https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2026/01/07/first-state-of-the-union-george-washingtons-blueprint-betrayed/

By: Michael Boldin|Published on: Jan 7, 2026

“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.”

January 8, 1790. George Washington walked into the Senate Chamber of Federal Hall in New York City and delivered his first annual message to a joint session of Congress. Today, we call it the State of the Union.

In his speech, Washington set the standard for how a president should act. From the clothes he wore to how he approached the separation of powers in the Constitution, to his support for an educated and armed people, ready to defend their own constitution and liberty.

Once you read just what he said and did, it’s pretty obvious this blueprint has been betrayed for a long, long time.

ANTI-SPECTACLE

Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates a simple, but important task for the President: reporting to Congress.

“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.”

Washington treated it as duty, not theater. No applause lines. No guests. No pomp.

In his diary, he simply referred to it as “my speech.”

Washington didn’t just talk about American independence or how to preserve a free republic. He walked the walk, even in the clothes he wore.

He could have dressed like a general or an aristocrat. He chose neither. As the Virginia Herald reported, everything on him was American made.

“was dressed in a crow coloured suit of clothes, of American manufacture … This elegant fabric was from the manufactory in Hartford.”

Even the buttons, Washington noted, were 100% American-made.

He didn’t waste anyone’s time either. At 1,089 words, it remains the shortest State of the Union in history. But the impact was still massive.

end snip