Page 1 Dustin Page Professor Moore ENGL 1302-HON 18 February 2017 President Reagan’s Tribute to Seven Heroes On January 28, 1986, President Ronald Reagan was preparing to give his State of the Union address when an American tragedy took place causing him to change his plans. The space shuttle Challenger exploded on takeoff, killing its seven-person crew instantly. President Reagan spoke to a grieving nation to honor the brave men and women who boldly gave their lives in order to explore space. Throughout his speech, President Reagan not only comforted the American people and their loved ones, but also encouraged the nation that America must not stop exploring space. His emotional connection, credibility, and passion for exploration in The Space Shuttle “Challenger” Tragedy Address reassured all Americans that exploring space should continue no matter what difficulties may stand in the way. President Reagan’s emotional connection throughout his speech touched the American people and brought them together to mourn the tragic national loss. In his speech, he established a connection with the American people by saying, “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” (Par. 1). President Reagan maintains this connection by using the words “we” and “together” throughout his speech to include everyone in the grieving and the sadness of what took place earlier that day. He then reached out to the families of the Challenger crew to say that, although the American people cannot imagine the pain they were experiencing, they would continue to be in America’s thoughts and prayers. The President ended his speech by touching
Page 2 the hearts of the American people when he said, “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’” (Par. 11). By concluding his speech with the quote from the aviator poem High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, President Reagan was encouraging the American people to turn their focus towards heaven to remember the seven heroes. On such a tragic day, the President was able to connect with the American people to remind them that America must stay strong and keep pursing the wonders of space. The credibility of being the President of the United States helped reassure the nation they were not alone and the Challenger Seven crew would never be forgotten. The President displays his credibility through his knowledge of the space program when he says, “nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground” (Par. 2). President Reagan increased his credibility by addressing not only the American people, but also the American children who had witnessed the tragedy at school that day. By speaking directly to the children, this showed America and the rest of the world that President Reagan was thinking of everyone who was affected by the awful shuttle disaster. Furthermore, by using the historical example of Sir Francis Drake and how his story compared to the Challenger crew, President Reagan expressed his knowledge of history and cemented his credibility as a President. Truly, President Reagan’s wealth of knowledge of historical events and his prominent position of President of the United States gave the credibility needed to comfort the American people in this dark hour. His passion for exploration is evident throughout his speech because of his desire to continue exploring space and refusing to let this horrible event stop the space program. President Reagan makes this point clear when he says, “the future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it
Page 3 belongs to the brave” (Par. 6). The President used this statement to inspire the American people to not let this tragedy prevent them from taking chances, and exploring the unknown. His passion was also evident when he spoke of the Challenger crew saying that they had a strong desire to explore and the courage to unearth the wonders of space. He continues to show his passion for space when he says, “There will be shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hope and our journeys continue” (Par. 8). President Reagan was promising the American people that this tragedy would not prevent them from selecting more civilians to be a part of future shuttle missions. Although America tragically lost seven heroes, President Reagan’s passion for exploring space reminded the American people that they too must be brave and continue to look forward to the future. In President Reagan’s Space Shuttle “Challenger” Tragedy Address, he established an emotional connection, utilized his credibility as a President, and expressed his passion for exploration to comfort the American people. In an effort to connect emotionally with the American people, the President included the entire nation with words of unity throughout his speech to mourn the tragic loss together. The President’s immense knowledge of the space program and other historical events along with being the President of the United States gave him the credibility to reassure the American people that America would survive this tragedy. Although the nation was mourning the terrible loss of the Challenger crew, President Reagan’s passion for exploration gave them hope for the future of the space program. While President Reagan did not plan to deliver this kind of speech, he was able to comfort the American people and encourage them that this tragedy would only make America stronger as a nation.
Page 4 Works Cited “American Rhetoric: Ronald Reagan - Address to the Nation on The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.” American Rhetoric: Ronald Reagan - Address to the Nation on The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganchallenger.htm. Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.
