To beat the USSR to it.
2006-08-30 22:29:32
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answer #1
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answered by eva b 5
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It was the height of the cold war, and the USA was really needing a boost in the arm , what with the Berlin Wall having gone up and the thing in Vietnam starting to heat up and everyone keeping their eyes on it, not sure how it was going to go. Korea had been a big bust for us, America's youth were over the poodle skirts and bobby socks period, people were trying to find 'something' to believe in. The Race to Space was it. Its time had come and it was down to the USA and the USSR .
Now , whether you believe the USA actually landed on the Moon or if you believe that the landing was a hoax and was filmed in a sound stage in Hollywood, that is your choice. Whatever! But, it did the trick for America and in a BIG way!! Suddenly, Every little boy wanted to be an astronaut and every little girl wanted to be an astronaut's wife on the moon! The possibilities were endless! Suddenly, home design, car designs, clothing , electronics, and anything else you can imagine, all changed and went Space Age! It gave Americans something so drastically different to think about. Science Fiction became popular.... Hello? A young man imagined a TV show that crossed Wagon Train with a Rocket ship and suddenly... STAR TREK was born!! Gene Roddenberry changed TV forever!
Whether the USA did it or not that first time, just the idea that they had put a man on the moon turned America around, gave them something for their imaginations to work on and dream about for the future.
2006-08-30 22:43:20
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answer #2
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answered by heatherlovespansies 3
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On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. A number of political factors affected Kennedy's decision and the timing of it. In general, Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States "catch up to and overtake" the Soviet Union in the "space race." Four years after the Sputnik shock of 1957, the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human in space on April 12, 1961, greatly embarrassing the U.S. While Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, he only flew on a short suborbital flight instead of orbiting the Earth, as Gagarin had done. In addition, the Bay of Pigs fiasco in mid-April put unquantifiable pressure on Kennedy. He wanted to announce a program that the U.S. had a strong chance at achieving before the Soviet Union. After consulting with Vice President Johnson, NASA Administrator James Webb, and other officials, he concluded that landing an American on the Moon would be a very challenging technological feat, but an area of space exploration in which the U.S. actually had a potential lead. Thus the cold war is the primary contextual lens through which many historians now view Kennedy's speech.
2006-08-30 23:00:23
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Because America has to be the first to do everything. It's a matter of honour. Oh, and by the way, they didn't actually put a man on the moon. The man in question was Cleetus Shawshank. He was dangled by cunningly placed ropes and bounced around a bit on a massive ball of polystyrene in one of the movie hangars at MGM Studios in Hollywood
2006-08-30 22:40:22
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answer #4
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answered by trog 3
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He became truly a reasonable Libertarian who became attentive to the bounds of Libertarianism. AKA used his ideas and released some government is needed, specifically in aspects the place if government has no impact, inner maximum agencies would not be compelled to do something even nonetheless the section as an entire is rather helpful, in basic terms no longer all that worthwhile.
2016-11-06 03:22:19
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answer #5
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answered by ? 4
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John F. Kennedy's and the American government's decision to put a man on a moon was brought by a desire to simply prove that they could do it and in part to beat the USSR in the "space race".
2006-08-30 22:32:47
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answer #6
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answered by Cameron H 2
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Sorry to destroy your beliefs of Great American People Being On Moon.. but that never happened. It was all recorded in Good Ol' H'Wood.. Wondering why US (or anyone else) never went to Moon after those Apollos? Because they couldn't. They had no tech. And they still don't have it. Experts say that with that development of technology, we will land on Moon within 100 years, or more..
Armstrong, you're a liar!
2006-08-30 22:32:33
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answer #7
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answered by Alexx 1
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The moon landing took place in 1969. John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. So, what the hell are you talking about?
2006-09-03 09:57:42
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answer #8
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answered by Veritas 7
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That was basically his dream. He was furious that the Soviets were ahead of the US in the "Race to Space" with the Soviets' Sputnik that had been launched in the mid-50's.
It's too bad that he did not get to see this dream come true. But it did happen, and that's what makes him one of the greatest presidents.
2006-08-31 14:06:40
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answer #9
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answered by NMSherwin 3
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Being around in that time it was during the so called cold war
us ( America) against Russia who could do what first and better
and in that we won. but now 36 years later. America is still the only naton to step foot on a different planet.
2006-08-30 22:39:58
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answer #10
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answered by ed m 1
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There was obviously a shortage of 'cheese' in the 60's.
2006-08-30 22:28:38
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answer #11
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answered by mick241602 3
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