State of the Union

Jan06-stateofunion.jpg

This is an interesting look at the relationship between language and politics.  It's an interface that maps prominent words in American State of the Union addresses from 1790-2007.  The keywords from each speech are mapped based on their position within the speech and their frequency of use.  Using the timeline you can scroll back and forth between the addresses.  This creates a pretty interesting glimpse of US history.  The words range from Colonies to Globalization, from Indians to Iraqis, and from Freedom to Terror.  Explore it for yourself here.