Скачать или смотреть Americans Respond to Sputnik

These sources capture the anxiety Americans offered in the wake of Sputnik, but the "Decade for Decision" featurette points to an answer: our educational system was letting us down, prosperity was making us soft. Congress' response was the National Defense Educational Act of the following year.
"The law provided federal funding to 'insure trained manpower of sufficient quality and quantity to meet the national defense needs of the United States.' In addition to fellowships and loans to students, the legislation bolstered education in the areas of science, mathematics, and modern foreign languages. The House report recommending passage of the bill stated: '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.'”

Sources: ABC: "The Wonder Years"; Decade for Decision (1957).