The Whole World’s Watching: George Washington’s 1st State of the Union Address…

May 3, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 

The State of the Union Address. . . a phrase which probably brings varying emotions depending on who you are. I love to watch these speeches as they give me more insight into the man than into the state of the Union.  Most of us already have a pretty good read on how our country is doing. . . the economy, the culture, the defense, threat assessments. . . but, watching the leader of the Free World explain his take helps me grasp where we are headed. I wonder if the citizens of the USA in 1795 felt the same way as they read the Columbian Sentinel from December 19. President Washington had given his 1st State of the Union Address and it was printed, as all presidential speeches, in the newspaper. We have much to thank George Washington for, as he defined so many aspects of our country, government and the presidency.  I think we can add instituting the Annual State of the Union Address to his very long list of accomplishments.

Filed under: The 1700's, The Collectible Community
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The State of the Union… Did you know…?

March 20, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 

Did you know, starting with George Washington and lasting through much of the 20th century, most newspapers printed the entire text of each President’s Annual Message (State of the Union Address)? Although in some cases only excerpts were given, including the full text was the common practice, and would often take a page or more to print. One of the benefits of this practice was that it enabled newspaper recipients to read the President’s message in-line with a bit of editorial commentary, and then see how people reacted by reading related reports and letters to the editor over the course of the next several days (or more).

Although these issues are very popular with collectors, we (RareNewspapers.com) are always on the hunt for more to offer. Our current inventory may be viewed at:

*State of the Union Addresses

The addresses have been arranged in chronological order so even if you do not wish or are unable to add any to your collection, you can still enjoy reading portions through the images and descriptions to capture the progression of Presidential thought through time.

*The link contains newspapers with both S.O.U.’s and follow-up reporting.

Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, Post Civil War, Pre Civil War, The 1500's - 1700's, The 1700's, The 19th Century, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community
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