State Of The Union Address Analysis

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Mandated in the United States Constitution, the State of the Union Address is an informational message delivered by the president to Congress (Gerhard, 2014). Previous versions of the State of the Union Address focused on various topics that were considered important to the people of the United States. In researching data regarding previous speeches I found several facts regarding the makeup of these historical speeches. Prior to 1946, the State of the Union Address was called the Annual Message (History, Art & Archives, nd, ¶ 5). The State of the Union Addresses changed with its content, topics such as budget items, the state of the economy in regards to health and other general reports all were included in prior speeches. It was in the 20th century that Congress required a more detailed report on the budget and health of the economy, which is separate from the Annual Message or State of the Union Address (¶ 6). The content of the addresses changed as the country’s focus changed. During President Woodrow Wilson’s administration, he changed the …show more content…
Kingdon. John W. Kingdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has authored several books to include, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (1984, 1995, 2011). John has received several awards in the area of public policy, such as the Aaron Wildavsky Award. John Kingdon will contribute to my speech in many ways; his varied approach to public policy will play a part in the decision-making process within public policy. Instead of looking at any particular programs and how they are placed in political decisions, John Kingdon focuses on how issues of political decisions occurred in government, and why some issues are on the agenda and why certain issues are not. His theory on public policy focuses on three separate loosely streamed areas, the problem, the policy and the political factors (John Kingdon,

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