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1961 - Speech, President Kennedy: Special Message To Congress, TRACK ONLY Pt. 7 of 10

Reel Number: H2029-07

Color: Black and White

Sound: SD

Year / Date: 1961

Country: USA

Location: DC,Washington

TC Begins: 20:29:26

TC Ends: 20:34:42

Duration: 00:05:16

1961 - Speech, President Kennedy: Special Message To Congress, TRACK ONLY Pt. 7 of 10 Continued... That is why it is consistent w/ these efforts that we continue to press for properly safeguarded disarmament measures. At Geneva, in cooperation w/ the United Kingdom, we have put forward concrete proposals to make clear our wish to meet the Soviets half way in an effective nuclear test ban treaty--the first significant but essential step on the road towards disarmament. Up to now, their response has not been what we hoped, but Mr. Dean returned last night to Geneva, and we intend to go the last mile in patience to secure this gain if we can. Meanwhile...(applause) 20:30:13 ...we are determined to keep disarmament high on our agenda--to make an intensified effort to develop acceptable political and technical alternatives to the present arms race. To this end I shall send to the Congress a measure to establish a strengthened and enlarged Disarmament Agency. 20:30:34 Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom & tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. Since early in my term, our efforts in space have been under review. With the advice of the Vice President, who is Chairman of the National Space Council, we have examined where we are strong & where we are not, where we may succeed & where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides--time for a great new American enterprise--time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth. (aspplause) 20:31:43 I believe we possess all the resources & talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure theft fulfillment. 20:32:006 Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets w/ their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of lead-time, & recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by the feat of astronaut Shepard, this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. (applause) 20:33:20 I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals: 20:33:31 First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon & returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; & none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid & solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development & for unmanned explorations--explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon--if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there. Continued... 25May61; Presidential Speeches; Cold War; NOTE: Any continuous 15 minutes of speech, 20:00:05 - 20:45:05 sold at per reel rate.

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