State of the Union Address

Including President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s 2024 address, there have been a total of 100 in-person Annual Messages/State of the Union Addresses. Since President Woodrow Wilson resumed the delivery of in-person addresses in 1913, there have been a total of 88 in-person addresses.

In 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt's address was read to a Joint Session of the House and Senate. Since the President did not deliver the address, it does not count as an in-person address.

Origins and Authorization

The formal basis for the State of the Union Address is from the U.S. Constitution:

• The President “shall from time to time give to the 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, Clause 1.

The constitutionally mandated presidential message has gone through a few name changes:

• It was formally known as the Annual Message from 1790 to 1946.
• It began to be informally called the "state of the Union" message/address from 1942 to 1946.
• Since 1947 it has officially been known as the State of the Union Address.

Earlier Annual Messages of the President included agency budget requests and general reports on the health of the economy. During the 20th century, Congress required more-specialized reports on these two aspects, separate from the Annual Message.

• Budget Message, required by the National Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (42 Stat. 20) to be delivered to Congress no more than two weeks after Congress convenes in January.
• Economic Report, required by the Employment Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 23), with a flexible delivery date.

Over time, as the message content changed, the focus of the State of the Union also changed:

• In the 19th century, the Annual Message was both a lengthy administrative report on the various departments of the executive branch and a budget and economic message.
• After 1913, when Woodrow Wilson revived the practice of presenting the message to Congress in person, it became a platform for the President to rally support for his agenda.
• Technological changes—radio, television, and the Internet—further developed the State of the Union into a forum for the President to speak directly to the American people.

Technological Change

• First radio broadcast of Message: President Calvin Coolidge, 1923.¹
• First television broadcast of Message: President Harry Truman, 1947.
• First televised evening delivery of Message: President Lyndon Johnson, 1965.
• First live webcast on Internet: President George W. Bush, 2002.
• First high definition television broadcast of Message: President George W. Bush, 2004.

The First Televised State of the Union Address

President Harry S. Truman's January 6, 1947, State of the Union Address before a Joint Session of Congress was the first shown on television.
Source: National Archives Records Administration

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President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1957 State of the Union Address

President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the first State of the Union Address of his second term on January 10, 1957.
Source: National Archives Records Administration

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President John F. Kennedy's 1961 State of the Union Address

President John F. Kennedy gave his first State of the Union Address on January 30, 1961.
Source: National Archives Records Administration

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President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 State of the Union Address

President Lyndon Baines Johnson delivered his first State of the Union Address on January 8, 1964.
Source: National Archives Records Administration

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