Is it true that the State of the Union speech does not have to be delivered in person? What are some of the traditions involved with it? Washington, D.C. - 2/28/01
The President delivers his State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. Click on picture for larger image |
It is true. Our first two Presidents, George Washington and John Adams, delivered the address to
Congress in person. However, President Thomas Jefferson, consistent with his aversion to any
practice that resembled British royal behavior, sent his State of the Union addresses to Congress
in writing, and they were read to the chamber by a Clerk of the House. For over the next 100
years, Presidents continued to submit written State of the Union speeches.
President Woodrow Wilson broke with the written tradition in 1913. Since Wilson, every
President except Herbert Hoover has delivered most, if not all, of his State of the Union
addresses in person. The first televised State of the Union speech was President Harry Truman's
in 1947. With television in mind, President Lyndon Johnson became the first President to shift
the time of the State of the Union message from during the day to a prime-time evening hour.
The advent of television and radio coverage have undoubtedly influenced how Presidents choose
to deliver their addresses. Although they began as fairly dry routine summaries of planned
activities and past accomplishments, State of the Union addresses have evolved into more
important and dramatic events. The entrance of the President into the House chamber has
become almost a political rite, there are "guest stars" in the galleries symbolizing points made in
the speech, and Presidents are now expected to offer new policy proposals as part of their annual
State of the Union address.
Article II, section 3 of the Constitution requires a State of the Union address. It says of the
President:
He 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 . . .
Congress convenes in joint session, in the House chamber, to hear the State of the Union
message. Also present are the Vice-President, the President's Cabinet, the Supreme Court
Justices, and foreign diplomats. The night of the State of the Union speech is the one night all
individuals in the line of succession to the presidency are present together in one place. As a
result, one Cabinet Member is asked to stay safely away from the Capitol that evening, for national security reasons, in case
the unthinkable were to occur to the rest. The choice of absentee official is rotated among the
Cabinet from year to year. In 2001, the designate was Anthony J. Principi, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The 2000 absentee was Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. In 1999, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo, stayed away and in 1998, the absentee was William Daley, Secretary of Commerce.
For more history and background on the State of the Union message, visit Stand and Deliver.
