State Of The Union Address Collection On Kindle


State Of The Union Address Collection
State Of The Union Address Collection

A complete collection of State Of The Union Address Speeches by US Presidents has been published by State Of The Union Address Library on Amazon Kindle. It includes speeches of every president starting with George Washington in 1793 up to the most recent 2011 speech of Barack Obama. While you can also read these texts for free on the website itself and in many other public sources, this book conveniently puts them all together in one publication with active table of contents.

Having all of these texts at hand (courtesy of aforementioned website) I’ve decided to do a small project – I ran all these speeches through readability analyzer at readability.info to get readability scores by different systems. I did this merely for fun and publish the raw data as it is without making any kind of political statement. Make of it what you will and don’t blame anyone since all that you will see here are mere statistical numbers calculated by a machine that doesn’t care one way or another.

Here are some obvious trends that I’ve noticed:

  • State of the Union speeches tended to be much longer in the 19th century and much shorter in the 18th. There are two notably long speeches in the 20th century: Harry Truman’s speech of 1946 (end of World War II) and Jimmy Carter’s speech of 1981 that summarises his presidency.
  • Most readability indexes started to decline starting from the beginning of the 20th century. While it may signify that US presidents and their speech writers started to target a wider audience with these speeches (perhaps due to a much wider distribution via electronic mass media) you should also keep in mind that all these tests were created in the 20th century with modern English language in mind.

Here’s the raw data and some select graphs related to these speeches:

Year President Party Words ARI Coleman-Liau Flesch Fog Kincaid Lix School Grade
1790 George Washington None 1153 23 14 29.2 23.8 19.4 69.7 11
1790 George Washington None 1476 18.8 13 42.7 20 15.8 61.5 11
1791 George Washington None 2384 21.1 13.8 34.4 22.2 17.9 66.2 11
1792 George Washington None 2174 18.8 13.3 38.8 20.3 16.3 61.6 11
1793 George Washington None 2043 18.6 12.6 42.9 19.5 15.9 59.8 11
1794 George Washington None 2990 20 13.2 38.6 20.9 16.9 64.1 11
1795 George Washington None 2058 20.5 14.1 35.5 21.5 17.3 65.9 11
1796 George Washington None 2953 19.9 13.1 38.2 20.8 17 63.6 11
1797 John Adams Federalist 2138 19 13.1 41 19.7 16.1 61.4 11
1798 John Adams Federalist 2294 21.5 13.2 35.8 22 18.1 66.2 11
1799 John Adams Federalist 1580 22.3 13.6 31.9 22.9 18.9 68.6 11
1800 John Adams Federalist 1446 18.3 13.4 41.9 19.7 15.6 60.5 11
1801 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 3297 19.5 13 39.1 20.6 16.7 62.8 11
1802 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2279 19.2 12.4 43.1 19.7 16.2 61.2 11
1803 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2356 26.3 13.8 25.6 25.7 21.6 76.3 11
1804 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2166 22.9 13 34.5 22.8 19 68.7 11
1805 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 3024 20 12 43 20.4 16.8 62.6 11
1806 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2943 20.6 12.8 39.3 21 17.3 63.9 11
1807 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2472 21.1 12.8 39.2 21.2 17.5 65.2 11
1808 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 2769 20.6 13.1 37.4 21.5 17.5 65.2 11
1809 James Madison Democratic-Republican 1905 24.5 13.2 27.2 25 20.7 72.8 11
1810 James Madison Democratic-Republican 2526 22.3 13.8 31.5 22.7 18.8 69.4 11
1811 James Madison Democratic-Republican 2350 26.6 13.7 23.3 26.3 22.2 77.6 11
1812 James Madison Democratic-Republican 3329 20.4 13.2 36.8 21.3 17.4 65.8 11
1813 James Madison Democratic-Republican 3339 25.7 12.9 27.7 25.4 21.4 75.5 11
1814 James Madison Democratic-Republican 2192 22.5 12.7 35.5 22.2 18.8 68.4 11
1815 James Madison Democratic-Republican 3237 28.8 13.8 16.4 28.2 24.1 83.6 11
1816 James Madison Democratic-Republican 3445 25.1 13.2 25.5 25.5 21.3 74.8 11
1817 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 4515 19.4 12.5 42.6 20 16.4 61 11
1818 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 4458 21 13.2 37.8 21.3 17.5 65.1 11
1819 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 4796 19.1 12.5 44.9 19.5 15.9 60.3 11
1820 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 3542 21.7 12.4 37.7 21.9 18.2 65.9 11
1821 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 5947 20.6 12.2 41.3 20.8 17.3 64.1 11
1822 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 4845 21.5 12.4 37.9 21.9 18.1 65.9 11
1823 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 6516 18.7 12.7 42.8 19.8 15.9 60.6 11
1824 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 8535 18.3 12.4 45.5 19.2 15.4 58.8 11
1825 John Quincy Adams Whig 9187 22.9 12.6 32.5 23.3 19.4 69.5 11
1826 John Quincy Adams Whig 7797 23.7 12.6 31.7 23.9 20 70.6 11
1827 John Quincy Adams Whig 7176 23.2 13 32.2 23.4 19.5 70 11
1828 John Quincy Adams Whig 7494 20.6 12.8 37.4 21.2 17.5 65 11
1829 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 10655 19.1 12.8 40 20.4 16.5 62.3 11
1830 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 15118 20.8 13.1 36.2 21.6 17.7 65.1 11
1831 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 7292 23.3 12.8 33.1 23.3 19.5 69.9 11
1832 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 7984 21.2 12.7 36.8 21.9 18 66.3 11
1833 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 8017 23.2 12.6 34 23.2 19.4 70 11
1834 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 13591 22.5 12.8 33.8 23.1 19 68.7 11
1835 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 10937 24 12.7 31.6 24 20.1 71.5 11
1836 Andrew Jackson Democratic-Republican 12516 22.4 12.5 34.6 22.8 19 68.6 11
1837 Martin Van Buren Democratic-Republican 11581 22.1 13 33.8 22.7 18.8 68 11
1838 Martin Van Buren Democratic-Republican 11646 23.8 13.3 29.6 24.1 20 72 11
1839 Martin Van Buren Democratic-Republican 13521 21.2 12.7 37.2 21.7 17.9 65.6 11
1840 Martin Van Buren Democratic-Republican 9101 26.9 13.7 23.1 26.5 22.3 78.2 11
1841 John Tyler Independent 8374 22.2 12.4 34.6 22.6 18.9 67.8 11
1842 John Tyler Independent 8551 21.9 12.4 36.4 22.3 18.5 66.4 11
1843 John Tyler Independent 8149 22.4 12.6 34.6 22.7 18.9 67.9 11
1844 John Tyler Independent 9424 18.9 12.7 41.1 19.9 16.2 61.1 11
1845 James Polk Democratic 16243 20 12.5 40.4 20.6 16.9 63.1 11
1846 James Polk Democratic 18474 21.2 12.2 38.1 21.6 18 65.3 11
1847 James Polk Democratic 16673 20.2 12.1 41.1 20.7 17.1 63 11
1848 James Polk Democratic 21610 19.6 12.6 40.6 20.4 16.7 62.1 11
1849 Zachary Taylor Whig 7750 20.4 13.1 36.7 21.4 17.4 65 11
1850 Millard Fillmore Whig 8450 19.4 12.8 40.1 20.5 16.6 62.9 11
1851 Millard Fillmore Whig 13511 20.5 12.5 38.8 21.2 17.4 64.8 11
1852 Millard Fillmore Whig 10090 19 12.7 41.6 20 16.2 61.7 11
1853 Franklin Pierce Democratic 9720 22.4 13.1 32.9 22.8 19 68.6 11
1854 Franklin Pierce Democratic 10286 21.2 13.5 35.5 21.7 17.8 66.8 11
1855 Franklin Pierce Democratic 11746 23.4 13.3 30 23.7 19.8 70.9 11
1856 Franklin Pierce Democratic 10632 22.3 13.3 31.4 22.9 19 68.9 11
1857 James Buchanan Democratic 13873 19.3 12.7 41.1 20.3 16.4 62.3 11
1858 James Buchanan Democratic 16595 18.2 12.8 43.2 19.3 15.5 60 11
1859 James Buchanan Democratic 12639 18.1 12.4 44.6 19 15.5 59.7 11
1860 James Buchanan Democratic 14231 16.6 12.7 45.5 18.2 14.5 56.3 11
1861 Abraham Lincoln Republican 7094 17.5 12.4 44.8 19 15.2 59 11
1862 Abraham Lincoln Republican 8557 14.1 12 54.1 15.7 12.3 50.7 9
1863 Abraham Lincoln Republican 6294 17.4 12.8 44 18.6 15 58.5 11
1864 Abraham Lincoln Republican 6046 15.7 12.4 49.4 17.2 13.6 54.7 11
1865 Andrew Johnson Democratic 9331 18.2 12.4 44 19.3 15.6 59.1 11
1866 Andrew Johnson Democratic 7304 20.5 13.6 35.2 21.3 17.5 65.2 11
1867 Andrew Johnson Democratic 12210 17.2 12.5 45.6 18.7 14.9 57.4 11
1868 Andrew Johnson Democratic 9946 19.4 13.1 39.7 20.3 16.5 62.7 11
1869 Ulysses S Grant Republican 7871 17.2 12.5 45.8 18.5 14.8 57.6 11
1870 Ulysses S Grant Republican 8925 17.9 12.3 45 18.8 15.3 59.1 11
1871 Ulysses S Grant Republican 6520 17.1 12.9 44.1 18.7 14.9 58.4 11
1872 Ulysses S Grant Republican 4038 19.1 12.8 41.1 20.3 16.3 62 11
1873 Ulysses S Grant Republican 10195 18.9 12.6 41.5 19.8 16.2 61.8 11
1874 Ulysses S Grant Republican 9316 18.3 12.7 42.2 19.6 15.8 60.6 11
1875 Ulysses S Grant Republican 12410 19.2 12.6 40.6 20.2 16.5 61.5 11
1876 Ulysses S Grant Republican 6946 19.6 12.7 40.6 20.4 16.7 62.2 11
1877 Rutherford B Hayes Republican 8193 20.2 12.9 37.4 21.1 17.3 64.4 11
1878 Rutherford B Hayes Republican 8114 19.2 13.2 39.1 20.4 16.5 62.9 11
1879 Rutherford B Hayes Republican 11886 20.6 13.2 35.5 21.7 17.7 65.6 11
1880 Rutherford B Hayes Republican 6695 19.9 13.9 35 21.3 17.1 65 11
1881 Chester A Arthur Republican 3876 18.6 14.2 38.8 19.7 15.8 62.9 11
1882 Chester A Arthur Republican 2810 17.1 13.7 42 18.6 14.8 59.4 11
1883 Chester A Arthur Republican 3877 18.9 13 40.2 20.3 16.3 62.8 11
1884 Chester A Arthur Republican 9192 17.8 13.3 41.7 19.2 15.4 60.1 11
1885 Grover Cleveland Democratic 20058 19.6 13.4 37.9 20.6 16.8 63.3 11
1886 Grover Cleveland Democratic 15455 20.2 13.3 36.7 21.1 17.3 64.8 11
1887 Grover Cleveland Democratic 5440 23.2 12.5 32.9 23.5 19.6 69.6 11
1888 Grover Cleveland Democratic 9192 20.9 13.4 35.2 21.8 17.8 66.1 11
1889 Benjamin Harrison Republican 13227 16.6 12.7 45.5 18.3 14.5 56.8 11
1890 Benjamin Harrison Republican 11746 17.5 12.9 43.9 18.7 15.1 58.8 11
1891 Benjamin Harrison Republican 16615 18.9 12.3 42.3 20 16.3 60.7 11
1892 Benjamin Harrison Republican 14188 17.4 11.9 47.9 18.5 14.9 57.7 11
1897 William Mckinley Republican 12307 17.7 12.8 42.9 19.2 15.4 59.3 11
1898 William Mckinley Republican 20612 19.1 13.2 39.7 20.2 16.4 62.7 11
1899 William Mckinley Republican 15358 19 13.5 38.1 20.4 16.4 62.8 11
1900 William Mckinley Republican 19538 18.5 13.5 39.5 19.8 16 61.7 11
1901 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 19772 15.6 12.3 49.3 17.4 13.6 54 10
1902 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 9908 15.9 12.3 49.3 17.5 13.8 54.4 11
1903 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 15131 16.6 13 45.8 18 14.4 56.7 11
1904 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 17632 17.8 12.7 44.2 19 15.3 58.2 11
1905 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 25215 16.8 12.3 46.1 18.4 14.7 56.8 11
1906 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 23802 18.8 12.1 43.4 19.9 16.1 60.6 11
1907 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 27661 17.2 12.4 45.9 18.6 14.8 57.5 11
1908 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 19646 16.8 12.5 47 18 14.4 56.3 11
1909 William H Taft Republican 14036 20.5 13.5 35 21.7 17.5 65.6 11
1910 William H Taft Republican 6785 20.9 13.9 34 21.9 17.8 66.9 11
1911 William H Taft Republican 24008 18.2 13 42.2 19.6 15.6 60.7 11
1912 William H Taft Republican 25488 19.3 13.3 38.8 20.5 16.5 63 11
1913 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 3640 16.8 11.7 49.2 18.1 14.5 56 11
1914 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 4560 12.7 10.6 62.6 14.4 11 45.9 8
1915 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 7758 17.7 11.7 48.6 18.8 15 58.2 11
1916 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 2137 20.8 13.1 36.5 21.3 17.6 65.5 11
1917 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 3993 14.1 10.8 58.6 15.5 12.2 49.8 9
1918 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 5562 17.3 11.5 50.9 18.3 14.6 55.9 11
1919 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 4833 16.3 13 45.7 17.9 14.2 56.8 11
1920 Woodrow Wilson Democratic 2792 20 12.4 40.5 20.4 17 63.2 11
1921 Warren Harding Republican 5718 15.4 13.4 44.2 17.9 13.8 55.3 11
1922 Warren Harding Republican 5833 15 13.7 44.9 17.1 13.4 55.1 11
1923 Calvin Coolidge Republican 6806 11.4 13.6 54.2 14.1 10.3 47.1 8
1924 Calvin Coolidge Republican 7091 14.7 13.4 46.9 16.8 13 53.9 10
1925 Calvin Coolidge Republican 11015 13.3 13.3 50.8 15.6 11.8 50.6 9
1926 Calvin Coolidge Republican 10477 13.6 13.2 50.2 15.9 12.2 52 10
1927 Calvin Coolidge Republican 8942 12 13.6 54.5 14.3 10.6 48.2 9
1928 Calvin Coolidge Republican 8215 13.3 13.8 50.8 15.5 11.7 51.2 10
1929 Herbert Hoover Republican 11259 16.2 14 42.1 18.1 14.2 56.7 11
1930 Herbert Hoover Republican 4696 17 14.5 38.3 18.9 14.9 58.3 11
1931 Herbert Hoover Republican 5834 14.7 15.1 43.4 16.9 12.9 55.1 11
1932 Herbert Hoover Republican 926 16.4 12.9 46.1 18.4 14.3 58.4 11
1934 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 2312 17.2 13.3 44.1 18.6 14.8 58.7 11
1935 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3603 14.6 13 48.7 16.5 12.9 52 10
1936 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3857 12.8 11.6 57.9 14.8 11.3 47.2 8
1937 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 2796 15.1 13.4 46 17.4 13.4 53.2 10
1938 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 4715 14.7 12.6 49.1 16.7 13.1 52.2 10
1939 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3846 12.8 12.6 54.3 15.1 11.4 48.6 9
1940 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3298 14.3 11.8 54.3 16 12.5 50.2 9
1941 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3416 11.7 11.7 59.7 13.8 10.5 45.8 8
1942 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3585 10.1 10.6 67.9 12 8.9 40.7 6
1943 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 4702 11.5 11 63.8 13.5 10.1 44 7
1944 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 3902 11.9 11.4 59.4 14.1 10.7 45.5 8
1945 Franklin D Roosevelt Democratic 8362 13.5 12.3 54.3 15.3 11.8 49.8 9
1946 Harry S Truman Democratic 27982 13.9 14.2 46.4 15.9 12.4 52.9 10
1947 Harry S Truman Democratic 6163 12.5 13.6 51.2 14.8 11.3 49.1 9
1948 Harry S Truman Democratic 5232 10.6 12.4 59 13.1 9.7 44.3 8
1949 Harry S Truman Democratic 3503 11.1 13.2 56.1 13.8 10.1 46.1 8
1950 Harry S Truman Democratic 5246 12.2 12.3 55.6 14.5 11.1 48.4 9
1951 Harry S Truman Democratic 4101 8.4 11 70 10.8 7.7 38.7 6
1952 Harry S Truman Democratic 5475 8.8 10.5 70.3 11.2 8 38.2 6
1953 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 7043 12.4 14.2 49.2 15 11.3 50.2 9
1953 Harry S Truman Democratic 9784 11.7 11.7 60.9 13.8 10.3 45.1 8
1954 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 6147 13.2 14.3 49.1 15.3 11.6 51.6 10
1955 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 7290 13.6 14.9 44.7 16.2 12.3 54.3 11
1956 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 8379 13.6 14.5 47.5 15.7 12 53.3 10
1957 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 4236 13.3 13.9 49 15.6 11.8 51.1 10
1958 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 4971 11.5 13.4 55 13.9 10.4 48.6 9
1959 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 5009 11.3 13.5 54.5 13.6 10.3 46.5 8
1960 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 5760 13.6 13.7 49.2 15.5 12.1 51.9 10
1961 Dwight D Eisenhower Democratic 6295 15 15.2 43.8 16.5 13 56 11
1961 John F Kennedy Democratic 5329 14.2 12.6 51.5 15.8 12.5 52.2 10
1962 John F Kennedy Democratic 6631 12.9 12.3 55.6 14.6 11.4 49.4 9
1963 John F Kennedy Democratic 5340 11.9 11.7 59 13.9 10.7 47.3 8
1964 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 3318 11.9 11.3 59.9 13.6 10.7 46.4 8
1965 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 4414 8.5 10.9 70.2 10.7 7.7 39.3 6
1966 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 5345 10.9 11.1 64.1 12.7 9.7 43.9 7
1967 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 7289 10.6 11.3 63.9 12.6 9.5 44 8
1968 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 4974 9.6 11.3 65.7 11.7 8.7 41.8 7
1969 Lyndon B Johnson Democratic 4174 10.5 10.8 65.7 12.5 9.4 42.5 7
1970 Richard Nixon Republican 4571 11.2 10.8 62.9 13.1 10.1 44 7
1971 Richard Nixon Republican 4600 11.9 10.9 61.6 14.1 10.6 45.1 8
1972 Richard Nixon Republican 4056 11.6 11.3 60.5 13.7 10.5 45.4 8
1973 Richard Nixon Republican 1734 14.8 12 52.1 16.2 12.9 53.8 10
1974 Richard Nixon Republican 5285 12.6 10.7 60.8 14.4 11.2 47.3 8
1975 Gerald R Ford Republican 4139 10.1 12.3 58.6 13 9.6 44.2 8
1976 Gerald R Ford Republican 5106 10.3 12.2 60.4 12.9 9.4 43.2 7
1977 Gerald R Ford Republican 4769 12.3 12.5 55.1 14.6 11.1 48.2 9
1978 Jimmy Carter Democratic 4679 9.4 11.2 64.3 12.3 8.9 41.1 7
1979 Jimmy Carter Democratic 3361 11.4 12.1 59.5 13.8 10.1 45.8 8
1980 Jimmy Carter Democratic 3506 10.9 11.8 61.4 13 9.8 44 7
1981 Jimmy Carter Democratic 33730 15.5 15.1 42 17 13.5 56.6 11
1982 Ronald Reagan Republican 5368 11.2 11.9 60.7 13.4 10 45.4 8
1983 Ronald Reagan Republican 5747 11.4 11.7 59.5 13.7 10.3 45.9 8
1984 Ronald Reagan Republican 5147 9.1 11.7 64.9 11.5 8.4 40.7 6
1985 Ronald Reagan Republican 4421 10.3 11.8 62.5 12.5 9.3 43.5 7
1986 Ronald Reagan Republican 3559 9.4 10.9 66.8 11.5 8.6 41.1 7
1987 Ronald Reagan Republican 3981 9.3 10.9 66.8 11.7 8.6 41.3 7
1988 Ronald Reagan Republican 4952 10.2 11 63.6 12.7 9.4 42.5 7
1990 George H W Bush Republican 3847 7.2 9.7 73.5 10.2 7.1 34.5 5
1991 George H W Bush Republican 3908 8.7 11.3 66.4 11.6 8.2 39.9 6
1992 George H W Bush Republican 4865 6.6 9.7 76.6 9.6 6.4 33.6 5
1994 William J Clinton Democratic 7611 9.8 10.4 69.4 11.8 8.7 40.1 6
1995 William J Clinton Democratic 9376 9.2 9.6 70.9 12 8.5 39 6
1996 William J Clinton Democratic 6430 8.7 10.9 68.8 11.2 8 40 6
1997 William J Clinton Democratic 6847 9.6 10.9 68.2 11.7 8.6 41.4 7
1998 William J Clinton Democratic 7346 9.5 10.7 68 11.6 8.6 41.5 7
1999 William J Clinton Democratic 7718 9.8 10.9 66.2 11.9 8.9 42.5 7
2000 William J Clinton Democratic 7547 9.5 11.6 65.9 11.5 8.5 41.5 7
2001 George W Bush Republican 4486 8.1 11.3 71 10.3 7.3 39.7 6
2001 George W Bush Republican 3102 8.3 11.3 70.4 10.6 7.4 38.9 6
2002 George W Bush Republican 3951 9.6 12 67.1 11.4 8.3 42.7 7
2003 George W Bush Republican 5489 10.4 12 63.1 12.3 9.2 44.5 8
2004 George W Bush Republican 5399 10.3 12.1 65.2 11.9 8.8 44.5 8
2005 George W Bush Republican 5252 11.6 12.2 60.2 13.4 10.2 46.8 8
2006 George W Bush Republican 5468 10.7 12.2 61.9 12.7 9.5 45.7 8
2007 George W Bush Republican 5696 9.6 10.8 67.6 11.9 8.6 40.9 6
2008 George W Bush Republican 5838 9.8 11.8 65.4 12 8.7 42.4 7
2009 Barack Obama Democratic 6033 10.3 10.4 66.4 12.5 9.4 41.8 7
2010 Barack Obama Democratic 7183 8.6 10.8 69.9 11.2 7.9 38.4 6
2011 Barack Obama Democratic 6993 8.2 10.2 72.4 10.7 7.5 37.8 5

Average scores by US President:

President Words ARI Coleman-Liau Flesch Fog Kincaid Lix School Grade
Theodore Roosevelt 19,845.88 16.94 12.45 46.38 18.35 14.64 56.81 10.88
James Polk 18,250.00 20.25 12.35 40.05 20.83 17.18 63.38 11
William H Taft 17,579.25 19.73 13.43 37.5 20.93 16.85 64.05 11
William Mckinley 16,953.75 18.58 13.25 40.05 19.9 16.05 61.63 11
James Buchanan 14,334.50 18.05 12.65 43.6 19.2 15.48 59.58 11
Benjamin Harrison 13,944.00 17.6 12.45 44.9 18.88 15.2 58.5 11
Grover Cleveland 12,536.25 20.98 13.15 35.68 21.75 17.88 65.95 11
Martin Van Buren 11,462.25 23.5 13.18 30.93 23.75 19.75 70.95 11
Jimmy Carter 11,319.00 11.8 12.55 56.8 14.03 10.58 46.88 8.25
Andrew Jackson 10,763.75 22.06 12.75 35.01 22.54 18.65 67.8 11
Millard Fillmore 10,683.67 19.63 12.67 40.17 20.57 16.73 63.13 11
Franklin Pierce 10,596.00 22.33 13.3 32.45 22.78 18.9 68.8 11
Andrew Johnson 9,697.75 18.83 12.9 41.13 19.9 16.13 61.1 11
Calvin Coolidge 8,757.67 13.05 13.48 51.23 15.37 11.6 50.5 9.33
Rutherford B Hayes 8,722.00 19.98 13.3 36.75 21.13 17.15 64.48 11
John Tyler 8,624.50 21.35 12.53 36.68 21.88 18.13 65.8 11
Harry S Truman 8,435.75 11.15 12.36 58.69 13.49 10.08 45.35 8
Ulysses S Grant 8,277.63 18.41 12.64 42.61 19.54 15.81 60.4 11
John Quincy Adams 7,913.50 22.6 12.75 33.45 22.95 19.1 68.78 11
Zachary Taylor 7,750.00 20.4 13.1 36.7 21.4 17.4 65 11
Average Value 7,742.37 16.5 12.55 47.25 17.89 14.25 56.39 9.78
William J Clinton 7,553.57 9.44 10.71 68.2 11.67 8.54 40.86 6.57
Abraham Lincoln 6,997.75 16.18 12.4 48.08 17.63 14.03 55.73 10.5
Barack Obama 6,736.33 9.03 10.47 69.57 11.47 8.27 39.33 6
Dwight D Eisenhower 6,125.56 13.06 14.18 49.11 15.26 11.64 51.5 9.78
Warren Harding 5,775.50 15.2 13.55 44.55 17.5 13.6 55.2 11
John F Kennedy 5,766.67 13 12.2 55.37 14.77 11.53 49.63 9
Herbert Hoover 5,678.75 16.08 14.13 42.48 18.08 14.08 57.13 11
James Monroe 5,394.25 20.04 12.54 41.31 20.55 16.84 62.71 11
George W Bush 4,964.56 9.82 11.74 65.77 11.83 8.67 42.9 7.11
Chester A Arthur 4,938.75 18.1 13.55 40.68 19.45 15.58 61.3 11
Lyndon B Johnson 4,919.00 10.33 11.12 64.92 12.3 9.28 42.98 7.17
Ronald Reagan 4,739.29 10.13 11.41 63.54 12.43 9.23 42.91 7.14
Gerald R Ford 4,671.33 10.9 12.33 58.03 13.5 10.03 45.2 8
Woodrow Wilson 4,409.38 16.96 11.85 49.08 18.09 14.51 56.41 10.38
George H W Bush 4,206.67 7.5 10.23 72.17 10.47 7.23 36 5.33
Richard Nixon 4,049.20 12.42 11.14 59.58 14.3 11.06 47.12 8.2
Franklin D Roosevelt 4,032.83 13.35 12.11 54.96 15.32 11.78 48.99 8.75
James Madison 2,790.38 24.49 13.31 27.99 24.58 20.59 73.49 11
Thomas Jefferson 2,663.25 21.28 12.86 37.65 21.61 17.83 65.74 11
George Washington 2,153.88 20.09 13.39 37.54 21.13 17.06 64.05 11
John Adams 1,864.50 20.28 13.33 37.65 21.08 17.18 64.18 11

Average scores by US political party:

Party Words ARI Coleman-Liau Flesch Fog Kincaid Lix School Grade
Republican 9,026.30 14.85 12.50 50.57 16.60 12.98 53.27 9.54
Whig 8,931.88 21.21 12.76 36.38 21.86 18.00 66.19 11.00
Independent 8,624.50 21.35 12.53 36.68 21.88 18.13 65.80 11.00
Democratic 7,913.96 14.32 12.30 52.55 16.02 12.53 51.74 9.09
Democratic-Republican 6,076.17 22.14 12.90 34.98 22.48 18.62 67.83 11.00
None 2,153.88 20.09 13.39 37.54 21.13 17.06 64.05 11.00
Federalist 1,864.50 20.28 13.33 37.65 21.08 17.18 64.18 11.00

State Of The Union word count by year trend:

State Of The Union Word Count By Year Trends

State Of The Union Lix Readability Index By The Year

State Of The Union Lix Readability Index By Year

1 thought on “State Of The Union Address Collection On Kindle”

  1. Amusing to see Dwight David Eisenhower listed as a Democrat. Yes, he espoused “little d” democratic values, but he was a registered Republican (as was his VP, Tricky Dicky).

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