1791 State of the Union Address

By tradition, the President of the United States gives an annual report to both houses of Congress. The 1791 State of the Union Address was given on October 25, 1791, in Philadelphia. It was the third of such speeches and it was given by the first president, George Washington.

Historical Background

The third annual State of the union Address was given by President George Washington, to a joint session of Congress, theUnited States House of Representatives and United States Senate. A major concern at the time was the raising of taxes, as the Congress was arguing if they had the constitutional power to do so. Revenues at the time for the Federal Government were mostly collected on import duties. Alexander Hamilton, then the Secretary of the Treasury felt these fees had been raised to as high a level as reasonable, and a new income stream was necessary. ^[1]

Speech

Washington opened the speech with "I meet you upon the present occasion with the feelings which are naturally inspired by a strong impression of the prosperous situations of our common country, and by a persuasion equally strong that the labors of the session which has just commenced will, under the guidance of a spirit no less prudent than patriotic, issue in measures conducive to the stability and increase of national prosperity."^[2]

His main points of concern were the Bank of the United States, prosperity of the young nation and the defense of the western border as it existed at the time. Washington admonished those along the border and their treatment of the Native Americans, stating "In vain may we expect peace with the Indians on our frontiers so long as a lawless set of unprincipled wretches can violate the rights of hospitality, or infringe the most solemn treaties, without receiving the punishment they so justly merit." ^[3]

Policies

Washington spend a good deal of the speech trying to convince the Native Americans to become part of the United States, as well as convincing the citizens of the country of the importance of doing so.

He pushed the Senate to ratify the treaties pending before that House with the Cherokees and Six Nations of Indians (Iroquois Confederation) ^[4]

He stated that the House needed to act on bills to ensure the financial security of the nation.

Washington defended the need for the unpopular "Whiskey Tax" a leading cause of the Whiskey Rebellion ^[5]

References

↑ Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59420-009-2.
↑ http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/state-of-the-union/3.html
↑ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29433
↑ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29433
↑ http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2016/01/1791-george-washington-whiskey-tax.html

George Washington

1st President of the United States, 1789–1797 Senior Officer of the Army, 1798–1799 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783 Second Continental Congress, 1775 First Continental Congress, 1774

Military career Revolutionary War	Military career French and Indian War Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Forbes Expedition Washington and the American Revolution Commander-in-chief, Continental Army Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton Philadelphia campaign Valley Forge Battles of Saratoga Yorktown campaign Siege of Yorktown Culper spy ring Newburgh Conspiracy Newburgh letter Established, Badge of Military Merit Purple Heart Aides-de-Camp Commander-in-Chief's headquarters Morristown and Ford Mansion Horses: Nelson and Blueskin

Other U.S. founding events	1769 Virginia Association Continental Association 1774 Fairfax Resolves Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture 1785 Mount Vernon Conference Chairman, 1787 Constitutional Convention

Presidency	United States presidential election, 1788–89 1792 First inauguration inaugural bible Second inauguration Title of "Mr. President" Cabinet of the United States Secretary of State Attorney General Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Judiciary Act of 1789 Nonintercourse Act Whiskey Rebellion Militia Acts of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Proclamation of Neutrality Neutrality Act of 1794 Jay Treaty Pinckney's Treaty Slave Trade Act of 1794 Residence Act Thanksgiving Proclamation Farewell Address State of the Union Address 1790 1791 1792 1793 1796 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments

Views and public image	Presidential library The Washington Papers Religious views Washington and slavery Town Destroyer Legacy

Life and homes	Early life Birthplace Ferry Farm boyhood home Mount Vernon Gristmill Woodlawn Plantation Samuel Osgood House, First Presidential Mansion Alexander Macomb House, Second Presidential Mansion President's House, Philadelphia Germantown White House Custis estate Potomac Company James River and Kanawha Canal Mountain Road Lottery Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress President General, Society of the Cincinnati Washington College Washington and Lee University Electoral history of George Washington

Memorials and depictions	Washington, D.C. Washington state Washington Monument Mount Rushmore Washington's Birthday Purple Heart The Apotheosis of Washington George Washington (Houdon) George Washington (Ceracchi) Washington Crossing the Delaware Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton painting George Washington University Washington University Washington Masonic National Memorial George Washington Memorial Parkway George Washington Bridge Washington and Jefferson National Forests Washington Monument, Baltimore Washington, D.C. statue List of monuments List of places U.S. Postage stamps Washington-Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter Washington dollar Cultural depictions George Washington (1984 miniseries 1986 sequel)

Related	Bibliography Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry-tree anecdote River Farm Washington's Crossing 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Ancestry and family	Martha Washington (wife) John Parke Custis (stepson) George Washington Parke Custis (step-grandson, adopted son) Eleanor Parke Custis (step-granddaughter, adopted daughter) Augustine Washington (father) Mary Ball (mother) Lawrence Washington (half-brother) Augustine Washington Jr. (half-brother) Betty Washington Lewis (sister) Samuel Washington (brother) John A. Washington (brother) Charles Washington (brother) Lawrence Washington (grandfather) John Washington (great-grandfather) Bushrod Washington (nephew)

John Adams → Category

State of the Union addresses

Addresses

Delivered as a speech	1790 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1975 1976 1977 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Delivered as a written message	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1946 1953 1961 1981

Delivered as both	1972 1974 1978 1979 1980

Delivered as a written message to Congress, summary delivered to public	1945 1956 1973

Unofficial addresses	1989 1993 2001 2009

Regional
speeches

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.