1970 State of the Union Address

Speech by US president Richard Nixon

1970 State of the Union AddressDate| January 22, 1970 (1970-01-22)

|

Time| 12:30 p.m. EST
Duration| 37 minutes
Venue| House Chamber, United States Capitol
Location| Washington, D.C.
Coordinates| 38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W﻿ / ﻿38.88972°N 77.00889°W﻿ / 38.88972; -77.00889
Type| State of the Union Address
Participants| Richard Nixon
Spiro Agnew
John W. McCormack
Previous| 1969 State of the Union Address
Next| 1971 State of the Union Address

The 1970 State of the Union Address was given by Richard Nixon, the 37th United States president, on January 22, 1970, to both houses of the 91st United States Congress. He said, "I say this not only because 1970 marks the beginning of a new decade in which America will celebrate its 200th birthday. The seventies will be a time of new beginnings, a time of exploring both on the earth and in the heavens, a time of discovery. But the time has also come for emphasis on developing better ways of managing what we have and of completing what man's genius has begun but left unfinished.

I say it because new knowledge and hard experience argue persuasively that both our programs and our institutions in America need to be reformed.

The moment has arrived to harness the vast energies and abundance of this land to the creation of a new American experience, an experience richer and deeper and more truly a reflection of the goodness and grace of the human spirit."[1]

Nixon stressed in his speech three areas of focus that he wanted to value during his presidency, the welfare system, the government system, and American opportunity. He talks about the American dream and giving the people opportunities, "Third, we must adopt reforms which will expand the range of opportunities for all Americans. We can fulfill the American dream only when each person has a fair chance to fulfill his own dreams. This means equal voting rights, equal employment opportunity, and new opportunities for expanded ownership. Because in order to be secure in their human rights, people need access to property rights."[2]

Nixon later goes on to talk about health care and providing each American with quality health care, "It is time to bring comprehensive, high quality health care within the reach of every American. [We should] assure comprehensive health insurance protection to millions who cannot now obtain it or afford it, with improved protection against catastrophic illnesses. This will be a plan that maintains the high standards of quality in America's health care. And it will not require additional taxes."[2] Nixon mentions many topics that the American people stressed about the most. The security, freedom, and health of the nation was the most stagnant points in the address.

Fully one-third of Nixon's speech was dedicated to environmental issues.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "State of the Union Address: Richard Nixon (January 22, 1970)". InfoPlease.
2. ^ a b "Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. January 22, 1970. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
3. ^ "50 Years Later: Burning Cuyahoga River Called Poster Child For Clean Water Act". NPR.org. Retrieved June 19, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

1970 State of the Union Address

* 1970 State of the Union Address (full video and audio at www.millercenter.org)
* 1970 State of the Union Address
* 1970 State of the Union Address (Full Video)

Preceded by

1969 State of the Union Address

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1970  | Succeeded by

1971 State of the Union Address

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Richard Nixon

* 37th President of the United States (1969–1974)
* 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961)
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* U.S. Representative for CA–12 (1947–1950)

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* "Nixon goes to China"
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* Secret Honor (1984 film)
* Nixon in China (1987 opera)
* The Final Days (1989 film)
* Nixon (1995 film)
* Elvis Meets Nixon (1997 film)
* Futurama (1999 TV series)
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* The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004 film)
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* "The Impossible Astronaut" (2011 TV episode)
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* Legend: Address to Joint Session
* Written message
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* Split into multiple parts
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* ‡ Not officially a "State of the Union"
Presidents William Henry Harrison (1841) and James Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union

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