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Political rhetoric and the ebb and flow of language itself are key concerns in democratic societies. The role of language as a social and political tool has intrigued everyone from John Dewey to scholars studying the “culture wars” of the last few decades. The State of the Union examines individual words as artifacts, tracing their frequency and use to explore how national concerns and the tone of public culture have changed since 1790.
Brad Borevitz, the site’s creator, provides an interface showing basic information about each address along with a graph of the relative frequency of key terms. Users can layer addresses to compare important themes, and access the full text of each State of the Union. Borevitz also presents an essay exploring the role of iconic terms in political discourse and the potential of information mining in analysis.
The ability to compare addresses and trace the evolution of rhetoric lifts this project above the more extreme examples of postmodernism (cited by Russell Jacoby and others) that strip language of any meaning. Borevitz has created a valuable tool for users interested in political science, linguistics, and history, and an intriguing visualization for textual analysis.
. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
