State of the Union Addresses

by George Bush

State of the Union Addresses of George H.W. Bush

The addresses are separated by three asterisks: ***

Dates of addresses by George H.W. Bush in this eBook:

[January 31, 1990]
[January 29, 1991]
[January 28, 1992]

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State of the Union Address
George H.W. Bush
January 31, 1990

Tonight, I come not to speak about the "State of the Government", not to detail every new initiative we plan for the coming year, nor describe every line in the budget. I'm here to speak to you and to the American people about the State of the Union about our world, the changes we've seen, the challenges we face. And what that means for America.

There are singular moments in history, dates that divide all that goes before from all that comes after. And many of us in this chamber have lived much of our lives in a world whose fundamental features were defined in 1945. And the events of that year decreed the shape of nations, the pace of progress, freedom or oppression for millions of people around the world.

Nineteen Forty-Five provided the common frame of reference the compass points of the postwar era we've relied upon to understand ourselves. And that was our world until now. The events of the year just ended, the Revolution of '89, have been a chain reaction, changes so striking that it marks the beginning of a new era in the world's affairs.