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During the George W. Bush Administration, speeches were used to communicate important policies or actions taken by the United States government. Before the President gave a speech, drafts were created by speechwriters. Speechwriters performed research on topics and reviewed previous speeches and documents to ensure that remarks given by President Bush had a consistent tone and voice. After a speech was completed, it was sent to the Staff Secretary. The Staff Secretary circulated documents to White House staff and requested comments. Once any comments were received, the Staff Secretary coordinated changes to the draft and ensured that the final copy was approved and printed for the President. Often President Bush reviewed and made comments on speeches himself.
After a speech was finalized, it was printed on speech cards. These small cards were used by the President as he gave the speech. President Bush had the habit of underlining almost every sentence on his speech cards. He also sometimes noted where to take a pause or made last minute edits.
Speech drafts and other speech-related documents are found in the White House Office of Records Management subject files. They are primarily filed in SP (Speeches) or in subject files that are related to the speech's topic. For example, a speech given in celebration of a holiday could be filed in HO (Holidays).
Speech drafts are also found in Staff Member Office Files or the files of someone who worked in the White House. Some offices, like the White House Office of Speechwriting or the Staff Secretary, have large groupings of speech cards, speech drafts, and documents used during the writing process in the records.
For a more complete guide of the archival records that are open for research, please download the Archival Research Guide:
Final transcripts of public speeches are published in the Public Papers of the Presidents. Additional speeches, remarks, and statements from 2001-2009 are available on the Archived White House Website.
