National Defense Education Act of 1958

The National Defense Education Act was a spending bill that lasted from 1958 to 1962 when it was repealed.  It poured money into education at all levels.  Politicians felt it was necessary because the [Soviet Union], thought to be essentially backward in terms of science and mathematics, successfully launched [Sputnik].

== Speech Relevance ==
From '[[Encroaching Control]]':
<BLOCKQUOTE>''The foot in the door of education has been the $900 million National Defense Education Act of 1958. The excuse, once again, was the [[Cold War]], Russia had put a [[Sputnik]] into the heavens, obviously something must be wrong with our education system. And so we are presented with a picture of overcrowded classrooms, of destitute teachers and of bankrupt school districts.''</BLOCKQUOTE>

== Source Links ==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Education_Act|National Defense Education Act ''(Wikipedia)'']

The Reagan Speech Preservation Society

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National Defense Education Act of 1958