Order Code RS20021
Updated January 23, 2004
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The President’s State of the Union Message:
Frequently Asked Questions
Thomas H. Neale
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The Constitution mandates that the President “shall from time to time give to the
Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration
such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” The President’s State of the
Union Message and address were known as the President’s Annual Message to Congress
until well into the 20th century. Presidents Washington and Adams delivered their
messages to Congress in person, but President Jefferson abandoned the practice as
“monarchical” and time consuming, sending written messages instead. This precedent
was followed until President Wilson personally appeared before Congress in 1913.
President Franklin Roosevelt adopted Wilson’s practice of personal delivery, and it has
since become a contemporary tradition. With the advent of radio (1923) and television
(1947) coverage of the address, it gained great importance by providing a nationwide
platform for the President.
Today, the annual State of the Union Message is usually delivered by the President
at an evening joint session of Congress during the second, third, or fourth week of
January. However, some Presidents have chosen not to deliver a State of the Union
Message the year they were inaugurated, or, in some cases, in the January just prior to
their departure from office. Now broadcast and web cast to a “prime time” national and
international audience, the address serves several functions: as a report to Congress and
the nation on national conditions; as a platform to announce and rally support for the
President’s legislative agenda for the coming year; and as a unique opportunity for the
chief executive to convey personally his vision for the nation to Congress and the
American people. In order to ensure continuity of government, one cabinet officer and,
as of 2003, selected Members of Congress, are absent from the Capitol during the
address.
This report takes the format of answers to frequently asked questions about the
State of the Union Message and address. It will be updated annually.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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What is the State of the Union Message? The State of the Union Message
is a communication from the President of the United States to Congress and the nation in
which the chief executive reports on conditions in the United States and, sometimes,
around the world, recommends a legislative program for the coming session of Congress,
and frequently presents his views about and vision for the present and future.
What Section of the Constitution Authorizes the Message? Article II,
Section 3, clause 1 of the United States Constitution authorizes the State of the Union
Message, stating: “He [the President] shall from time to time give to the Congress
Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;”
When Was the First State of the Union Message Delivered, and by
Which President? What Was the Early Practice? President George Washington
delivered the first regular annual message before a joint session of Congress, in New
York, on January 8, 1790. During the administrations of Presidents Washington and John
Adams, the President customarily appeared before a joint session of Congress to deliver
the address personally. Each house subsequently debated and approved official replies
to the President’s message, which were then delivered personally to the President by
delegations of Senators and Representatives.
When Did the President Stop Delivering the Message Personally, and
Why? How Long Did this Practice Persist? President Thomas Jefferson changed
the procedure followed by his predecessors with his first annual message (December 8,
1801). His private secretary delivered copies of the message to both houses of Congress,
to be read by clerks in the House and Senate. Jefferson’s change was intended to simplify
a ceremony that he believed to be an aristocratic imitation of the British monarch’s
Speech from the Throne, and thus unsuitable to a republic. Further, preparing a response
in Congress consumed valuable time during short legislative sessions.
Who Revived the Tradition of Personal Presidential Appearances?
Jefferson’s precedent was followed until April 8, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson
appeared before Congress to deliver personally a special message on tariff and bank
reform. President Wilson is also widely credited with expanding the scope of the annual
message, transforming it from a report on the activities of the executive departments into
a blueprint for the President’s legislative program for the coming congressional session
and year. Wilson subsequently delivered six of his annual messages in person (1913-
1918); President Warren Harding, two (1921 and 1922); and President Calvin Coolidge,
one (1923). President Herbert Hoover made no personal appearances before Congress.
President Franklin Roosevelt established the personal appearance as a permanent tradition
with his 1934 State of the Union Message, but he and several later chief executives also
chose to deliver a written message in preference to a personal appearance on at least one
occasion.
How Many Annual or State of the Union Messages Have Been
Delivered? When and Where Does the Ceremony Take Place? Has the
Message Always Been Known by this Name?
As of January 20, 2004, 215 annual
messages and State of the Union Messages had been delivered by Presidents; of these, 71
were delivered in person by the chief executive.

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Until the 20th amendment changed the opening time for congressional sessions, the
annual message was delivered in December. Since 1934, messages have been delivered
on a range of dates, between January 3 and February 2 of each year. The State of the
Union Message is now customarily delivered at the Capitol, in the chamber of the House
of Representatives, before a joint session of both houses of Congress.
The message was generally known as “the President’s Annual Message to Congress”
until well into the 20th century. Although some historians suggest that the phrase “State
of the Union” emerged only after World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1934
message is identified in his papers as his “Annual Message to Congress on the State of
the Union.” According to the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, it was
known informally as the State of the Union Address from 1942 to 1946, and has been
known “generally” by the same name since 1947.1
Which Was the Shortest Message? The Longest? What Is the Average
Length of Messages in Modern Times? Most evidence on the length of State of
the Union Messages is anecdotal, as comprehensive information has not been collected;
for the record, however, President Washington’s first annual message was surely one of
the shortest, comprising only 833 words. If contemporary speech delivery guidelines
(which range from 115 to 175 words per minute) are used to calculate the length of time
he spoke, Washington would have taken between four and seven minutes to deliver his
first message. This estimate does not account for interruptions for any applause he may
have received, although this was perhaps unlikely, given the solemnity attached to the
proceedings at that time. According to various sources, President Harry Truman’s 1946
message was the longest to date, at over 25,000 words. This was a unique effort,
however, as it combined both the State of the Union and Annual Budget Messages, and
was not delivered personally by the President.2 Following Jefferson’s abandonment of
personal delivery, annual messages tended to grow in length throughout the 19th century,
often reaching more than 10,000 words, and became, in effect, an annual report from the
executive branch to Congress. This trend was reversed by Wilson and Franklin
Roosevelt’s return to the practice of personal delivery. Today, the message tends to be
measured in delivery time, rather than in the number of words it contains. For instance,
President George W. Bush’s 2004 message took 54 minutes to deliver, and was
interrupted by applause 71 times.3
Which President Delivered the Most Messages? Which the Fewest?
Has Any President Not Delivered a Message? The longest serving President,
Franklin Roosevelt, holds the record for the most State of the Union Messages
delivered—12—of which 10 were personal appearances before Congress. President
Zachary Taylor submitted only one written annual message, in 1849. Two Presidents did
not serve long enough to submit an annual message: William Henry Harrison, who died
1 “State of the Union,” available at [ http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/stateoftheunion.pdf], visited
Jan. 30, 2003.
2 Seymour H. Fersh, The View from the White House: A Study of the Presidential State of the
Union Messages
(Washington: Public Affairs Press, 1961) pp. 110-111.
3 Dana Milbank and Mike Allen, “Bush Defends War, Economic Policy,” Washington Post, Jan.
21, 2004, p. A16.

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in 1841, 32 days after his inauguration, and James A. Garfield, who was assassinated in
1881 and served only 199 days.4
How Have Advances in Communications Technology Affected the
Message? President Coolidge delivered the first annual message to be broadcast by
radio, in 1923. President Truman’s 1947 State of the Union Message was the first to be
broadcast by television. Free air time for the President’s message and the opposition
response is currently provided as a public service by commercial, public broadcast, and
cable networks. In a recent development, President George W. Bush’s 2002 address was
the first to be made available as a live web cast on the world wide web from the White
House web site. The advent of mass electronic communications dramatically affected the
format, audience, and impact of the message. Commanding a steadily-growing audience
of listeners and viewers, successive Presidents learned to use the occasion as an appeal
to the nation: the message evolved from being a report to Congress to a direct address to
the American people, a platform from which the President announced, explained, and
promoted his legislative agenda for the coming year. President Lyndon Johnson
recognized the importance of the national audience in 1965, when he changed the time
for his State of the Union Message from the traditional mid-afternoon to 9:00 P.M., the
better to attract the largest number of television viewers, a practice all his successors have
continued. The message traditionally draws a large audience: President George W.
Bush’s 2004 address was viewed by an estimated 43.4 million people (according to
Nielsen Media Research), down from an estimated 62.1 million in 2003.5 The largest
audience recorded in recent years was 66.9 million, for President William Clinton’s 1993
speech on Administration goals (not a State of the Union Address), while President
Clinton’s 2000 address attracted the fewest viewers in recent times, 31.5 million.6
What Procedures Are Currently Followed When the President Delivers
the Message? A House concurrent resolution, agreed to by both chambers, sets aside
a certain date and time for a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate
“for receiving such communication as the President of the United States shall be pleased
to make to them.”7 At the appointed time, the Senators cross the Capitol to the House
chamber, where seats are reserved for them at the front of the chamber. The Speaker and
the Vice President (in his capacity as President of the Senate) occupy seats at the dais, and
the Speaker presides. Aside from reserved places for leadership, seats in the chamber are
not assigned to particular Members.8 The President is then escorted to the chamber by
a specially-appointed committee of Members from both houses; upon entering the
chamber, he is announced by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives. The
Speaker then introduces the President, who then delivers his address.
4 As noted previously, prior to the 20th amendment, Congress did not assemble until December
in most years, by which time both Harrison and Garfield had died.
5 Steve Gorman, “TV Viewership for Bush State of the Union Slips,” Reuters, Jan. 21, 2004.
6 “Briefly Noted,” Electronic Media, Feb. 3, 2003, p. 14.
7 H.Con.Res. 349, 108th Cong., 2nd sess.
8 Seats in the well of the House chamber are also reserved for the President’s Cabinet, any
Justices of the Supreme Court who choose to attend (in 2004 only Associate Justice Stephen G.
Breyer was present), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Members of the diplomatic corps, who are
seated in the gallery, also frequently attend.

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One late 20th century innovation was the opposition response to the State of the
Union Message.9 In 1966, Senator Everett Dirksen and Representative Gerald Ford made
a televised joint Republican response to President Johnson’s message, a practice that has
since become a regular feature, and is usually broadcast shortly after the President has
completed his remarks. The format for the opposition response varies, but it usually
includes remarks by one or more party leaders (almost always Senators, Representatives,
or state governors), who are nationally known, or are considered to be promising
emerging political figures. In a more recent innovation, initiated by President Ronald
Reagan, the chief executive will frequently invite citizens who have distinguished
themselves in some field of service or endeavor to be his personal guests in the gallery.
Usually, the achievements or programs for which the President publicly salutes them also
serve to underscore some major element of his message.
What Precautions Are Taken at the Address to Assure Continuity of
Government? Customarily, one member of the President’s Cabinet does not attend.
This precaution is taken in order to provide continuity in the presidency in the event a
catastrophe were to result in the death or disablement of the President, the Vice President,
and other officials in the line of presidential succession gathered in the House chamber.
For example, Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans did not attend President George
W. Bush’s January 20, 2004 State of the Union Address.10 In a post-September 11, 2001,
development that began with the 2003 address, congressional leadership responded to
increased concern over security by designating two Members of each house of Congress,
representing both parties, to be absent from the Capitol during the President’s speech.
Members absent from the 2004 address were Senators Trent Lott and Harry Reid and
Representatives Christopher Cox and George Miller.11
In Contemporary Practice, Is There a State of the Union Message Every
Year? There have been occasional variations in presidential practices concerning the
State of the Union Message since World War II. For instance, the past four Presidents
(Ronald Reagan in 1981, George H. W. Bush in 1989, William Clinton in 1993, and
George W. Bush in 2001) have chosen not to give an official State of the Union Message
the year they were first inaugurated as President, having just previously delivered a
keynote inaugural address. In each instance their first speech to a joint session of
Congress closely followed their inauguration, but was not officially categorized as a
“State of the Union Message.”12 One observer noted in 1993 that by not calling such an
address “State of the Union,” the President could present a more focused message, while
still deriving “the benefits of a joint session; nothing competes with the pomp and
9 “Opposition” in this case refers to the party that does not control the presidency.
10 Cate Doty, “The Cabinet[:] A Not-Full House, by Design,” New York Times, Jan. 21, 2004,
p.A13. For further information on presidential succession, please consult CRS Report RL31761,
Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession, by Thomas H. Neale.
11 Ibid. For further information on the issue of continuity in government, please consult CRS
Report RS21089, Continuity of Government: Current Federal Arrangements and the Future, by
Harold C. Relyea.
12 For instance, President Clinton’s joint session appearance (Feb. 17, 1993) was styled “Address
... on Administration Goals,” while that of President George W. Bush (Feb. 27, 2001) was
identified as an address “to the Joint Session of Congress.”

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circumstances of the evening ....”13 Some recent Presidents have also preferred not to
deliver a State of the Union Message immediately prior to their departure from office,
although several have given farewell addresses in the last days of their presidencies.
President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell message, broadcast to the nation on January 17,
1961, became famous for its warnings against the “military-industrial complex.”
President Reagan delivered a televised farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office
on January 8, 1989, a practice followed by President Clinton on January 18, 2001.
Conversely, outgoing and incoming Presidents have occasionally given successive
State of the Union Messages within weeks of each other. For instance, President
Truman’s final message, delivered in printed form to Congress on January 7, 1953, was
closely followed by President Eisenhower’s first message, delivered in person at the
Capitol on February 2 of the same year. President Eisenhower’s last message was
delivered in printed form to Congress on January 12, 1961, and was similarly closely
followed by President John Kennedy’s first State of the Union address, which he
delivered personally before Congress on January 30.
Does the President Always Deliver the State of the Union Message
Personally? Since World War II, Presidents have occasionally chosen not to deliver
a State of the Union Message in person. As noted previously, President Truman sent his
last message only in printed form, a practice subsequently followed by Presidents
Eisenhower (1961) and Jimmy Carter (1981). In 1956, President Eisenhower was
recuperating from a heart attack, and was unable to deliver his message personally. From
his Key West, Florida, retreat, he prepared a seven-minute filmed summary of the
message that was subsequently broadcast nationwide.14 When President Richard Nixon
sent a multi-part printed message to Congress in 1973, his staff explained that “no oral
message was planned because it would follow closely on the heels of Nixon’s second
inaugural address.”15
13 Chuck Alston, “To Make That First Big Splash, Presidents Head for the Hill,” Congressional
Quarterly Weekly Report
, vol. 51, Feb. 13, 1993, p. 301.
14 Fersh, The View From the White House, p. 117.
15 “State of the Union,” Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, vol. 31, Jan. 13, 1973, p. 36.