There was a time in America when acting like a king would rightfully ruin your public image. These days, however, have died as the president has accumulated more and more power. Nothing demonstrates a more public display of this monarchical presidency than the annual
There was a time in America when acting like a king would rightfully ruin your public image. These days, however, have died as the president has accumulated more and more power. Nothing demonstrates a more public display of this monarchical presidency than the annual State of the Union Address. Modeled almost exactly after the speech from the throne, the American State of the Union Address is a time in which the president of the United States delivers a speech before Congress in which the president will boast of his “accomplishments,” bemoan his opposition and pressure the Congress to comply with his agenda.
It wasn’t always like this. Thomas Jefferson never delivered a State of the Union Address. In fact, he too believed that the State of the Union was a monarchical display of power. Instead of a speech, Jefferson fulfilled his constitutional duty by presenting the State of the Union in the form of letters, adding a sense of much-needed humility to the presidency after John Adams attempted to use the office to grow his own power. This custom of delivering the State of the Union in the form of letters continu