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The State of the Union Address is an annual event in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of the U.S. Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate). The address is also used to outline the President's legislative proposals for the upcoming year.
Modeled after the Speech from the Throne, the requirement for the address is written into the United States Constitution:
- "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." ( Article II, Section 3)
This requirement does not specify the address's form, frequency, or depth of information. Although all Presidents have given an annual message, its form has changed over time.
1 History
George Washington gave the first state of the union address on January 8, 1790 in New York City, then the provisional U.S. capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person, regarding it as too regalThis article treats the generic title monarch . For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek (and, as he was reported to have had a raspy voice). Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 19131913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. click on link for calendar) Events January-March January 30 House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill February 1 New York City's Grand Central Station opens as the world's largest train station. February 3 Th when Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson Order 28th President Term of Office Tuesday, March 4, 1913 Friday, March 4, 1921 Predecessor William Howard Taft Successor Warren G. Harding Date of Birth Sunday, December 28, 1856 Place of Birth Staunton, Virginia Date of Death Sunday, Feb re-established the practice despite some initial controversy.
For many years, the speech was referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress." The actual term "State of the Union" did not become widely used until after 1935Events January January 1 Italian colonies of Tripoli and Kyrenaika are joined together as Libya January 7 World War II: Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French foreign minister Pierre Laval conclude agreement in which each power undertakes not to oppo when Franklin Delano RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt Order 32nd President Term of Office March 4, 1933 April 12, 1945 Predecessor Herbert Hoover Successor Harry S. Truman Date of Birth January 30, 1882 Place of Birth Hyde Park, New York Date of Death April 12, 1945 Place of Death W began using the phrase.
Prior to 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne the annual message was delivered in DecemberDecember is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days. From the Latin decem for " ten" (it was originally the tenth month of the year, before January and February were inserted). The winter solstice falls in December.. The ratification of Amendment XXAmendment XX (the Twentieth Amendment of the United States Constitution, also called The Lame Duck Amendment establishes some details of presidential succession and of the beginning and ending of the terms of elected federal officials. It went into effect on January 23, 1933 changed the opening of Congress from early March to early January, affecting the delivery of the annual message. Since 1934, the message or address has been delivered to Congress in January or February.
Today, the speech is typically delivered on the last Tuesday in January, although there is no such provision written in law, and it varies from year to year. Since 1966, the speech has been followed by a response or rebuttal from members of the political party opposing the President's. The response is typically broadcast from a studio with no audience.
Calvin Coolidge's 1923 speech was the first to be broadcast on radio. Harry S. Truman's 1947 address was the first to be broadcast on television. Lyndon Johnson's address in 1965 was the first delivered in the evening. George W. Bush's 2002 address was the first broadcast available live on the world wide web.
