January 1953 State of the Union Address

The January 1953 State of the Union Address was delivered by outgoing President Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, on Wednesday, January 7, 1953, to both houses of the 83rd United States Congress in written format. Truman did not deliver this as a speech before a joint session of Congress. The written address consisted of 9,683 words.

This speech functioned effectively as a farewell address for Truman since, instead of proposing legislation for the Congress to consider, Truman reflected on the past accomplishments of his administration:

The presentation of a legislative program falls properly to my successor, not to me, and I would not infringe upon his responsibility to chart the forward course. Instead, I wish to speak of the course we have been following the past eight years and the position at which we have arrived.