State of the Union address

What it is

Once a year the president of the United States reports to a joint session of Congress on how the country is doing. The Constitution asks the president to tell Congress about the state of the union from time to time and to suggest measures that seem necessary. In practice the speech has grown into a public account of the budget, the economy, the year's events, the president's aims and the laws the president wants passed. Radio, then television and later the internet turned a message between two branches of government into one aimed at the whole country.

Origins and history

George Washington gave the first regular yearly message to a joint session on 8 January 1790, in New York City, which was then the temporary capital. Thomas Jefferson ended the custom of speaking in person in 1801: he thought it looked too much like a monarch addressing a throne, so a clerk read a written report to Congress instead. That lasted until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson began appearing before Congress again. For a long time the occasion was called the President's Annual Message to Congress. Franklin D. Roosevelt used the phrase State of the Union in 1934, and it became the accepted name in 1947.

When it falls

For most of the nineteenth century the report arrived in December, at the close of the year. The Twentieth Amendment, ratified on 23 January 1933, moved the opening of a new Congress from early March to early January. Since 1934 the address has therefore come near the start of the calendar year, most often at the end of January or the start of February. Over the years 1934 to 2024, the earliest date used was 3 January and the latest 7 March. In the first year of a new presidency, the president usually speaks to Congress in February, but that first speech is not called a State of the Union.

Guests and seating

Every member of Congress may bring one guest. The president may invite up to 24 people to sit with the first lady, and the speaker of the House may invite as many as 24 to the speaker's box. Seats on the main floor of the chamber have no reservations and go to whoever arrives first. The Cabinet, the justices of the Supreme Court, diplomats and military leaders have seats held for them. One cabinet member stays away as the designated survivor, so that the line of succession survives a catastrophe, and since 2003 each chamber names its own. After the 2001 attacks, a few members have also been sent to undisclosed places for the evening.

Broadcasts and change

Warren Harding's 1922 message went out on radio, though to few listeners; Calvin Coolidge's the next year reached the whole country. Harry Truman's 1947 address was the first carried on television. In 1968 the networks dropped their time limits, and the Johnson speech that year was followed by long televised discussion. Bill Clinton's 1997 speech was the first streamed live on the web. Ronald Reagan's 1986 address was postponed for a week after the Challenger shuttle disaster. In 1999 Bill Clinton delivered the address while his impeachment trial was under way, the first president to do so in person. Donald Trump's 2019 speech was delayed to 5 February after a dispute with the speaker.

How State of the Union address is kept

Both houses of Congress first pass a resolution setting the date and time, and the speaker of the House sends the president a formal invitation some weeks ahead. On the night, House members are in their seats by about 8:30 p.m. A deputy sergeant at arms announces the vice president and senators, then the dean of the Diplomatic Corps, the Supreme Court justices and the Cabinet. Just after nine, the House sergeant at arms calls out the president's arrival. The president walks to the rostrum, greeting people on the way, hands over two envelopes, and waits for the applause to fade before speaking.

When and where

The address comes once a year, near the beginning of the calendar year. Since 1934 it has been delivered in the opening months, most often at the end of January or the start of February; across 1934 to 2024 the earliest date was 3 January and the latest 7 March. Since at least the 1960s it has usually begun at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

It is given in the chamber of the House of Representatives, inside the Capitol in Washington, where the speaker of the House invites the president to speak. Before the capital moved, the first regular message in 1790 was delivered in New York City. Radio and television now carry it live to every United States time zone, so most people watch it at home rather than in the room.

What State of the Union address means

The address joins two duties in one occasion: the president reports to the legislature, and the president speaks to the country. The chamber becomes a stage for the whole nation, and the evening marks the political year. The empty seat kept for the designated survivor is a quiet reminder that the government must be able to carry on if disaster strikes, and that those in the room are, for one night, gathered in a single place.

Questions people ask about State of the Union address

See also

Independence DayThe United States' national day of parades, barbecues and fireworks, kept each July 4Arbor DayAn annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldFlag DayAn annual American observance marking the 1777 adoption of the national flagBastille DayFrance's national day marking the storming of the Bastille and the unity of the people on 14 July.

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle
• State of the Union: Five facts about the famous US speechBBC, Article
• State of the Union: Five facts about the famous US speechBBC, Article

• State of the Union on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

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