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Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1937
Roosevelt Administration Presidential Addresses  |
On Jan. 6, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his fourth State of the Union.
The State of the Union tradition stems from the U.S. Constitution's requirement that 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.”[1] The first State of the Union address was given by George Washington to both houses of Congress in 1790.
The annual address was not officially known as the State of the Union until 1947, when Harry S. Truman adopted the title that had been used informally during the later years of Roosevelt’s presidency.[2] Before 1947, the address was officially referred to as the Annual Message.[3]
State of the Union address
Transcript
The following text is a transcript of Roosevelt's address, as prepared for delivery:
| “ |
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Congress of the United States: For the first time in our national history a President delivers his Annual Message to a new Congress within a fortnight of the expiration of his term of office. While there is no change in the Presidency this year, change will occur in future years. It is my belief that under this new constitutional practice, the President should in every fourth year, in so far as seems reasonable, review the existing state of our national affairs and outline broad future problems, leaving specific recommendations for future legislation to be made by the President about to be inaugurated. At this time, however, circumstances of the moment compel me to ask your immediate consideration of: First, measures extending the life of certain authorizations and powers which, under present statutes, expire within a few weeks; second, an addition to the existing Neutrality Act to cover specific points raised by the unfortunate civil strife in Spain; and, third, a deficiency appropriation bill for which I shall submit estimates this week. In March, 1933, the problems which faced our Nation and which only our national Government had the resources to meet were more serious even than appeared on the surface. It was not only that the visible mechanism of economic life had broken down. More disturbing was the fact that long neglect of the needs of the underprivileged had brought too many of our people to the verge of doubt as to the successful adaptation of our historic traditions to the complex modern world. In that lay a challenge to our democratic form of Government itself. Ours was the task to prove that democracy could be made to function in the world of today as effectively as in the simpler world of a hundred years ago. Ours was the task to do more than to argue a theory. The times required the confident answer of performance to those whose instinctive faith in humanity made them want to believe that in the long run democracy would prove superior to more extreme forms of Government as a process of getting action when action was wisdom, without the spiritual sacrifices which those other forms of Government exact. That challenge we met. To meet it required unprecedented activities under Federal leadership to end abuses, to restore a large measure of material prosperity, to give new faith to millions of our citizens who had been traditionally taught to expect that democracy would provide continuously wider opportunity and continuously greater security in a world where science was continuously making material riches more available to man. In the many methods of attack with which we met these problems, you and I, by mutual understanding and by determination to cooperate, helped to make democracy succeed by refusing to permit unnecessary disagreement to arise between two of our branches of Government. That spirit of cooperation was able to solve difficulties of extraordinary magnitude and ramification with few important errors, and at a cost cheap when measured by the immediate necessities and the eventual results. I look forward to a continuance of that cooperation in the next four years. I look forward also to a continuance of the basis of that cooperation- mutual respect for each other's proper sphere of functioning in a democracy which is working well, and a common-sense realization of the need for play in the joints of the machine. On that basis, it is within the right of the Congress to determine which of the many new activities shall be continued or abandoned, increased or curtailed. On that same basis, the President alone has the responsibility for their administration. I find that this task of Executive management has reached the point where our administrative machinery needs comprehensive overhauling. I shall, therefore, shortly address the Congress more fully in regard to modernizing and improving the Executive branch of the Government. That cooperation of the past four years between the Congress and the President has aimed at the fulfillment of a twofold policy: first, economic recovery through many kinds of assistance to agriculture, industry and banking; and, second, deliberate improvement in the personal security and opportunity of the great mass of our people. The recovery we sought was not to be merely temporary. It was to be a recovery protected from the causes of previous disasters. With that aim in view—to prevent a future similar crisis-you and I joined in a series of enactments—safe banking and sound currency, the guarantee of bank deposits, protection for the investor in securities, the removal of the threat of agricultural surpluses, insistence on collective bargaining, the outlawing of sweat shops, child labor and unfair trade practices, and the beginnings of security for the aged and the worker. Nor was the recovery we sought merely a purposeless whirring of machinery. It is important, of course, that every man and woman in the country be able to find work, that every factory run, that business and farming as a whole earn profits. But Government in a democratic Nation does not exist solely, or even primarily, for that purpose. It is not enough that the wheels turn. They must carry us in the direction of a greater satisfaction in life for the average man. The deeper purpose of democratic government is to assist as many of its citizens as possible, especially those who need it most, to improve their conditions of life, to retain all personal liberty which does not adversely affect their neighbors, and to pursue the happiness which comes with security and an opportunity for recreation and culture. Even with our present recovery we are far from the goal of that deeper purpose. There are far-reaching problems still with us for which democracy must find solutions if it is to consider itself successful. For example, many millions of Americans still live in habitations which not only fail to provide the physical benefits of modern civilization but breed disease and impair the health of future generations. The menace exists not only in the slum areas of the very large cities, but in many smaller cities as well. It exists on tens of thousands of farms, in varying degrees, in every part of the country. Another example is the prevalence of an un-American type of tenant farming. I do not suggest that every farm family has the capacity to earn a satisfactory living on its own farm. But many thousands of tenant farmers, indeed most of them, with some financial assistance and with some advice and training, can be made self-supporting on land which can eventually belong to them. The Nation would be wise to offer them that chance instead of permitting them to go along as they do now, year after year, with neither future security as tenants nor hope of ownership of their homes nor expectation of bettering the lot of their children. Another national problem is the intelligent development of our social security system, the broadening of the services it renders, and practical improvement in its operation. In many Nations where such laws are in effect, success in meeting the expectations of the community has come through frequent amendment of the original statute. And, of course, the most far-reaching and the most inclusive problem of all is that of unemployment and the lack of economic balance of which unemployment is at once the result and the symptom. The immediate question of adequate relief for the needy unemployed who are capable of performing useful work, I shall discuss with the Congress during the coming months. The broader task of preventing unemployment is a matter of long-range evolutionary policy. To that we must continue to give our best thought and effort. We cannot assume that immediate industrial and commercial activity which mitigates present pressures justifies the national Government at this time in placing the unemployment problem in a filing cabinet of finished business. Fluctuations in employment are tied to all other wasteful fluctuations in our mechanism of production and distribution. One of these wastes is speculation. In securities or commodities, the larger the volume of speculation, the wider become the upward and downward swings and the more certain the result that in the long run there will be more losses than gains in the underlying wealth of the community. And, as is now well known to all of us, the same net loss to society comes from reckless overproduction and monopolistic underproduction of natural and manufactured commodities. Overproduction, underproduction and speculation are three evil sisters who distill the troubles of unsound inflation and disastrous deflation. It is to the interest of the Nation to have Government help private enterprise to gain sound general price levels and to protect those levels from wide perilous fluctuations. We know now that if early in 1931 Government had taken the steps which were taken two and three years later, the depression would never have reached the depths of the beginning of 1933. Sober second thought confirms most of us in the belief that the broad objectives of the National Recovery Act were sound. We know now that its difficulties arose from the fact that it tried to do too much. For example, it was unwise to expect the same agency to regulate the length of working hours, minimum wages, child labor and collective bargaining on the one hand and the complicated questions of unfair trade practices and business controls on the other. The statute of N.R.A. has been outlawed. The problems have not. They are still with us. That decent conditions and adequate pay for labor, and just return for agriculture, can be secured through parallel and simultaneous action by forty-eight States is a proven impossibility. It is equally impossible to obtain curbs on monopoly, unfair trade practices and speculation by State action alone. There are those who, sincerely or insincerely, still cling to State action as a theoretical hope. But experience with actualities makes it clear that Federal laws supplementing State laws are needed to help solve the problems which result from modern invention applied in an industrialized Nation which conducts its business with scant regard to State lines. During the past year there has been a growing belief that there is little fault to be found with the Constitution of the United States as it stands today. The vital need is not an alteration of our fundamental law, but an increasingly enlightened view with reference to it. Difficulties have grown out of its interpretation; but rightly considered, it can be used as an instrument of progress, and not as a device for prevention of action. It is worth our while to read and reread the preamble of the Constitution, and Article I thereof which confers the legislative powers upon the Congress of the United States. It is also worth our while to read again the debates in the Constitutional Convention of one hundred and fifty years ago. From such reading, I obtain the very definite thought that the members of that Convention were fully aware that civilization would raise problems for the proposed new Federal Government, which they themselves could not even surmise; and that it was their definite intent and expectation that a liberal interpretation in the years to come would give to the Congress the same relative powers over new national problems as they themselves gave to the Congress over the national problems of their day. In presenting to the Convention the first basic draft of the Constitution, Edmund Randolph explained that it was the purpose "to insert essential principles only, lest the operation of government should be clogged by rendering those provisions permanent and unalterable which ought to be accommodated to times and events." With a better understanding of our purposes, and a more intelligent recognition of our needs as a Nation, it is not to be assumed that there will be prolonged failure to bring legislative and judicial action into closer harmony. Means must be found to adapt our legal forms and our judicial interpretation to the actual present national needs of the largest progressive democracy in the modern world. That thought leads to a consideration of world problems. To go no further back than the beginning of this century, men and women everywhere were seeking conditions of life very different from those which were customary before modern invention and modern industry and modern communications had come into being. The World war, for all of its tragedy, encouraged these ,demands, and stimulated action to fulfill these new desires. Many national Governments seemed unable adequately to respond; and, often with the improvident assent of the masses of the people themselves, new forms of government were set up with oligarchy taking the place of democracy. In oligarchies, militarism has leapt forward, while in those Nations which have retained democracy, militarism has waned. I have recently visited three of our sister Republics in South America. The very cordial receptions with which I was greeted were in tribute to democracy. To me the outstanding observation of that visit was that the masses of the peoples of all the Americas are convinced that the democratic form of government can be made to succeed and do not wish to substitute for it any other form of government. They believe that democracies are best able to cope with the changing problems of modern civilization within themselves, and that democracies are best able to maintain peace among themselves. The Inter-American Conference, operating on these fundamental principles of democracy, did much to assure peace in this Hemisphere. Existing peace machinery was improved. New instruments to maintain peace and eliminate causes of war were adopted. Wider protection of the interests of the American Republics in the event of war outside the Western Hemisphere was provided. Respect for, and observance of, international treaties and international law were strengthened. Principles of liberal trade policies, as effective aids to the maintenance of peace, were reaffirmed. The intellectual and cultural relationships among American Republics were broadened as a part of the general peace program. In a world unhappily thinking in terms of war, the representatives of twenty-one Nations sat around a table, in an atmosphere of complete confidence and understanding, sincerely discussing measures for maintaining peace. Here was a great and a permanent achievement directly affecting the lives and security of the two hundred and fifty million human beings who dwell in this Western Hemisphere. Here was an example which must have a wholesome effect upon the rest of the world. In a very real sense, the Conference in Buenos Aires sent forth a message on behalf of all the democracies of the world to those Nations which live otherwise. Because such other Governments are perhaps more spectacular, it was high time for democracy to assert itself. Because all of us believe that our democratic form of government can cope adequately with modern problems as they arise, it is patriotic as well as logical for us to prove that we can meet new national needs with new laws consistent with an historic constitutional framework clearly intended to receive liberal and not narrow interpretation. The United States of America, within itself, must continue the task of making democracy succeed. In that task the Legislative branch of our Government will, I am confident, continue to meet the demands of democracy whether they relate to the curbing of abuses, the extension of help to those who need help, or the better balancing of our interdependent economies. So, too, the Executive branch of the Government must move forward in this task, and, at the same time, provide better management for administrative action of all kinds. The Judicial branch also is asked by the people to do its part in making democracy successful. We do not ask the Courts to call non-existent powers into being, but we have a right to expect that conceded powers or those legitimately implied shall be made effective instruments for the common good. The process of our democracy must not be imperiled by the denial of essential powers of free government. Your task and mine is not ending with the end of the depression. The people of the United States have made it clear that they expect us to continue our active efforts in behalf of their peaceful advancement. In that spirit of endeavor and service I greet the 75th Congress at the beginning of this auspicious New Year.[4] |
” |
| —President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D), Jan. 6, 1937 [5] | ||
Response to the State of the Union address
The first televised response to the state of the union was given in 1966. While opposition responses to the president's State of the Union address existed before then, they "came in the relatively ignored environment of the Senate or House Chamber or at local political events," and records documenting these events are largely unavailable.[6]
Designated survivor
Each year, a member of the president's Cabinet is chosen to stay in an undisclosed location outside of Washington, D.C. to assume the presidency in case of an attack on Congress, the president, and other high-ranking officials.
While designated survivors have been chosen since at least the 1960s, the federal government did not begin revealing the identity of the designated survivor to the public until 1984.[7]
Background
The following table provides a list of annual and other presidential addresses delivered to joint sessions of Congress between 1790 and 2025. It does not include inaugurations. Click the link in the Occasion or topic column to read more about each address. The information was compiled from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian.[8]
- President Woodrow Wilson (D), whose administration overlapped with World War I, delivered the most addresses: 23.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) followed with 19 addresses, which included a joint speech with the ambassador of France in 1934 and an address read before Congress on his behalf in 1945. World War II took place during his administration.
- President Harry S. Truman had the third-most addresses at 16. His administration covered the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
- Among presidents who served between 1981 and 2025, Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) and Barack Obama (D) delivered the most addresses with 11 and 10, respectively.
| Presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Session of Congress | Occasion or topic | President and other speaking dignitaries | |
| March 4, 2025 | 119th Congress | Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| March 7, 2024 | 118th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| February 7, 2023 | 118th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| March 1, 2022 | 117th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| April 28, 2021 | 117th Congress | Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| Feb. 4, 2020 | 116th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Feb. 5, 2019 | 116th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Jan. 30, 2018 | 115th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Feb. 28, 2017 | 115th Congress | Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Jan. 12, 2016 | 114th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 20, 2015 | 114th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 28, 2014 | 113th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Feb. 12, 2013 | 113th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 24, 2012 | 112th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Sept. 8, 2011 | 112th Congress | Address on American Jobs Act | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 25, 2011 | 112th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 27, 2010 | 111th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Sept. 8, 2009 | 111th Congress | Address on Health Care Reform | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Feb. 24, 2009 | 111th Congress | Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 28, 2008 | 110th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 23, 2007 | 110th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 31, 2006 | 109th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Feb. 2, 2005 | 109th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 20, 2004 | 108th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 28, 2003 | 108th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 29, 2002 | 107th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Sept. 20, 2001 | 107th Congress | Address on the War on Terrorism | President George W. Bush. | |
| Feb. 27, 2001 | 107th Congress | Budget Message | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 27, 2000 | 106th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 19, 1999 | 106th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 27, 1998 | 105th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Feb. 4, 1997 | 105th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 23, 1996 | 104th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 24, 1995 | 104th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 25, 1994 | 103rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Sept. 22, 1993 | 103rd Congress | Address on Health Care Reform | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Feb. 17, 1993 | 103rd Congress | Economic Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 28, 1992 | 102nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Mar. 6, 1991 | 102nd Congress | Conclusion of Persian Gulf War | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 29, 1991 | 102nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Sept. 11, 1990 | 101st Congress | Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 31, 1990 | 101st Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Feb. 9, 1989 | 101st Congress | Address on Building a Better America | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 25, 1988 | 100th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 27, 1987 | 100th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 4, 1986 | 99th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Nov. 21, 1985 | 99th Congress | Address on Geneva Summit | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 6, 1985 | 99th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 25, 1984 | 98th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Apr. 27, 1983 | 98th Congress | Address on Central America | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 25, 1983 | 98th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 26, 1982 | 97th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Apr. 28, 1981 | 97th Congress | Address on Economic Recovery--inflation | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 18, 1981 | 97th Congress | Address on Economic Recovery | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 23, 1980 | 96th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| June 18, 1979 | 96th Congress | Address on Salt II agreements | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Jan. 23, 1979 | 96th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Sept. 18, 1978 | 95th Congress | Address on Middle East Peace agreements | President Jimmy Carter; Joint session attended by Anwar El Sadat, President of Egypt, and by Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel. | |
| Jan. 19, 1978 | 95th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Apr. 20, 1977 | 95th Congress | Address on Energy | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Jan. 12, 1977 | 95th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 19, 1976 | 94th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Apr. 10, 1975 | 94th Congress | Address on State of the World | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 15, 1975 | 94th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Oct. 8, 1974 | 93rd Congress | Address on the Economy | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Aug. 12, 1974 | 93rd Congress | Assumption of office | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 30 1974 | 93rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| June 1, 1972 | 92nd Congress | Address on Europe trip | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 20, 1972 | 92nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Sept. 9, 1971 | 92nd Congress | Address on Economic policy | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 22, 1971 | 92nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 22, 1970 | 91st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 14, 1969 | 91st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 17, 1968 | 90th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 10, 1967 | 90th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 12, 1966 | 89th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Mar. 15, 1965 | 89th Congress | Voting rights | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 4, 1965 | 89th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 8, 1964 | 88th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Nov. 27, 1963 | 88th Congress | Assumption of office | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 14, 1963 | 88th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 11, 1962 | 87th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| May 25, 1961 | 87th Congress | Urgent national needs: foreign aid, defense, civil defense, and outer space | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 30, 1961 | 87th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 7, 1960 | 86th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 9, 1959 | 86th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 9, 1958 | 85th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 10, 1957 | 85th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 5, 1957 | 85th Congress | Address on the Middle East | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 6, 1955 | 84th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 7, 1954 | 83rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Feb. 2, 1953 | 83rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| June 10, 1952 | 82nd Congress | Address on Steel Strike | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 9, 1952 | 82nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 8, 1951 | 82nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 4, 1950 | 81st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 5, 1949 | 81st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| July 27, 1948 | 80th Congress | Address on inflation, housing, and civil rights | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Apr. 19, 1948 | 80th Congress | Address on 50th anniversary, liberation of Cuba | President Harry S. Truman; Guillermo Belt, Ambassador of Cuba. | |
| Mar. 17, 1948 | 80th Congress | National security and conditions in Europe | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 7, 1948 | 80th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Nov. 17, 1947 | 80th Congress | Address on Aid to Europe | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Mar. 12, 1947 | 80th Congress | Address on Greek-Turkish aid policy | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 6, 1947 | 80th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| May 25, 1946 | 79th Congress | Address on Railroad Strike | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Oct. 23, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Universal Military Training | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| May 21, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Bestowal of Congressional Medal of Honor to Tech. Sgt. Jake William Lindsey | General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Apr. 16, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Assumption of Office and War | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Mar. 1, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Yalta Conference | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1945 | 79th Congress | Annual Message | President Roosevelt was not present. His message was read before the Joint Session of Congress. | |
| Jan. 11, 1944 | 78th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 7, 1943 | 78th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1942 | 77th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Dec. 8, 1941 | 77th Congress | Address on the "Day of Infamy" | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1941 | 77th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 16, 1940 | 76th Congress | Address on National Defense | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1940 | 76th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Sept. 21, 1939 | 76th Congress | Address on Neutrality | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Mar. 4, 1939 | 76th Congress | Address on Sesquicentennial of the 1st Congress | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 4, 1939 | 76th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1938 | 75th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1937 | 75th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1936 | 74th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 22, 1935 | 74th Congress | Address on Budget Bill Veto | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 4, 1935 | 74th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 20, 1934 | 73rd Congress | Address on 100th anniversary of the death of the Marquis de Lafayette | Andre de Laboulaye, Ambassador of France; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; ceremony attended by Count de Chambrun, great-grandson of Lafayette. | |
| Jan. 3, 1934 | 73rd Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Feb. 22, 1932 | 72nd Congress | Address on bicentennial of George Washington's birth | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 6, 1932 | 72nd Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 8, 1931 | 72nd Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 2, 1930 | 71st Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 3, 1929 | 71st Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 4, 1928 | 70th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Feb. 22, 1927 | 70th Congress | Address on upcoming George Washington birthday bicentennial | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1927 | 70th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1926 | 69th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 8, 1925 | 69th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1924 | 68th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 3, 1923 | 68th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Feb. 7, 1923 | 67th Congress | Address on British debt due to the United States | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Dec. 8, 1922 | 67th Congress | Annual Message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Nov. 21, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on promotion of the American Merchant Marine | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Aug. 18, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on coal and railroad strikes | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Feb. 28, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on maintenance of the Merchant Marine | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Dec. 6, 1921 | 67th Congress | Annual Message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Apr. 12, 1921 | 67th Congress | Federal problem message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Aug. 8, 1919 | 66th Congress | Cost of living message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 2, 1918 | 65th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Nov. 11, 1918 | 65th Congress | Terms of armistice signed by Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| May 27, 1918 | 65th Congress | War finance message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 11, 1918 | 65th Congress | Peace message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 8, 1918 | 65th Congress | Program for world's peace | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 4, 1918 | 65th Congress | Federal operation of transportation systems | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 4, 1917 | 65th Congress | Annual Message/War with Austria-Hungary | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 2, 1917 | 65th Congress | War with Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 26, 1917 | 64th Congress | Arming of merchant ships | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 3, 1917 | 64th Congress | Severing diplomatic relations with Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 5, 1916 | 64th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Aug. 29, 1916 | 64th Congress | Railroad message (labor-management dispute) | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 7, 1915 | 64th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 8, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Sept. 4, 1914 | 63rd Congress | War tax message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 20, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Mexico message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Mar. 5, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Panama Canal tolls | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 20, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Trusts message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 2, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Aug. 27, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Mexican affairs message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| June 23, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Currency and bank reform message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 8, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Tariff message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Nov. 22, 1800 | 6th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 3, 1799 | 6th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 8, 1798 | 5th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Nov. 23, 1797 | 5th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| May 16, 1797 | 5th Congress | Relations with France | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 7, 1796 | 4th Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 8, 1795 | 4th Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Nov. 19, 1794 | 3rd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 3, 1793 | 3rd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Nov. 6, 1792 | 2nd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Oct. 25, 1791 | 2nd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 8, 1790 | 1st Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Jan. 8, 1790 | 1st Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
Footnotes
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," accessed February 3, 2020
- ↑ CNN, "Harry Truman delivered the first ever State of the Union. (Really.)," Feb. 5, 2019
- ↑ History, Art & Archives of the United States House of Representatives, "State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 28, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The American Presidency Project, “Annual Message to the Congress,” Jan. 6, 1937
- ↑ United States Senate, "Opposition Response to the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 25, 2022
- ↑ United States Senate, "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 23, 2022.
- ↑ United States House of Representatives, "Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations," accessed June 14, 2021
