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 1/1/12)

#1	Democratic Party Platforms
2008 Democratic Party Platform

#2	Republican Party Platforms
2008 Republican Party Platform

#3	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Fireside Chat on Banking

#4	Republican Party Platforms
Republican Party Platform of 1956

#5	Barack Obama
Statement on Signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

#6	Barack Obama
Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union

#7	John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Address

#8	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

#9	Barack Obama
Inaugural Address

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

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 100,491 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

26 years ago

Address to the Nation on the United States Air Strike Against Libya
April 14, 1986

My fellow Americans:

At 7 o'clock this evening eastern time air and naval forces of the United States launched a series of strikes against the headquarters, terrorist facilities, and military assets that support Mu'ammar Qadhafi's subversive activities. The attacks were concentrated and carefully targeted to minimize casualties among the Libyan people with whom we have no quarrel. From initial reports, our forces have succeeded in their mission.

Several weeks ago in New Orleans, I warned Colonel Qadhafi we would hold his regime accountable for any new terrorist attacks launched against American citizens. More recently I made it clear we would respond as soon as we determined conclusively who was responsible for such attacks. On April 5th in West Berlin a terrorist bomb exploded in a nightclub frequented by American servicemen. Sergeant Kenneth Ford and a young Turkish woman were killed and 230 others were wounded, among them some 50 American military personnel. This monstrous bru ...read full document

The Document Archive Contains 100,491 Records
• Executive Orders	4848	• State of the Union Addresses	92
• Proclamations	6033	• State of the Union Messages	138
• Press Conferences	1978	• Inaugural Addresses	59
• Saturday Radio Addresses	1341	• 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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