Presidents of the United States of America
The State of the Union Address
The U.S. Constitution requires (Article II, Section3) that the president report to Congress "from time to time" on the "State of the Union."
The President gives a State of the Union message to Congress each year. Presidents George Washington and John Adams delivered their messages in person. For more than 100 years after that, most Presidents sent a written message, which was read in Congress. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his message in person, as did Franklin D. Roosevelt and all Presidents after Roosevelt. Famous messages to Congress include the Monroe Doctrine and President Wilson's "Fourteen Points."
The first radio broadcast of the message occurred in 1923, and the 1947 address was the first televised.
Franklin Roosevelt referred to it as the "State of the Union Address," a title that became official during the Harry Truman administration.
Background Information:
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