Sputnik.
Every time Americans heard the word, they were reminded of their failure. Many Americans had taken pride in their technological advancements and thought that they were well ahead of the rest of the world in industrialization and development. It caught many off guard when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space- if the Russians were able to do this, what else was America lagging behind in? How could this happen?
And so the focus shifted from missiles to stars, and the Space Race began. One of the first acts passed during this time period includes the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). Originally, the NDEA was just a simple piece of legislation proposed by Alabama Democrat Lister Hill that called for federal funding of education. The bill seemed to have no hope of passing as it had previously failed to gain the votes it needed in the House. However, now that Americans were losing their sense of technological superiority, chief clerk of the Senate’s Education and Labor Committee, Stewart McClure, proposed that if they renamed “education” with “defense” it would be able to pass. Although Congress resisted the idea of funding education with federal dollars, many Americans demanded action from them after Sputnik. By framing it with the word “defense”, they hoped to play on the constant fear of war and hysteria that many Americans felt pressured by. When proposing the bill, the House described, “It is no exaggeration to say that America’s progress in many fields of endeavor in the years ahead—in fact, the very survival of our free country—may depend in large part upon the education we provide for our young people now.”
In 1958, the National Defense Education Act was passed. It authorized the usage of over one billion dollars to achieve its goals and went on to become one of the most successful government initiatives in education ever. Through the NDEA, the government was able to establish a precedent for federal funding of higher education, providing low cost loans, and boosting the quality of colleges and universities. Primarily, it aimed to develop STEM education and inspire scientists that could change score in the Space Race. On the side, the act helped to expand college libraries and infrastructures. The effects of this are obvious- in 1960, only 3.6 million students were in college, but by 1970, the number doubled and 7.5 million were enrolled. Thanks to the fear that Sputnik caused, more Americans were more educated than ever before.
Overall, the NDEA impacted much of the youth population during the 50’s and 60’s and increase interest in vigorous science and math courses. Because of this, America remains a top technological competitor in the global marketplace today.
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Nice post Jayde! I think it's really interesting to see how competition between nations spurs further advancement and progressiveness. Sputnik and ballistic missiles, for example, prodded the United States to make further advancements in their education and technology, and I think the same can be applied for today. An article I read about this discussed how the lack of competition in farming has caused the farming industry to be less innovative, but competition helps further innovation.
ReplyDeletehttps://morningconsult.com/opinions/competition-spurs-best-innovation/
Interesting post Jayde! It was really interesting to think about how the American concern that the education system had fallen behind that of the Soviets had propelled the country forward and pushed it to invest in education. I think that another aspect that could be explored is the overall reason for increased space exploration that education funding. People wanted to invest in education in order to make sure that future generations could compete for dominance of the Space Race against Russia. They wanted to make sure that Russia was not alone in their capability to use satellites to launch nukes. In response to this, Eisenhower and other presidents did whatever they could to close the supposed "missile gap" and also make sure that it did not develop in the future due to the lack of education, so they invested in education.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077890/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/sputnik-started-space-race-anxiety/#.WoqC9RPwat8