It was a political speech in the guise of an official presidential address. (firstthings.com)
«Francis Lieber: Presidential Address at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, Washington, April 24, 1913,» in Addresses on International Subjects 89 - 103 (Robert Bacon & James Brown Scott eds., Cambridge: Havard University Press, 1916). (slaw.ca)
Of course, some religionists have at times spoken about their profession in ways that make their scholarship suspect, as Wiebe proves by reviewing 30 years of presidential addresses to the AAR. (religion-online.org)