William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 17, 1993 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 25, 1994 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 24, 1995 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, February 4, 1997 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 27, 1998 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 19, 1999 William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 27, 2000 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, February 27, 2001 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, September 20, 2001 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, February 2, 2005 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 31, 2006 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 23, 2007 George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2008 *** State of the Union Address George Washington January 8, 1790 Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity which now presents itself of congratulating you on the present favorable prospects of our public affairs. The recent accession of the important state of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States (of which official information has been received), the rising credit and respectability of our country, the general and increasing good will toward the government of the Union, and the concord, peace, and plenty with which we are blessed are circumstances auspicious in an eminent degree to our national prosperity. In resuming your consultations for the general good you can not but derive encouragement from the reflection that the measures of the last session have been as satisfactory to your constituents as the novelty and difficulty of the work allowed you to hope. Still further to realize their expectations and to secure the blessings which a gracious Providence has placed within our reach will in the course of the present important session call for the cool and deliberate exertion of your patriotism, firmness, and wisdom. Among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention that of providing for the common defense will merit particular regard. To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.