Editing Vostok 1 (section)

===American reaction===
Officially, the U.S. congratulated the Soviet Union on its accomplishments.<ref>{{cite episode |transcript=U.S. in Space |series=1961 Year in Review |network=[[UPI]] Audio Network |transcript-url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1961/12295509433760-1}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'' shortly after the flight, however, journalist [[Arthur Krock]] described mixed feelings in the United States due to fears of the spaceflight's potential military implications for the [[Cold War]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krock |first=Arthur |date=1961-04-14 |title=In The Nation; Concentration of Science on Outer Space |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/14/archives/in-the-nation-concentration-of-science-on-outer-space.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |page=28 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=But because of the distrust that now exists among the great nations, and has plunged them into huge programs of deadly rearmament, an achievement by one which carries a clear and direct potential of military supremacy engenders fear of its use.... And so it has become as impossible for either of the groups divided by the Cold War to welcome unreservedly such feats as Major Gagarin's in the opposite camp.}}</ref> and the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' wrote that "the people of Washington, London, Paris and all points between might have been dancing in the streets" if it were not for "doubts and suspicions" about Soviet intentions.<ref name="nytimes-reactions"/> Other US writers were concerned that the spaceflight had gained a propaganda victory on behalf of communism. President [[John F. Kennedy]] was quoted as saying that it would be "some time" before the US could match the Soviet [[launch vehicle]] technology, and that "the news will be worse before it's better." Kennedy also sent congratulations to the Soviet Union for their "outstanding technical achievement."<ref name="nytimes-man-in-space">{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1961 |title=Man in Space |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/16/archives/man-in-space.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |page=E1 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Harry |date=1961-04-16 |title=MOSCOW: Flight Is Taken as Another Sign That Communism Is the Conquering Wave |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/16/archives/moscow-flight-is-taken-as-another-sign-that-communism-is-the.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |page=E3 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Opinion pages of many US newspapers urged renewed efforts to overtake the Soviet scientific accomplishments.<ref name="nytimes-reactions">{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1961 |title=Opinion of the Week: At Home and Abroad |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/16/archives/opinion-of-the-week-at-home-and-abroad.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |page=E11 |issn=0362-4331}} Quotes of reactions from many US and international sources.</ref>

[[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]], then the US ambassador to the United Nations, was quoted as saying, "Now that the Soviet scientists have put a man into space and brought him back alive, I hope they will also help to bring the United Nations back alive," and on a more serious note urged international agreements covering the use of space<ref name="nytimes-reactions"/> (which did not occur until the [[Outer Space Treaty]] of 1967).

Astronaut [[Alan Shepard]], who was originally scheduled to become the first person in space but had [[Mercury-Redstone 3|his mission]] delayed six times due to preparatory work, was infuriated by the news and slammed his fist down on a table.<ref name="Thompson 2004">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Neal |author-link=Neal Thompson |url=https://archive.org/details/lightthiscandlel00thom |title=Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman |date=2004 |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=0-609-61001-5 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=282 |lccn=2003015688 |oclc=52631310}}</ref>