The President of the United States delivers the annual State of the Union address to Congress in the United States. According to Article II, Section 3 of the American Constitution, the President should “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union“. Presidents now address joint sessions of Congress personally, but the Constitution does not mandate this.
The first two Presidents of the country, George Washington and John Adams, personally addressed Congress annually; however, Adams’ successor Thomas Jefferson submitted a written report. Jefferson believed that the speech was too close to the British monarch’s speech, which was a traditional proclamation made by the British monarch at the beginning of Parliament. The tradition of delivering personal speeches did not continue until the 20th century. In 1913, while reviving the personal address, Woodrow Wilson changed its purpose from summarizing the President’s previous actions from the executive branch to outlining the President’s legislative agenda for the coming year.
The first State of the Union address broadcast on radio was by Calvin Coolidge in 1923, and the first televised State of the Union address was by Harry S. Truman in 1947. The speech, previously known as the “President’s Annual Message to Congress,” officially adopted the nickname “State of the Union” that year as well. Traditionally, the address was delivered in the late afternoon, but Lyndon Johnson moved it to the evening in 1965 to appeal to prime-time television viewers. His successors continued this practice. George W. Bush’s 2002 speech was the first to be broadcast live on the internet.
For most of its existence, the address was given in December to exclude Congress. With the enactment of the 20th Amendment in 1933, the start of the presidential and congressional terms was moved to January 20 and January 3, respectively. As a result, the State of the Union addresses were given in the first part of January or February.
Since nearly every member of the President’s cabinet – including the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and members of the President’s cabinet – typically participates in the State of the Union address, procedures have been instituted to ensure continuity of government in case of an emergency. The most important of these procedures is to designate a secure location outside the capital to house the Cabinet member during the speech. Similar processes were implemented for the legislative branch in light of the September 11 attacks, with two members from each party in Congress absent from the speech. Typically, additional personnel are present in the state.”
