Kaitlin Malpass

Ronald Reagan Address to the Nation on the

Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy

Born February 6, 1911 Oldest President elected when he took office as the 40th President He Graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and became a radio

Sports announcer In 1937 Reagan was asked to play a radio announcer in the film Love

Is on the Air, which jump started his film career He Became a Famous Movie Star and was in over 50 films by the time

his acting career was over In 1940 he married Actress Jane Wyman and had one child (1941) and

adopted another one (1945). In 1948 his marriage was having problems and divorced Wyman. Four years later he married Nancy Davis and had two children with her. (1952, 1958)

In 1941 He was drafted into the Army (WWII). Because of his near sightedness he spent 3 years making training and propaganda videos.

In 1966 he became the Governor of California and served two terms. Won the 1980 Presidential Election against Jimmy Carter.

Background on Reagan

On January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger broke into pieces 73 seconds after take off.

Their were 6 Astronauts and 1 School Teacher on board.

All 7 lost their lives. The Teacher on board, Christa McAuliffe,

was aboard to teach school lessons from space to children all around the Country.

Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy

The Speaker was President Ronald Reagan. He was in is his Second term as President.

SOAPSTone

The occasion was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. He was originally suppose to give the State of the Union Address

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.

SOAPSTone

The Audience was the American public. This Speech was televised and on the radio. Reagan Mentioned in his speech the schoolchildren in America.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

SOAPSTone

The Purpose of this speech was to show that the President, his wife and the country are mourning with the Families of the 7 passengers.

Today is a day for mourning and remembering. 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. It was also to let NASA know that he still has great faith and respect for them. I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it.

SOAPSTone

The subject is The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy and the continuation of the space programs.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

SOAPSTone

The tone was sorrowful but optimistic about the future.

Video

SOAPSTone

Since he was the President he had automatic ethos.

Ethos

Since this was a tragedy the speech was full of PathosThis is truly a national loss.

We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka,

Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and

we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and

discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

Pathos

He added two Allusions to help his Logos:Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost

three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.

There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

Logos

“Nancy and I are pained to the core…” He could of said something like “Nancy and I are hurt” but, the “pained to the core” adds pathos.

“They had a hunger to explore” Again he could of said “They wanted to explore” but, he added hunger to make the speech more interesting.

Diction

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.

Reagan starts off with saying that he respects NASA, then goes on to say that the what happen won’t effect his respect for them. This established that he never doubted NASA first, then said that it had not changed. The last part uses small sentences that get the points across. Then the last sentence says that he would not hide this because with freedom comes responsibility of giving everything up front and that he wouldn’t want to change it to a type of country that hid everything from their citizens.

Syntax

Asyndeton “Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy.”“There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space.”

Anaphora “It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons.”“We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public.”

Other Rhetorical Strategies

AllusionNineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.

There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

Other Rhetorical Strategies

Euphemism“We lost” “We mourn” “The loss”

Simile “Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.”

Other Rhetorical Strategies

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganchallenger.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mt_6S25JsV4

http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan

http://www.history.com/topics/challenger-disaster