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State of the Union Address
Herbert Hoover
December 8, 1931
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
It is my duty under the Constitution to transmit to the Congress
information on the state of the Union and to recommend for its
consideration necessary and expedient measures.
The chief influence affecting the state of the Union during the past year
has been the continued world-wide economic disturbance. Our national
concern has been to meet the emergencies it has created for us and to lay
the foundations for recovery.
If we lift our vision beyond these immediate emergencies we find
fundamental national gains even amid depression. In meeting the problems of
this difficult period, we have witnessed a remarkable development of the
sense of cooperation in the community. For the first time in the history of
our major economic depressions there has been a notable absence of public
disorders and industrial conflict. Above all there is an enlargement of
social and spiritual responsibility among the people. The strains and
stresses upon business have resulted in closer application, in saner
policies, and in better methods. Public improvements have been carried out
on a larger scale than even in normal times. The country is richer in
physical property, in newly discovered resources, and in productive
capacity than ever before. There has been constant gain in knowledge and
education; there has been continuous advance in science and invention;
there has been distinct gain in public health. Business depressions have
been recurrent in the life of our country and are but transitory. The
Nation has emerged from each of them with increased strength and virility
because of the enlightenment they have brought, the readjustments and the
larger understanding of the realities and obligations of life and work
which come from them.