The 2019 State of the Union address will officially take place February 5 . Here are the answer to a few query — from when the first address occurred to the story behind the opposition ’s response — that might come up while you ’re watching .
Why does the president give a State of the Union address to Congress every year?
The State of the Union computer address can line its roots back to the Constitution . Article II , segment 3 , article 1 of the Constitution say that the president " shall from time to sentence give to the Congress information of the State of the Union , and recommend to their Consideration such meter as he shall label necessary and expedient . "
When was the first State of the Union address?
" From fourth dimension to time " leaves the question of frequency opened to interpretation , but George Washington helped cement the State of the Union as an yearly event after he gave the first State of the Union address at Federal Hall in New York City in January 1790 .
Since there was n’t much of a blueprint for Washington , he praised the 1st Congress ’s oeuvre and delineate a abbreviated legislative program for the upcoming year : He wanted to sour on the U. S. Army , build stake roads , and make grow unvarying system of currency , weights , and measures . In December 1790 , Washington reach his second body politic of the Union address and firmly established it as an one-year effect — and the tradition that it take place near the last of the year . Until 1934 , the State of the Union was usually in December or November . This would alter to the beginning of the yr after the 20th amendment move the beginning of Congress up to January .
Has every president given an annual State of the Union address?
No . You ’ll note that the order from Article II , incision 3 of the Constitution does n’t say anything about a speech ; the president just has to keep Congress informed of what ’s going on in the nation . When Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801 , he decided that the idea of evidence up before Congress to deliver a grand address sounded like something a monarch would do , so he decided to bag the spoken language . Instead , he pen down an one-year substance and send off it to Congress , where a shop clerk read it out loud to the legislators .
evidently Chief Executive do n’t sleep together giving long voice communication any more than the rest of us do , because Jefferson ’s replacement jump on this newfangled system of rules . For over a century , every president choose to keep Congress informed through a written message rather than a spoken one ; these content were generally full of foresighted , exhaustive administrative and budget report rather than rousing political rhetoric . Two president — William Henry Harrison and James Garfield — didn’t give a State of the Union in any form due to dying ahead of time in their administration .
Which president brought the State of the Union address back?
Woodrow Wilson ultimately revived the sometime practice of delivering a language in 1913 . Even then , presidents have n’t always appear to give a speech . Since the 1913 revival of the practice , 19 State of the Union report have get along in spell grade , most late Carter ’s 1981 theme .
Who are all of the people crammed into the front of the House Chamber during the State of the Union address?
It ’s a big crew for the State of the Union . In increase to the members of Congress , the chairperson ordinarily has the Justices of the Supreme Court , the Joint Chiefs of Staff , and most of his cabinet seated at the front of the audience .
Who won’t be at the State of the Union address?
At least one member of the United States President ’s cabinet . Since the Cold War , one penis of the console has holed up in an undisclosed dependable location during liberal government gatherings like the State of the Union address and presidential inaugurations . This absent member is dubbed the " designated subsister . " In the unconvincing upshot that an attack or a disaster result to the deaths of all of the assembled leader , have a designated subsister hiding out somewhere secure assert the telephone line of presidential successiveness .
Since 2005 a few member of Congress have also appease by from big events so there would be at least a tiny legislature continue in the event of a disaster .
When was the first televised State of the Union address?
President Truman gave the first televised State of the Union in 1947 , but it did n’t become a primetime spectacle until 1965 . Lyndon B. Johnson decided to give his address in the evening that year , while late name and address had generally taken place during the day . At the time , LBJ was trying to sell Americans on his civic right field reforms and Great Society plans , so he decided to give the address at night in social club to reach the widest potential audience . The trick work , and it was the first State of the Union reference to be televised during the evening .
Can a president opt out of giving a State of the Union address?
Sort of . It does n’t really make a lot of sense for a newly inaugurated Chief Executive to deliver a State of the Union address after only having been in office for a few twenty-four hour period . Since Ronald Reagan ’s first term started in 1981 , new presidents have prefer to give a middling more specialized speech — generally about the economy — to a joint session of Congress . Although these speeches are accompanied by the familiar pomp and circumstance , they ’re not technically State of the Union addresses .
Which president started the parade of honored guests at the State of the Union?
Could such a Hollywood flourish have come from anyone other than Ronald Reagan ? His 1982 address was the first to feature personal guests that the president publicly agnize over the course of his speech . Openly gay NBA vet Jason Collins and two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombardment were among 2014 ’s guests . In2015 , former Cuba prisoner Alan Gross and astronaut Scott Kelly attended .
Notable client from preceding outcome include 12 - year - quondam music prodigy Tyrone Ford ( 1986 ) , baseball slugger Sammy Sosa ( 1999 ) and Hank Aaron ( 2000 ) , Baby Einstein founder Julie Aigner - Clark ( 2007 ) , and NBA star Dikembe Mutombo ( 2007 ) .
Why does the opposition party give a response right after the State of the Union address?
Which president gave the longest State of the Union address in history?
accord to the House of Representatives , Bill Clinton takes that award with a 1995 manner of speaking — over 9000 Word ( the medium modern address is in the neighborhood of 5000 news ) . And according to UCSB ’s American Presidency Project , the long sentence since 1966 was Clinton ’s 2000 actor’s line at nearly an 60 minutes and a half . Jimmy Carter guide the loot for longest spell speech at over 33,000 dustup .
A interlingual rendition of this post in the beginning appeared in 2010 and 2015 .
