The Sputnik Moment and Its Context

When we look back and consider our history, we often conglomerate certain events from a given year into a singular turning point. In reality, these events might be independent of each other and deserve a dedicated dissection both as separate entities and as members of a longer winded story. The current understanding of the Sputnik crisis in the United States may be vulnerable to such confusion. Although the actual events surrounding the crisis are often viewed as one discrete occurrence, as in the film The Sputnik Moment, the truth is these events were distinct and should be analyzed accordingly. Although the Sputnik launch may have been the most historic and memorable thing that happened that year, which The Sputnik Moment rightfully acknowledges, it may not be the “911 of our day” that astronaut Mike Mullane describes it as. Primary source evidence gives us reason to believe that Sputnik was in fact the least alarming of a few consequential events that took place around its launch, and did not fuel dramatic turmoil in neither the government, the public, nor the media. What contributed to the hysteria that Sputnik is associated with may have instead been President Eisenhower suffering a stroke in early November. What’s more, members of the Democratic party were exacerbating the situation in an effort to undermine the Republican president.

There is no shortage of modern secondary source evidence that suggests the government, media, and public response was one of chaotic panic following the night of October 4, 1957. One example is Historian Roger D. Launius who wrote in 2010 "the master narrative of Sputnik revolves around an initial shock to the system and then a whirlwind of activity to recapture the initiative from the Soviet Union in the space realm." The book Sputnik: The Shock of the Century by Paul Dickson is, as the title suggests, a decorated icon of this interpretation. "There was a sudden crisis of confidence in American technology, values, politics, and the military," Dickson writes. "Science, technology, and engineering were totally reworked in the shadow of Sputnik… Sputnik affected national attitudes… and changed people's lives in a way that filtered into modern popular culture." Along the same lines, Robert A. Divine writes in The Sputnik Challenge the "only surprise… was the 'public frenzy' over the launch" and that "the Soviets had simply applied well-known scientific principles" to put the satellite into space. He also credits Eisenhower’s political undoing to the "fears of the American people that Sputnik represented a fundamental shift in military power and scientific achievement from the United States to the Soviet Union," which implies that this was a real crisis that took place. The documentary The Sputnik Moment echoes the scholarly work, portraying the launch as being the cause of a widespread revolution that dramatically impacted science, politics, and culture in the United States.

One segment of the movie in particular that lays out the movie’s thesis supports this conclusion is near the beginning. It starts around the six and a half minute mark, with NASA official Scott Hubbard commenting that “the idea that our arch enemy, the evil Soviet empire, could beat us by getting into space first was just devastating. I mean people were walking around saying ‘how can this happen? You know U.S. is number one, what is this?’” This is closely followed by quotes in the same spirit, a few from the time of the movie’s creation, and a few actually from 1957. There are also images of the Russian satellite with dramatic, scary music playing in the background. Penn State University president Dr. Eric Walker warns that “we are headed downhill to the status of a second rate world power.” Notably, Democratic Senator Hubert Humphrey says “let’s face the fact that we’ve taken a licking psychologically, at least, and scientifically, and it has embarrassed us throughout the world.” We will explore later why it may be of note that he is a Democrat. Overall, the documentary agrees with many modern historians, painting a bleak picture of a scared and devastated United States post-launch.

Although the movie and the historians would lead the reader to think that there was a chaotic reaction in the United States, the Russian success does not seem to have that effect in the primary source evidence. In fact, the reaction seems to be more calm, logical, and even dismissive than it does frenzied or panicked. The article "Sputnik and Common Sense" from LIFE Magazine made the remark that "Sputnik's monopoly of outer space will be brief. The U.S. moons that will challenge it are likely to be even more informative" a week after the launch. Many other newspapers and magazines were in alignment with this statement. Another common reaction was to emphasize the only value of the launch was as a propaganda maneuver. One example is The Reader’s Digest’s comment that "there is no doubt that, with their Sputnik, the Soviets did obtain a propaganda success far greater than the actual achievement warranted." Similarly, The Oregon Tribune wrote "this propaganda attack on the Western position was easily countered by Western statements." In the archives of published media from the time period, we don’t see the fearful overreaction that The Sputnik Moment and historical work would have us expect.

The response from Eisenhower and his officials was also one of cool confidence and composure. Certain members of the administration even called the satellite a “useless hunk of iron.” Eisenhower himself acknowledged the Sputnik as a meaningful scientific achievement rather than a significant threat. During a press conference, he commented "Russians, under a dictatorial society where they had some of the finest scientists in the world who have for many years been working on this… have put one small ball in the air. I wouldn't believe that at this moment you have to fear the intelligence aspects of this." He also pointed out that American scientists were excited rather than concerned. "Every scientist that I have talked to since this occurred… has spoken in most congratulatory terms about the capabilities of the Russian scientists in putting this in the air. They expressed themselves as pleased rather than chagrined because at least the Soviets have proved the first part of it, that this thing will successfully orbit." This goes to show that not only was the administration comfortable with a Soviet moon orbiting the planet, but the associated scientific community was too.

The restrained, relaxed sentiment exhibited by the government and media was observed in the public as well. A number of public polls were conducted shortly after the launch, with The Austin American publishing a comprehensive report containing all available polling information on the subject two months after the launch. The subtitle of the report “The Man in the Street Is Not Upset by Soviet Sputnik” says it all. Based on twelve distinct polling agencies, the report found that the American public was not worried about the launch. One of these polls from the Cincinnati Enquirer even published that the public sentiment included “Uncle Sam has a whole bagful of Buck Rogers-type tricks he hasn’t bothered to unveil yet” and “The Russians are propaganda minded showoffs.” To be sure, the relaxed attitude of the government and media was reflected in the opinion of the public.

If the initial reaction was really so calm, what could explain the perception of a frenzied America that modern sources portray? It is likely that President Eisenhower’s worsening health contributed to the panic that did eventually ramp up surrounding the Sputnik launch. Immediately after the incident, there was discussion about him stepping down, and doubt over whether Richard Nixon was ready to replace him. The stock market had dropped five billion dollars in value twenty minutes after the news was released. The Newport Daily Press reported "Today's announcement of President Eisenhower's stroke climaxed in almost 24 hours of crisis piled on top of confusion." To compound the problem, Eisenhower was advised by doctors not to speak too much or in great length for a couple weeks following the stroke, meaning that he would not be able to address the people and inspire renewed confidence in his presidency. Looking back, it is seemingly popular to misattribute the response to Eisenhower’s stroke to the Sputnik launch. In truth, the launch was just one of a number of events that lead to the weakening of the administration.

A massive contributor to the unrest that is attributed to the Sputnik launch is politicization of the issue. Thirteen days after the launch, Democratic strategist George Reedy sent Lyndon B. Johnson a message that read ‘‘the issue is one which, if properly handled, would blast the Republicans out of the water, unify the Democratic Party, and elect you President.’’ The Sputnik Moment cites two politicians in making the case that Sputnik created turmoil, but fails to draw the viewer’s attention to their political alignment. One of these is Democratic Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn who said on television “The people of the United States have been humiliated. They're disturbed, and they're unhappy,” but based on George Reedy’s memo it’s likely that Rayburn’s motives weren’t purely to voice his concern about the issue. Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson made a similar statement that “not just our pride, but our security is at stake,” when in reality the Sputnik itself didn’t pose a significant threat to the national security of the United States. In other appearances and statements to the media, Democrats capitalized on the Sputnik launch to make various partisan moves, calling for a congressional investigation, insisting that President Eisenhower lacked farsightedness, criticizing the fiscal budget for being too excessive, and exposing his health issues and age as a point of weakness in his presidency.

There’s no debate that the Sputnik launch was an incredible scientific success and laid the groundwork for future projects, including the first man in space, the moon landing, and eventually even the GPS satellites. Is it, however, the mania-inducing turning point that contemporary sources like The Sputnik Moment paint it to be? Evidence from the time period suggests otherwise. In the newspapers and magazines, journalists maintained a level-headed attitude of reserve and hedging that the accomplishment was primarily a propaganda one. The Eisenhower administration similarly did not exhibit significant alarm, opting instead to express optimism and excitement about the scientific achievement of the Soviets. Public polls showed a disregard for the launch, in tune with the reaction from the media and government. Instead, what might explain the panic that is often attributed to the Sputnik launch is President Eisenhower’s stroke in November of 1957, compounded by Democratic interests politicizing the issue.

Sources Cited

The Austin American (Austin, TX). “So Who’s Worried?” November 12, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/386048931/.

“Common Sense and Sputnik.” LIFE Magazine, October 14, 1957, 35. Google Books.

Hoffman, David. “The Sputnik Moment.” YouTube, uploaded by David Hoffman, 24 July 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJnt3xW2Fc.

Dickson, Paul. Sputnik: The Shock of the Century. New York: Walker Pub., 2001.

Divine, Robert A. The Sputnik Challenge. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. The Cumulated Indexes to the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953-1961. Millwood, N.Y.: KTO Press, 1978. https://archive.org/stream/publicpapersofth015184mbp.

Hightower, John M. “Launching of Spacemoon Smashing Propaganda Success for Russians.” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, Oregon), October 6, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/80521684.

Kennedy, Ian. “The sputnik crisis and America’s response.” (2005).

Launius, Roger D. “Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age.” NASA History Office. https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputorig.html.

McDonald, Jack. “So What? — U.S. Still Ahead Is Consensus.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, November 4, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/100936613/.

Mieczkowski, Yanek. Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013. https://books.google.com/books/about/?id=uxP_RbYt-RwC.

Skene, Gordon. “When A President Suffers A Stroke – Eisenhower’s Health Scare – November 26, 1957 – Past Daily Reference Room.” Past Daily. https://pastdaily.com/2017/11/27/eisenhower-health-scare-past-daily/.

St. Petersburg Times. “Stock Values Down $5 Billion In 20 Minutes.” November 27, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/315614056.