The Best State of the Union Speeches Ever

Lots of analysis of the recent State of the Union address. Thanks to the History News Network, below is a list of the most notable State of the Union addresses in our history. If this be (fair & balanced) analysis, so be it.

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Article 2, Section 3 of the United States Constitution: "[the president] shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

• The first memorable State of the Union address--then known simply as the annual message to Congress--was written by James Monroe in 1823 when he announced what became known as the Monroe Doctrine.



• Grover Cleveland, as he was leaving office after his defeat for reelection in 1888, sounded the most radical note of any president in history. In his final message to Congress he denounced American corporations and exclaimed that they were "fast becoming the people's masters." At the end of his second term he denounced the trusts, assailing them as "palpable evils."



• Woodrow Wilson revived the practice, abandoned by Thomas Jefferson, of delivering the State of the Union address in person. Teddy Roosevelt is said to have complained that he wished he'd thought of it. (Lewis Gould has noted in a communication with HNN that Wilson actually "broke the precedent against presidents sending in written messages to Congress when he came to deliver his address opening the special session dealing with what became the Underwood Tariff on April 8, 1913. By the time he did the annual message in December 1913 the novelty of the moment had long since passed.")



• Harry Truman's 1947 State of the Union address was televised--a first. He wore semiformal morning dress with a turned-up collar. The New York Times noted that the picture was clear enough to see him smile.
  The Republicans had taken over Congress the previous November. Truman opened with a quip: "It looks like a good many of you have moved over to the left since I was last here." Republicans wanted to repeal the wartime excise tax. Truman, worried about the deficit, opposed the move. He said that he wanted to keep America strong so as not to "invite" another attack.



• During his first term Dwight Eisenhower used each of his State of the Union addresses to draw attention to the "captive peoples" trapped behind the Iron Curtain.



• Perhaps the most anticipated state of the Union address was Bill Clinton's in 1998. Some wondered whether he would resign before he had the chance to deliver it. Just days before, on January 18, Matt Drudge reported that Newsweek had killed a story about a White House intern. It was the beginning of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. On January 21 the Washington Post led with a front-page story headlined: "Clinton Accused of Urging Aide to Lie/Starr Probes Whether President Told Woman to Deny Alleged Affair to Jones's Lawyer." On January 25 Sam Donaldson commented on ABC's "This Week": "if he's not telling the truth, I think his presidency is numbered in days." On Tuesday January 27 President Clinton told the country: "Ladies and gentlemen, the state of our Union is strong." It was during this speech that Clinton put forward his proposal to Save Social Security First by using the surplus to pay off the national debt. The president's poll numbers rose to the highest level of his presidency.