, the gothic, boundaries, and transcendence; thus it made sense to include the essay in a scholarly examination of romantic setting.  As a result, an essay was written and incorporated at the end of this journal to illustrate the effect of romantic settings on a subject, in this case the subject of space exploration.

            In preparation for writing the essay, I took a moment to refresh my memory on the text of John F. Kennedy’s Rice Stadium Moon Speech (included as Appendix I of this journal).  During the latest reading, I focused on themes and terms that were often used in the American Romanticism class this semester.  Kennedy employed techniques such as identifying space exploration as a quest, conquering boundaries, overcoming difficulties, and human transcendence.  His speech also has a strong element of competition with the Soviets and implications designed to evoke fear in the audience.

To be able to apply a more critical reading to Kennedy’s speech, I also took some time to review the website for LITR 5738 - the Literature of Space and Exploration class.  Ideas stated in the syllabus, such as the correspondence of the physical and psychological journey, as well as essays written by Theresa Matthews and Jamie Davis regarding the mind and motivations of explorers were very useful - both in understanding the romantic language that President Kennedy employs as well as aiding in the composition of a  romantic essay on space exploration.

LITR 5738: Literature of Space and Exploration

            After reading the announcement for an essay contest in The Roundup, I began brainstorming by looking at the website for the Literature of Space and Exploration class.  I was immediately intrigued by the ideas mentioned on the syllabus, such as a map of the unknown territory acting as a metaphor for the explorer’s mind.  With that metaphor in mind I tried to include words such as ‘map’ and ‘cartographer’ within the essay.  I continued with the theme of the psychological journey by mentioning that we explore to understand ourselves more fully.  I end the essay by stating that, “encountering the unknown helps to chart the parts of [ourselves we] have yet to discover.”

            There is some overlap between the American Romanticism class and the Literature of Space and Exploration.  Similar to American Romantic writers, many descriptions in exploration writing include sublime or gothic elements.  I purposefully included gothic descriptions (dark space, bright moon) into the essay below.  Space exploration provides a very effective medium for utilizing the gothic, since it is easy to contrast the absence of light and the total darkness found in space with a light environment found here on Earth.  The extreme environments encountered in space exploration benefit from descriptions using the sublime or gothic language.  The extreme environment of exploration attracts a person who “seeks opportunities to explore and endures the hardships (including close quarters, boredom, and dislocation) that accompany adventure” (White Syllabus).  The harsh environment is necessary to promote growth as we seek to explore our own character issues and generate a psychological map of ourselves.

Boundaries and limits are often described in both fields of literature.  Whenever confronted with a boundary, then it is human nature to seek to transcend artificially imposed limitations and move to a new level.  These motivations are present in both Exploration Literature as well as American Romanticism.  The human desire to transcend a boundary is also present in space exploration; thus, I included the element of human transcendence in the essay submitted to The Roundup.

            Space and Exploration Literature is often regarded as extra-literary (travel journals) or genre fiction (Sci-Fi or Fantasy).  This is similar to the Romantic era where Cooper originated spy novels and the western adventure genre.  These genres are often viewed as light reading and most works in this classification are not considered serious literature.  Many regard science fiction as late Romanticism and an exploration piece could easily be called an adventure novel with the explorer cast as an adventure hero triumphing over the dangerous wilderness.  Despite the lack of critical acclaim, these novels have always enjoyed popular support.  This may be because of the strong theme of transcending boundaries.

Humanity constantly seeks to expand beyond the horizon and move past boundaries.  When moving through a boundary one often encounters danger.  The theme of danger was used extensively in the essay submitted to The Roundup.  Due to the component of danger exploration may be linked to issues of survival.  We must be adaptive to change and willing to take risks for potential gain.  Theresa Matthews in Exploring the Mind of an Explorer does an excellent job of describing this psychological state when she writes, “Exploring is a demanding journey that is unforgiving and exhilarating all at once.  Extreme conditions in extreme landscapes mystically call to those who are willing to “test their mettle” against uncharted territory and unlimited boundaries” (Matthews Midterm).

We admire an explorer who is willing to leave behind the comfort and security of the known and travel into an environment that is hostile and cold.  “The complex society of the known world becomes the reliable bedrock of stability compared to the cruel unexplored regions of the unknown” (Matthews Midterm).  In a dangerous environment the explorer’s survival, “depends upon their endurance and their ability to accommodate mental and physical hardships” (Matthews Midterm).  One way to cope with the harsh world is to “use the mind to escape the severe surroundings” (Matthews Midterm).

With literature we are able to explore the minds of explorers.  This insight reveals that these heroic figures are self-disciplined as they face the most severe of unforgiving conditions.  “Most amazing is their ability to purvey the unknown territory and transcend beyond their suffering to reverently acknowledge the beauty of nature” (Matthews Midterm).  The sublime appreciation of the extreme landscape is similar to romantics.  The wonder and awe of their physical surroundings is often so intense that it becomes a spiritual encounter.

Jamie Davis in Exploration: Motivations and Problems eloquently describes man’s motivation for entering these dangerous situations.  She begins by describing how millions of years ago; the world’s first explorers came into being.  Homo erectus began exploring by leaving Africa about two million years ago.  At that time the world was completely new to Homo erectus.  This situation is similar to the unknown encountered by polar explorers and space explorers today.

It is commonly held that Homo erectus left Africa in search for food.  However, given “that their brain size was over twice that of their ancestors…one can not help but entertain the idea that along with their increased brain size, that their sense of curiosity also grew” (Davis Midterm).  Humans also have an insatiable curiosity, which leads us to continue learning and exploring.  The curiosity of Homo erectus is similar to the drive that we find in explorers today. Alvarez, in his article, Ice Capades focuses on the motivation behind arduous journeys.  “For example, he contends, ‘Explorers are driven by the unappeasable need to peer over the next horizon’ (p. 14).  His statement would suggest that explorers have an innate driving force of curiosity” (Davis Midterm).  We venture out into an expanse to understand the universe and ourselves.

Davis emphasizes that humans have long been concerned with space.  We have long felt awe and bewilderment at the enormity of the universe.  Ancient peoples built massive temples and structures concerned with astronomy.  Stonehenge is one such structure that was intended to function as an astronomical device.  “The builders of Stonehenge, for example, took on the backbreaking task of moving massive stones, weighing tons each, over great distances to their final resting place in what is now known as England” (Davis Midterm).  This monumental undertaking is an effort to transcend earthly bounds.  In President Kennedy’s speech, he emphasizes the monumental undertaking of the space program (the size of the buildings, the power of the rockets, costs involved, etc.) to suggest that the space program could lead to transcendence.

The need to understand the universe “has driven many of the ancient peoples in their own exploration into the reaches of space, although not by physical means, nonetheless, the simplest method of propelling the ultimate spacecraft for exploring was used—the mind” (Davis).  The exploration and mapping of the mind is a metaphor that is very useful in describing exploration.  It is one that is used extensively in the essay submitted to The Roundup.

Davis mentions ocean travel and sailing, a metaphor that Kennedy also employs in the Rice Moon Speech.  Space, and in particular, stars, became of navigable interest to sailors since it would “enable them to travel—rather expertly—to far off lands, across thousands of miles of treacherous oceans” (Davis Midterm).  The sailing metaphor also has an element of transcendence, since oceans are crossed and the danger is overcome. 

The element of danger is a vital part of exploration accounts. Humans like to take calculated risks.   We explore with some element of danger, but still rely on technology and other people to provide a modicum of safety.  A sense of pride and accomplishment develops when encountering very dangerous situations.  In Ice Capades, Alvarez claims, “men wore their hardships like “badges of honor” (p. 16).  Perhaps when faced with death on a daily basis, one would take solace in such pains; the pains, the explorers own; the explorers, the land owns” (Davis Midterm). 

A byproduct of the dangerous encounter can be a sublime moment, where the explorer begins “to internalize almost to the point of a deep philosophical point of view” (Davis Midterm).  A spiritual moment can be had through the extreme circumstances and danger that results in a newfound appreciation for life.  In this sublime moment, an appreciation for all life forms is gained - even moss.  “For instance, in Six Came Back from Ice Sergeant David L Brainard has been through horrendous ordeals, and is faced with the reality that death might take him at any given moment; nevertheless, he writes, “The mosses growing in damp ground are looking quite beautiful” (Davis Midterm).  His comment is admirable and disturbing because Brainard is faced with death and still able to write a romantic description of nature. 

Whether oceans, ice, or the darkness of space, humans will always gaze in awe at an expanse and dream of exploration.  Kennedy says it well…

President Kennedy’s Rice Moon Speech

            Early paragraphs in President Kennedy’s speech have themes that connect with later paragraphs in the text, which gives the speech a deeply interwoven quality.  The interwoven themes impart a strong sense of continuity to the work by using repetitive images to strengthen the metaphors.  The metaphors and images that Kennedy evokes are similar to the American Romantic literary devices that were encountered this semester.  He speaks of a long quest, humanity transcending great difficulties and boundaries, and an urge to explore.  This urge exists simply because the unknown is present and will not be tolerated.  President Kennedy also appeals to the American sense of sports competition.  He often uses images of winning a game and defeating the Russian team using honorable methods.

            One of the early sentences in his work reads, “Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward” (Kennedy).  The word ‘vistas’ evokes the image of a vast expanse, which begs to be explored.  It is wide open and ready for settlement.  Later in this sentence the word ‘high’ is used twice.  Although the quest has difficulties and is costly, the possibility of a great reward exists.  We are able to transcend our current state to a more desirable condition by following the quest for space exploration.  The unexplored vista that leads to a high reward is also reminiscent of Manifest Destiny and the American desire to explore.

            A more aggressive statement of Manifest Destiny was made next in the speech, when he said, “…this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them” (Kennedy).  This places a sense of urgency on the task, so not only must we explore the expanse but we must do it quickly.  He then associates the word ‘conquered’ with the Manifest Destiny images.  “This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space” (Kennedy).  Adding ‘conquered’ to the imagery evokes pictures of an invading army.  This image appeals to the American fear of Russian invasion.  After hearing a statement such as this Americans are eager to conquer rather than to be conquered.

            The conquering image is then softened to a difficult athletic competition.  This is a “great and honorable action” that is “accompanied with great difficulties” but we “cannot be deterred” (Kennedy).  Kennedy once again imparts a sense of urgency to the competition saying, “The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not” (Kennedy).  This is one of “the great adventures of all time” and if we do not engage in exploration quickly, then we will miss out on great rewards.  He ends that paragraph by evoking the competitive imagery of a race, which was embedded in the minds of Americans in the “Space Race.”  Later in the work we see more athletic competition imagery.  Phrases such as, “We mean to be a part of it--we mean to lead it” and “Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first” are indicative of a football pep rally (Kennedy).  These phrases elicit images of a football coach extolling the virtues of his team and demanding that the players give their most in the pursuit of the championship game.

            President Kennedy once more returns to the spirit of athletic competition with a series of rhetorical questions.  “Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?” (Kennedy).  In a series of rhetorical questions Kennedy links the lunar program with military conflict (conquest), individual accomplishment (mountain climbing), commercial aerospace accomplishments, and athletic competition.  The theme of mountain climbing is used again later in the piece to indicate both individual accomplishment and transcendence.  The conquest images were softened to athletic competition in the middle of his speech, but later in the work some of the military conflict images are used to evoke fear in the audience.  The audience is then given an option to alleviate some of that fear with an aggressive and successful space program.  If we beat the Russians to the moon, then we can avoid being conquered.

            One of the most impressive examples of images to produce fear is the sentence that reads, “We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding” (Kennedy).  This depicts the Russians as a very aggressive and militaristic society.  Kennedy then states, “For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace” (Kennedy).  President Kennedy is implying that we, as Americans, are not conquerors, but we simply wish to spread peace around the universe.  This is reminiscent of discussions of American imperialism held in the Post-Colonial Literature class. 

The spirit of the speech is then framed in terms of a monumental undertaking that is very difficult.  “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” So difficult, in fact, that the challenge becomes appealing.  Part of the appeal of this monumental undertaking is that it can lead to human transcendence.  Not only would we succeed in beating the Russians, but we could transcend our earthly bounds and reach a higher state.  President Kennedy amplifies the size of the task by using some realism in this highly romantic speech.  He equates the power of the rocket engine to 10,000 automobiles and describes the Vehicle Assembly Building like a 48 story skyscraper that is as long as two football fields.  Even though this description is very realistic the images of automobiles, skyscrapers, and football are all Western.  These images extend the American accomplishment and athletic competition themes seen earlier in the work.

Even as the ideas presented in the speech change, the idea of competition continues to surface.  Towards the end of the speech Kennedy strengthens the competition metaphor to include more victorious imagery.  When he describes American satellites as “far more sophisticated and supplied far more knowledge to the people of the world than those of the Soviet Union” he implies that Americans are winning the space race and our hardware is better.  He concedes that we were behind for a time, “But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead” (Kennedy).

The largest sections of realism occur just following the most lofty, romantic imagery.  After saying that we are prepared to win the race Kennedy gives a long listing of jobs created, buildings constructed, money allocated, the distance to the moon and the size of the rocket.  This realism serves to provide a firm anchor to the dreamy notions of space travel.  By offering realistic details, Kennedy is able to imply that America is realistic.  We need space travel to provide science and engineering jobs, foster economic growth, and protect ourselves from the Russians.

He ends the long catalog of realist ideas with some of his most romantic language, “and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold.”  This sentence appeals to America’s pride of workmanship and rugged individualism.  Craftsmen at that time were often proud of a job well done.  Let’s “do it right” the first time was a rallying cry for woodworkers and other artisans.  “We must be bold,” appeals to the American desire for individualism, in this case a display of courage and assertiveness by each individual is necessary.  Once again, by laying out the timeframe of a decade evokes the sense of urgency and athletic competition – “do it first before this decade is out” (Kennedy).

A recurring theme is that of sailing and adventuring.  Mountain climbing and sailing are used both to invoke the spirit of rugged American individualism and to plant the idea of transcendence.  Humanity climbs up the mountain and sails across the oceans to a new home.  This is one of his most important images as evidenced by the fact that he ends his speech with a paragraph about “climbing” into space and “setting sail” on a the “greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked” (Kennedy).

            An equally important idea, and one which I rely heavily on in the essay for The Roundup, is that of a dangerous journey.  President Kennedy uses words such as danger, hazardous, and peril many times in his speech.  The idea of danger is integral to exploration and the Manifest Destiny language.  Americans must tame the hazardous wilderness, conquer dangerous Indians, and endure perilous weather in order to conquer North America.  From this historical experience, Americans subconsciously connote adventure with danger.  We cannot transcend to a higher state unless danger is encountered and overcome.

Essay Composition

            I tried to remain cognizant of the romantic themes, topics found on the Space and Exploration Literature website, and President Kennedy’s imagery while writing the essay for The Roundup.  I used contrasts between light and dark imagery to paint space as a hostile environment (it is dark) that we must travel through.  The lunar destination, the earth, and the space vehicle are written with words that evoke light.  Phrases such as “radiant” lunar surface, the “bright” earth, and “slivers of light from the capsule window” were intended to make the moon, earth, and spacecraft desirable places to inhabit.  In contrast, the cold darkness of space is intended to paint space as hostile and gothic.

            In the essay below, the rockets are written so that they go up and out into space.  The capsule then travels through space.  I intentionally chose words ‘up’ and ‘through’ to suggest transcendence.  By sending rockets up and through space we, as humans, can ascend to a higher state and go through our current limitations and difficulties to a new and better place.  That place may even be described as a new home. 

To find that home we would need a map.  For this reason metaphors of cartography and maps were used in the essay below.  Cartographers draw boundaries, help us to understand the limits of the land we live in, and illustrate the vast unknown regions yet to be explored.  We need this insight for the land we are traveling through as well as the unexplored regions of ourselves.

Version of Exploration Essay Submitted to The Roundup

Space Exploration: A Map of Ourselves

The human mind has an insatiable desire not only to comprehend, but also to change the world.  We can no longer conceive of a society without the technological improvements that help us live longer, happier, and healthier lives.  Likewise, when confronted with any expanse humans feel compelled to explore.  We will not endure an impediment to our travel, whether we venture by land, sea, or air; against human intolerance or inequality; or into space.  We must transcend all boundaries, first by understanding our risks and limitations and then embarking on the physical journey. 

Exploration is a part of being human.  It is an essential condition of the human mind that commands us to venture forth, explore, and learn.  The inquiry of the world around us aids in our ability to understand our own humanity more completely, since by sending forth our bravest to map the unknown, we also act as cartographers illuminating the unexplored regions of the human mind.

Children begin the exploration of the human mind by dreaming of future happenings.  These dreams are often romantic visions of someday becoming wilderness explorers, pilots, sailors - or perhaps astronauts, lighting the dark reaches of space with a sliver of light from their capsule window.  Often, high school and college-age students will use that childhood passion as an impetus for following arduous plans of study, such as math, physics, engineering, or biology.  The end product could be a career of scientific exploration or an opportunity to support a physical exploration.  The dreaming child will become tomorrow’s engineer plotting the trajectory of America’s newest spacecraft on its journey to the moon, which lights the night sky as a veritable beacon beckoning explorers into space. 

Why do we possess this innate need to explore?  Exploration is essential in the continued understanding of humanity, for we must place ourselves in a different perspective to have insight into the universe and ourselves.  Our will to explore is driven not solely by profit and adventure, but by the nature of the human mind.  This mind has a constant desire to grasp a deeper and more complex level - a desire that drives us to understand both the infinite and the infinitesimal.  We cannot continue unless we comprehend what happens within our bodies at the atomic level as well as what happens to the universe as a whole.  Throughout history, humans have learned and grown by venturing forth to new lands, sailing the globe to unknown continents, searching for a different home to improve our situation while retaining the heritage of our parents’ homes. 

            But why space?  Exploring that dark vacuum is fraught with danger, which is why we must attempt the endeavor.  Remaining within the warm, bright confines of our planet may feel safer, but we cannot realize humanity’s potential until we push ourselves past danger to a place with a different perspective - a place like the bright surface of the moon, which may then become a new home as safe as the one we left behind. 

We in the NASA family are aware that the early space program is one of this nation’s greatest accomplishments.   Its magnitude is apparent when engineers stop work and gaze in awe as aging pioneers walk down the hall to attend retirement dinners – whispers of “Do you know who that is?” following their steps.  Their lifework so noble that moist-eyed employees stand together in the rain waiting for a missing man formation to fly over the duck pond in honor of one of the original seven American astronauts. 

The crowd salutes when the second-element leader’s aircraft ascends vertically to commemorate a death.  The reverence is due: they were among the first to embark upon the journey into a challenging unknown.  Exploration, by definition, means traveling through an unknown and hostile environment to a new location.  If space travel was as simple and safe as walking to the park, then children would not dream of going to space.  Without dreams these students would not follow arduous paths of study to become scientists and engineers.  Together we send astronauts on a path of light up through the darkness of space, so America’s youth will have the radiant dream of standing on the surface of another home.  The dream exists because children realize that encountering the unknown helps to chart the parts of themselves they have yet to discover.

Conclusion

            The most enjoyable part of my studies in Romantic settings is that it resulted in a finished product that could be submitted to a potential publisher.  It also solidified some concepts in my mind and underlined the intertextual aspect of writing.  For instance, the sublime could be used in critical discussions of Romantic works and Exploration Literature; furthermore, it could be applied to an essay on the importance of space exploration.  The synthesis of this learning into an essay that could be sent to a contest was both educational and rewarding.

Works Cited

Davis, Jamie. “Exploration: Motivations and Problems.” Midterm. University of Houston Clear Lake, 2004.

Kennedy, John F. “Text of President John Kennedy’s Rice Stadium Moon Speech.” NASA Historic Space Movies (2004).

<http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/ricetalk.htm>

Matthews, Theresa. “Exploring the Mind of an Explorer.” Midterm. University of           Houston Clear Lake, 2004.

Murfin, Ross, and Supryia Ray. Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.

White, Craig. “Literature of Space and Exploration Syllabus.” LITR 5738 (Spring 2004). <http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/Whitec/LITR/5738/sylsched/syl04.htm>

Appendix I

TEXT OF PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY'S RICE STADIUM MOON SPEECH

President Pitzer, Mr. Vice President, Governor, Congressman Thomas, Senator Wiley, and Congressman Miller, Mr. Webb, Mr. Bell, scientists, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen:

I appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting professor, and I will assure you that my first lecture will be very brief.

I am delighted to be here and I'm particularly delighted to be here on this occasion.

We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a State noted for strength, and we stand in need of all all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.

Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that the world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation¹s own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than three times that of our population as a whole, despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip our collective comprehension.

No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man¹s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than two years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power.

Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight.

This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.

So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space.

William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.

If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it--we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.

Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.

We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. I do not say the we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

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.

It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency.

In the last 24 hours we have seen facilities now being created for the greatest and most complex exploration in man's history. We have felt the ground shake and the air shattered by the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, many times as powerful as the Atlas which launched John Glenn, generating power equivalent to 10,000 automobiles with their accelerators on the floor. We have seen the site where the F-1 rocket engines, each one as powerful as all eight engines of the Saturn combined, will be clustered together to make the advanced Saturn missile, assembled in a new building to be built at Cape Canaveral as tall as a 48 story structure, as wide as a city block, and as long as two lengths of this field.

Within these last 19 months at least 45 satellites have circled the earth. Some 40 of them were "made in the United States of America" and they were far more sophisticated and supplied far more knowledge to the people of the world than those of the Soviet Union.

The Mariner spacecraft now on its way to Venus is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. The accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from Cape Canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the the 40-yard lines.

Transit satellites are helping our ships at sea to steer a safer course. Tiros satellites have given us unprecedented warnings of hurricanes and storms, and will do the same for forest fires and icebergs.

We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public.

To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead.

The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions, such as Rice, will reap the harvest of these gains.

And finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies, and tens of thousands of new jobs. Space and related industries are generating new demands in investment and skilled personnel, and this city and this State, and this region, will share greatly in this growth. What was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of the West will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. Houston, your City of Houston, with its Manned Spacecraft Center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community. During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year; to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this Center in this City.

To be sure, all this costs us all a good deal of money. This year¹s space budget is three times what it was in January 1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined. That budget now stands at $5,400 million a year--a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year. Space expenditures will soon rise some more, from 40 cents per person per week to more than 50 cents a week for every man, woman and child in the United Stated, for we have given this program a high national priority--even though I realize that this is in some measure an act of faith and vision, for we do not now know what benefits await us.

But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun--almost as hot as it is here today--and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold.

I'm the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute. [laughter]

However, I think we're going to do it, and I think that we must pay what needs to be paid. I don't think we ought to waste any money, but I think we ought to do the job. And this will be done in the decade of the sixties. It may be done while some of you are still here at school at this college and university. It will be done during the term of office of some of the people who sit here on this platform. But it will be done. And it will be done before the end of this decade.

I am delighted that this university is playing a part in putting a man on the moon as part of a great national effort of the United States of America.

Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there."

Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.

Thank you.