Slipping the Surly Bonds: Reagan’s Challenger AddressTexas A&M University Press, 2006 M02 21 - 152 pages Millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, watched in horror as the Challenger shuttle capsule exploded on live television on January 28, 1986. Coupled with that awful image in Americans’ memory is the face of President Ronald Reagan addressing the public hours later with words that spoke to the nation’s shock and mourning. Focusing on the text of Reagan’s speech, author Mary Stuckey shows how President Reagan’s reputation as “the Great Communicator” adds significance to our understanding of his rhetoric on one of the most momentous occasions of his administration. |
Contents
The Problem of the Challenger Address | 13 |
Racing into Space From Sputnik to Challenger | 30 |
Writing the Challenger Address | 60 |
The Memory of Challenger | 82 |
Conclusion | 104 |
Appendix | 108 |
Notes | 112 |
| 130 | |
| 137 | |
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Popular passages
Page 4 - And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is 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.