Nathan Holland
Mr. Griffin
US History
2 May 2017
What impact did Lawrence G. Derthick and the National Defense Education Act of 1958 have on
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik,
into orbit, propelling the US into the space race to try and establish supremacy in spaceflight
capabilities. While America had made plans for their own satellite, the Vanguard, the Sputnik
was much more impressive. It became clear to President Eisenhower that in order for America
Eisenhower knew the man for the job was the US Commissioner on Education, Lawrence G.
Derthick. The result was the National Defense Education Act of 1958, providing $887 over four
years to students studying subjects that could help meet national security goals.
Lawrence Derthick was a graduate of Milligan College in East Tennessee in 1927, with
masters and doctorate degrees in teaching. Before President Eisenhower appointed him as the
1956 to 1961.
As the Soviets developed spaceflight technology, America struggled to keep up. By the
time they successfully launched Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite, into space, President
Eisenhower knew that something needed to change for America to take its place back on top.
The U. S. Congress knew that American schools were not producing the quantity and quality of
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scientific specialists needed to pass the Soviet Union in the space race. The problem was that the
senate had been trying to pass education acts for years, but they were consistently rejected by the
house of representatives. After the launch of the sputnik, they changed the way they marketed
the act to reflect support for national defense through education, thus came the National Defense
Education Act of 1958. The act would result in the increase in funding in STEM education, and
with the National Defense Education Act of 1958, programs for students studying subjects that
could support national security goals, for example scientists, received $887 million. The act also
mathematics, and foreign languages. However, many schools still resented this act because it
required the students receiving the loan to pledge loyalty to the United States, and swear to not
Lawrence Derthick played an important role in creating support for the act. He took a
group of nine other educators to visit the Soviet Union, where they observed the teaching
methods used by the soviets to see what they could bring back to America. On the trip the other
educators saw how important it was for America to improve its education if they were goig to
In conclusion, Lawrence Derthick played an integral role in the approval of the National
Defense Education Act of 1958 and helped America to continue to advance in the space race
against the Soviet Union. His incredible foresight about the future of American educational and
cultural needs paved the way for the modern advances in STEM based education. Our country
owes a great debt to this man who dedicated so much of his time and energy to preparing the
students and teachers of America for greatness. The modern American school system would
most certainly look very different without the powerful influence of Lawrence Derthick.
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