The American Presidency Project

The Papers of
the Presidents
The American Presidency Project is the only online resource that has consolidated, coded, and organized into a single searchable database:
• The Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Washington - Taft (1789-1913)
• The Public Papers of the Presidents:
Hoover to G.W. Bush (1929-2006)
& Obama (2009)
• The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents:
Carter - G.W. Bush (1977-2009)
• The Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents:
Obama (2009-2012)

• Our archives also contain thousands of other documents such as party platforms, candidates' remarks, Statements of Administration Policy, documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary, and election debates:

search our archives

Noteworthy State of the Union Addresses from the APP's complete archive:

"The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

George W. Bush - January 28, 2003

"The era of big Government is over. But we cannot go back to the time when our citizens were left to fend for themselves."

William J. Clinton - January 23, 1996

"President Washington began this tradition in 1790 after reminding the Nation that the destiny of self-government and the "preservation of the sacred fire of liberty" is "finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." For our friends in the press, who place a high premium on accuracy, let me say: I did not actually hear George Washington say that. [Laughter]"

Ronald Reagan - January 26, 1982

"Today, that freshman Member from Michigan stands where Mr. Truman stood, and I must say to you that the state of the Union is not good: Millions of Americans are out of work..."

Gerald Ford - January 15, 1975

"I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end. One year of Watergate is enough."

Richard Nixon - January 30, 1974

"We must spare no effort to raise the general level of health in this country. In a nation as rich as ours, it is a shocking fact that tens of millions lack adequate medical care."

Harry S. Truman - January 5, 1949

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms."

Franklin D. Roosevelt - January 6, 1941

see all State of the Union Addresses
2012 State of the Union Address

The Ten Most Viewed Documents
(since 8/11/11)

#1	Democratic Party Platforms
2008 Democratic Party Platform

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2008 Republican Party Platform

#3	John F. Kennedy
Executive Order 11110 - Amendment of Executive Order No. 10289 as Amended, Relating to the Performance of Certain Functions Affecting the Department of the Treasury

#4	John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Address

#5	Abraham Lincoln
Executive Order

#6	Republican Party Platforms
Republican Party Platform of 1956

#7	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Fireside Chat on Banking

#8	Barack Obama
Inaugural Address

#9	Franklin D. Roosevelt
State of the Union Message to Congress

#10	Republican Party Platforms
Republican Party Platform of 1876

The American Presidency Project (americanpresidency.org), was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Our archives contain 99,162 documents related to the study of the Presidency.

American Presidency Project State of the Union Data

State of the Union Index Page with research notes
Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses in Words
Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1966)
List of Acknowledged Guests Sitting in House Gallery
List of Opposition Responses

Gerhard Peters of the American Presidency Project appeared on "The World and Everything In It" Saturday January 21, 2012 to discuss the History of the State of the Union Address.

• link to the "World and Everything In It" website
• link to download postcast MP3

State of the Union: Presidential Rhetoric from
Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush
with an introduction by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley is the first comprehensive reference volume published in over four decades devoted to the president's Annual Message to Congress.

published by CQ Press

34 years ago

Address to the Nation on the Panama Canal Treaties
February 1, 1978

Good evening.

Seventy-five years ago, our Nation signed a treaty which gave us rights to build a canal across Panama, to take the historic step of joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The results of the agreement have been of great benefit to ourselves and to other nations throughout the world who navigate the high seas.

The building of the canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of history. Although massive in concept and construction, it's relatively simple in design and has been reliable and efficient in operation. We Americans are justly and deeply proud of this great achievement.

The canal has also been a source of pride and benefit to the people of Panama—but a cause of some continuing discontent. Because we have controlled a 10-mile-wide strip of land across the heart of their country and because they considered the original terms of the agreement to be unfair, the people of Panama have been dissatisfied with the treaty. It was drafted here in our country an ...read full document

The Document Archive Contains 99,162 Records
• Executive Orders	4842	• State of the Union Addresses	92
• Proclamations	6008	• State of the Union Messages	138
• Press Conferences	1974	• Inaugural Addresses	59
• Saturday Radio Addresses	1331	• Addresses to Congress (non-SOU)	49
• Fireside Chats (FDR)	27	• Addresses to Nation	245
• Veto Messages	1141	• Addresses to the United Nations	43
• Radio & TV Correspondents Dinners	35	• Addresses to Foreign Legislatures	70
• Party Convention Addresses	36	• College Commencement Addresses	149

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