The 1946 State of the Union Address was given by the 33rd President of the United States,

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, on Monday, January 21, 1946, to the 79th United States Congress. It was written by

Samuel Rosenman Samuel Irving Rosenman (February 13, 1896 – June 24, 1973) was an American lawyer, judge, Democratic Party activist and presidential speechwriter. He coined the term "New Deal", and helped articulate liberal policies during the heyday of the N ...

and is notable for being the longest State of the Union message at the time: the written speech was sent to Congress, not orally given, and was 25,000 words long. The address combined Truman's economic report with state of the union information regrading returning to a peace economy after the end of World War Two, foreign policy in Europe and the admission of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

into the United States. In the address, Truman stated, "At Moscow the United States, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and Great Britain agreed to further this development by supporting the efforts of the national government and nongovernmental Chinese political elements in bringing about cessation of civil strife and in broadening the basis of representation in the Government. That is the policy which General Marshall is so ably executing today. It is the purpose of the Government of the United States to proceed as rapidly as is practicable toward the restoration of the sovereignty of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and the establishment of a democratic government by the free choice of the people of Korea." Truman also urged Congress to admit Hawaii into the United States, but cautioned them to wait on admitting Alaska until "it is certain that this is the desire of the people of that great territory".

References

State of the Union addresses Presidency of Harry S. Truman 79th United States Congress State of the Union Address State of the Union Address State of the Union Address State of the Union Address January 1946 events in the United States {{US-poli-stub

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