1972 State of the Union Address
Speech by US President Richard Nixon
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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] The shortest such recorded address in history, it covered value-added taxes, emergency medicine, and the then-ongoing Vietnam War.
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| Date | January 20, 1972 |
|---|---|
| Time | 12:30 p.m. EST |
| Duration | 29 minutes |
| Venue | House Chamber, United States Capitol |
| Location | |
| Type | State of the Union Address |
| Participants | Richard Nixon Spiro Agnew Carl Albert |
| Previous | 1971 State of the Union Address |
| Next | 1973 State of the Union Address |
Topics
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 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
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]
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