President John F. Kennedy won support for which of his programs when he declared that the pursuit of ambitious and idealistic goals was the nation’s moral imperative, “… not because they are easy, but because they are hard”?
Explanation
Answer: C - In a 1962 speech at Rice University in Houston, President Kennedy stated, “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.” NASA was created during the Eisenhower administration, but the country’s accomplishments in space began shortly after Kennedy became president. His commitment to the new frontier of human exploration contributed to the popular perception of him as a youthful, daring, adventurous, and glamorous president. His 1963 assassination only intensified the nation’s resolve to reach the Moon by the end of the decade (and ahead of the Soviets), which happened in July 1969, with only five months left before the end of the decade.
