COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, Nov. 14, 1792  

* President George Washington
* State of the Union Address

Taking over half of the front page and concluding on page two where it is signed in script type: G. Washington, is President George Washington's "Speech to Both Houses of Congress".
This was his annual state-of-the-union address, a tradition which he initiated in 1790 and which carries on to this day. There is a prefacing paragraph headed with a nice engraving of a heraldic eagle, which notes: "...the Senate are now ready to receive the President of the United States...at twelve o'clock, the President of the United States arrived...when he delivered the following..." which is his annual address.
Four pages, wide, never-trimmed margins, in great condition save for a very small burn hole near the top affecting 3 words in Washington's message on both pages 1 & 2.

Background: The November 14, 1792 edition of the Columbian Centinel stands as a pivotal historical artifact, capturing President George Washington’s Fourth Annual Message to Congress—a foundational moment that solidified the presidential tradition of the in-person State of the Union address mandated by Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution. Delivering his speech in Philadelphia on November 6 before its Boston publication eight days later, Washington used this platform to address critical nation-building challenges of the early Republic: upholding federal authority against early resistance to the excise tax on distilled spirits (precursor to the Whiskey Rebellion), establishing economic independence through the newly minted coinage following the Coinage Act of 1792, outlining plans to redeem the national public debt, and managing complex frontier relations along the Northwest Territory. Concluding with his iconic "G. Washington" script signature beneath the paper’s heraldic eagle woodcut, this publication underscores how early American print culture distributed executive governance to the public, setting lasting precedent for Presidential communication, federal sovereignty, and fiscal policy during the nation's formative years.