Americans did not demand the space program. You are confusing Americans with Kennedy.Bottom line is Americans overwhelmingly demanded and supported the space program.They wouldn't pay for it without government compelling them to pay for it. That's the bottom line.I saw them cheering in the streetsIf the private sector wanted to go to the moon, they would have done it on their own.Private sector created those jobs, just thinking up of a job is not creating a job. dip shit
It was only when the government decided to foot the bill that they hired those employees
The answer to your quandary was in your post. You said "IF the private sector wanted to go to the moon." That's the whole point. The citizens of America didn't want to go to the moon. They certainly didn't want to pay for it.
Most still say it was the proudest moment in their lives
It happened after Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin
The Space Race Begins. It is 1957 and the U.S. and the Soviet Union are locked into the Cold War. The Soviet Union has just launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik. Fearful of Soviet military control of space, the Americans quickly ready a rocket.
The Space Race - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com