John F. Kennedy

====Space policy====
{{further|Presidency of John F. Kennedy#Space policy}}
{{see also|Space Race|Space policy of the United States}}
[[File:Werner Von Braun and President John F. Kennedy at Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex - 1963 - 63PC-0095.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wernher von Braun]] explains the Saturn system to President Kennedy during his tour at the [[Cape Canaveral Space Force Station|Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex]]; {{circa|November 1963}}.]]

In the aftermath of the Soviet launch of ''[[Sputnik 1]]'', the first artificial Earth satellite, [[NASA]] proposed a crewed [[moon landing|lunar landing]] by the early 1970s.{{sfn|Giglio|2006|pp=150–151}} Funding for the program, known as the [[Apollo program]], was far from certain as Eisenhower held an ambivalent attitude.<ref>{{cite book| title=Apollo: The Race to the Moon| last1=Murray| first1=Charles| last2=Cox| first2=Catherine Bly| date=1989| publisher=Simon & Schuster| isbn=0671611011| page=60}}</ref> Early in his presidency, Kennedy was poised to dismantle the crewed space program, but he postponed any decision out of deference to Vice President Johnson, who had been a strong supporter of the program in the Senate.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=138}} With [[Jerome Wiesner]], Johnson was given a major role in overseeing the administration's space policy, and at Johnson's recommendation Kennedy appointed [[James E. Webb]] to head NASA.{{sfn|Giglio|2006|pp=151–152}} 

In Kennedy's [[State of the Union address]] in 1961, he suggested international cooperation in space. Khrushchev declined, as the Soviets did not wish to reveal the status of their rocketry and space capabilities.{{sfn|Dallek|2003|p=502}} In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first person to fly in space, reinforcing American fears about being left behind by the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Dallek|2003|p=393}} Less than a month later, [[Alan Shepard]] became the first American to travel into space, strengthening Kennedy's confidence in NASA.{{sfn|Giglio|2006|pp=152–153}} The following year, [[John Glenn]], aboard the [[Project Mercury|Mercury]] craft ''[[Friendship 7]]'', became the first American to orbit the Earth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Space Program |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/space-program#:~:text=In%201961%2C%20President%20John%20F,the%20space%20race%20was%20on. |website=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=November 21, 2023 |archive-date=November 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121011242/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/space-program#:~:text=In%201961%2C%20President%20John%20F,the%20space%20race%20was%20on. |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In the aftermath of Gagarin's flight, as well as the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy felt pressured to respond to the perceived erosion of American prestige. He asked Johnson to explore the feasibility of beating the Soviets to the [[Moon]]. Though he was concerned about the program's costs, Kennedy agreed to Johnson's recommendation that the U.S. commit to a crewed lunar landing as the major objective of the space program. In a May 25 speech, Kennedy declared,{{sfn|Giglio|2006|pp=152–153}}
{{Blockquote|... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and 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; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.<ref name="Kennedy at Congress 1961">{{cite web |last=Kennedy |first=John F. |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-2-1.html |title=Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: Chapter 2 |work=history.nasa.gov |year=1961 |access-date=February 26, 2012 |archive-date=July 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714121530/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-2-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{Cws |title=Full text |link=Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs|nobullet=yes}}}}
[[File:John F. Kennedy speaks at Rice University.jpg|thumb|upright|Kennedy speaks at [[Rice University]], {{ca|September 12, 1962}}]]

Though Gallup polling showed that many in the public were skeptical of the necessity of the Apollo program,<ref>Young, Hugo; Silcock, Bryan; Dunn, Peter M. (1969). ''Journey to Tranquility''. London: Jonathon Cape. pp. 109–112</ref> members of Congress were strongly supportive in 1961 and approved a major increase in NASA's funding. Webb began reorganizing NASA, increasing its staffing level, and building two new centers: a [[Kennedy Space Center|Launch Operations Center]] for the [[Saturn V|large Moon rocket]] northwest of [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]], and a [[Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center|Manned Spacecraft Center]] in Houston. Kennedy took the latter occasion as an opportunity to deliver another [[We choose to go to the Moon|speech]] promoting the space effort on September 12, 1962, in which he said:

<blockquote> No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space. ...&nbsp;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.<ref name="Kennedy at Rice 1961">{{cite web|url=http://webcast.rice.edu/speeches/19620912kennedy.html|title=President John F. Kennedy: The Space Effort|last=Kennedy|first=John F.|date=September 12, 1962|publisher=[[Rice University]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708190606/http://webcast.rice.edu/speeches/19620912kennedy.html|archive-date=July 8, 2006}}</ref> {{Cws |title=Full text |link=We choose to go to the moon |nobullet=yes}}</blockquote>

On November 21, 1962, in a cabinet meeting with Webb and other officials, Kennedy explained that the Moon shot was important for reasons of international prestige, and that the expense was justified.<ref>{{cite news|title=JFK and the Space Race |last=Selverstone |first=Marc |publisher=White House Tapes–Presidential Recordings Program, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia |url=http://whitehousetapes.net/exhibit/jfk-and-space-race |access-date=February 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305205812/http://whitehousetapes.net/exhibit/jfk-and-space-race |archive-date=March 5, 2012 }}</ref> On July 20, 1969, almost six years after Kennedy's death, [[Apollo 11]] landed the first crewed spacecraft on the Moon.{{sfn|Giglio|2006|pp=153–155}}