<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> "We choose to go to the Moon" is the famous tagline of a speech about the effort to reach the Moon delivered by President John F. Kennedy to a large crowd gathered at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962 . The speech was intended to persuade the American people to support the Apollo program, the national effort to land a man on the Moon . </P> <P> In his speech, Kennedy characterized space as a new frontier, invoking the pioneer spirit that dominated American folklore . He infused the speech with a sense of urgency and destiny, and emphasized the freedom enjoyed by Americans to choose their destiny rather than have it chosen for them . Although he called for competition with the Soviet Union, he also proposed making the Moon landing a joint project . </P> <P> The speech resonated widely and is still remembered, although at the time there was disquiet about the cost and value of the Moon - landing effort . Kennedy's goal was realized in July 1969 with the successful Apollo 11 mission, but the space program thereafter lost vision and direction . </P>

The decision to go to the moon speech transcript