The State of the Union AddressTuesday, January 30th, 2018

HOMEWORK: 1) Watch the State of the Union; Tuesday, January 30th @ 9 p.m. on a MAJOR NATIONAL NEWS

NETWORK such as CBS (2), NBC (4), ABC (7), or CNN or from websites like the official White House website (whitehouse.gov) or major news websites such as nytimes.com. You’re on your own to search for it if you miss the network broadcast, however it will be freely available on major news sites.

2) Complete worksheet #1 AND #2 while watching the speech. (due Wednesday, February 1st)

Background:The “State of the Union” speech is when the President is in Congress, in the chamber of the House of Representatives, delivering the report to Congress required by the Constitution (Article II, Section 3: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient…”). After George Washington and John Adams, the 1st and 2nd presidents respectively, gave formal speeches to Congress on the state of the union, Thomas Jefferson created a new tradition by sending a report in writing. That tradition remained until Woodrow Wilson once again choose to deliver his in person and every president up until the present day has continued this tradition.

This is a formal occasion. It occurs in the chamber of the House of Representatives, which is larger than the Senate Chamber, but both houses are in attendance, as are many Justices of the Supreme Court, and the heads of every Cabinet department – except one. That’s because if something catastrophic was to happen at this occasion to the entire political leadership of the USA, there would still be somebody left to assume the Presidency (This is a legacy of the Cold War). This person is given the title of “designated survivor,” (yes, like the TV show.) The 2016 designated survivor under President Obama was Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security. (There was no 2017 “State of the Union” as a President is in office for a full year before they give their 1st State of the Union speech).

The President will be announced by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives. There will be, as a courtesy, a standing ovation. The President will make his way to the podium. Behind him will be seated: Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives; and Mike Pence, who is serving in the Vice President’s role as President of the Senate. The President will usually refer to them as “Mr. Speaker” and “Mr. President.”

The House chamber has been traditionally largely divided along political party lines. The Republicans will sit with Republicans, and the Democrats will sit with Democrats. Sometimes, you’ll see that half the room is standing and applauding, half are sitting. This demonstrates the partisan (choosing sides based on political party) divide in American politics.

Also in attendance will be the First Lady and various invited guests. Since Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s, it has been customary to invite guests whose achievements may help to highlight an issue raised by the speech. The guests will be seated near the First Lady.

AFTER the speech, there will be a RESPONSE from the Democratic Party – a rebuttal. This is because the State of the Union speech is considered “political speech,” and the air that TV waves travel through is public space, so the opposing party must also be given equal “air time.”

THEN, there will be commentary by professional journalists. These last two sections are interesting, but optional to watch.

WORKSHEET #2

How would you describe President Trump's style? Circle all of the following words that apply.

PassionateWell-wordedSophisticatedRepetitive

InterestingEnergeticAnnoying Boring

PatrioticInspirational

Other descriptions:

Did the President recognize any individual people during the speech? Who? Why?

 

How would you rate the speech? (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent) Why?

WORKSHEET #1President Trump's State of the Union - Assessing the Speech

List the topics and plans outlined by President Trump.

How persuasive was the

president's argument?

Do you agree with the argument? Why or why not?

(1=not at all,5=very

persuasive)