1972 State of the Union Address

The 1972 State of the Union Address was a State of the Union address given by U.S. President Richard Nixon on January 20, 1972.[1]

1972 State of the Union Address
DateJanuary 20, 1972 (1972-01-20)
Time12:30 p.m. EST
Duration29 minutes
VenueHouse Chamber, United States Capitol
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W / 38.88972°N 77.00889°W / 38.88972; -77.00889
TypeState of the Union Address
ParticipantsRichard Nixon
Spiro Agnew
Carl Albert
Previous1971 State of the Union Address
Next1973 State of the Union Address

Topics

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In the address, Nixon proposed a value-added tax of 3% on retail sales.[2] He also discussed deficiencies in the country's emergency medical services, advising the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare to reorganize such services.[3]: 27  With respect to the then-ongoing Vietnam War, the president declared that "As our involvement with the war in Vietnam comes to an end, we must go on to build a generation of peace".[4]: 189  (The war actually ended with the Fall of Saigon in 1975, three years later, making the president's declaration read as premature in retrospect.[4]: 190 )

The address continued six great goals from the 1971 State of the Union Address, but with various other items added to appease interest groups.[5]: 54  (These goals were: welfare reform, peacetime prosperity, restoring the natural environment, improving healthcare, revenue sharing, and reorganizing the U.S. federal government.[5]: 52 )

Event

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The address ended up being the shortest-ever recorded State of the Union address in history. It lasted for only 28 minutes and 55 seconds.[6]

On January 21, Democratic Congresspeople recorded an official response to the address in a 53-minute televised panel.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Address on the State of the Union Delivered Before a Joint Session of the Congress. | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  2. ^ Kaven, William (August 1972). "Now Comes the Value-Added Tax". Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. 13 (2): 2–8. doi:10.1177/001088047201300202. ISSN 0010-8804.
  3. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee on Public Health and Environment (1972). Emergency Medical Services Act of 1972: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Public Health and Environment of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-second Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 12563 and H.R 13582 ... H.R. 12787 and H.R. 13447 ... H.R. 9876 ... U.S. Government Printing Office.
  4. ^ a b Chiu, Monica (2014-11-01). Drawing New Color Lines: Transnational Asian American Graphic Narratives. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8139-38-5.
  5. ^ a b Harper, Edwin L. (1996). "Domestic Policy Making in the Nixon Administration: An Evolving Process". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 26 (1): 41–56. ISSN 0360-4918. JSTOR 27551549.
  6. ^ "See the Presidents who have had the longest and shortest State of the Union addresses". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  7. ^ "U.S. Senate: Opposition Responses to the State of the Union Address (1966-Present)". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
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Preceded by State of the Union addresses
1972
Succeeded by