Rice University Speech September 12, 1962
9/12/1963
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On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to an audience on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. For approximately 18 minutes, the president discussed the nature and purpose of the nation's space program. In doing so, he acknowledged difficulties and uncertainties, but also spoke of the possibilities with great optimism. Kennedy would live only a little more than 14 months beyond the date of his speech in Houston. He would not live to see the successes of the Apollo program, nor would he witness the television broadcast of Neil Armstrong taking man's first step on the Moon in July 1969.
Text adapted from “Letters from George Washington and Samuel Cabble, and Speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy” in the November/December 2008 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
Text adapted from “Letters from George Washington and Samuel Cabble, and Speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy” in the November/December 2008 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
This primary source comes from the Collection JFK-POF: Papers of John F. Kennedy: President's Office Files.
National Archives Identifier: 193887
Full Citation: Rice University Speech September 12, 1962; 9/12/1963; Address at Rice University, Houston, Texas, 12 September 1962; Speech Files, 1961 - 1963; Collection JFK-POF: Papers of John F. Kennedy: President's Office Files; John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, MA. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/rice-university-speech-september-12-1962, May 20, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Landing a Man on the Moon: President Nixon and the Apollo Program
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