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State of the Union

The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation.[3][4] The State of the Union Address generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.[5]

For the 2024 State of the Union address, see 2024 State of the Union Address. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation).

The address fulfills the requirement in Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution for the president to periodically "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."[3] During most of the country's first century, the president primarily submitted only a written report to Congress. After 1913, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, began the regular practice of delivering the address to Congress in person as a way to rally support for the president's agenda, while also submitting a more detailed report.[3] With the advent of radio and television, the address is now broadcast live in all United States time zones on many networks.[6]


The speech is generally held in January or February, and an invitation to the president is extended to use the chamber of the House by the speaker of the House. Starting in 1981, Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, began the practice of newly inaugurated presidents delivering an address to Congress in the first year of their term but not designating that speech an official "State of the Union".[7]

Significance[edit]

Although much of the pomp and ceremony behind the State of the Union address is governed by tradition rather than law, in modern times, the event is seen as one of the most important in the US political calendar. It is one of the few instances when all three branches of the US government are assembled under one roof: members of both houses of Congress constituting the legislature, the president and Cabinet constituting the executive, and the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court constituting the judiciary. In addition, the military is represented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while foreign governments are represented by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. The address has also been used as an opportunity to honor the achievements of some ordinary Americans, who are typically invited by the president to sit with the First Lady.[48]

Local versions[edit]

Certain U.S. states have a similar annual address given by the governor. For most of them, it is called the State of the State address. In Iowa, it is called the Condition of the State Address; in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the speech is called the State of the Commonwealth address. The mayor of the District of Columbia gives a State of the District address. American Samoa has a State of the Territory address given by the governor. Puerto Rico has a State Address given by the governor. In Guam, the governor delivers an annual State of the Island Address.


Some cities or counties also have an annual State of the City Address given by the mayor, county commissioner or board chair, including Sonoma County, California; Orlando, Florida; Gwinnett County, Georgia;[56] Cincinnati, Ohio; New Haven, Connecticut; Parma, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; Buffalo, New York; Rochester, New York; San Antonio, Texas; McAllen, Texas; and San Diego, California. The Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in Nashville, Tennessee gives a speech similar called the State of Metro Address. Some university presidents give a State of the University address at the beginning of every academic term.[57][58] Some elementary and secondary schools and school districts also hold a "State of the School(s)" address at the beginning of each calendar year. Private companies usually have a "State of the Corporation" or "State of the Company" address given by the respective CEO.[59] As well, the commissioners of some North American professional sports leagues, in particular Major League Soccer and the Canadian Football League, deliver annual "State of the League" addresses, usually in conjunction with events surrounding their respective leagues' championship games.


The State of the Union model has also been adopted by the European Union.[60] In France, president Emmanuel Macron initiated a similar event in 2017, again in 2018, but the practice did not continue the following years.


In Spain, the Congress of Deputies adopted the tradition under the name "Debate on the State of the Nation" in 1983. The Prime Minister gives an address for an undetermined length of time, and afterwards each of the parliamentary groups have the chance to respond in an address with a maximum length of thirty minutes. These are sorted by the amount of deputies that each parliamentary group holds, thus starting with the Leader of the Opposition. Since its creation, it has taken place in every non-election year except for 2021, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was forced to cancel it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[61][62]

President first stated the Monroe Doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress on December 2, 1823. It became a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets, and would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.[63]

James Monroe

The were goals first articulated by Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941.[64] In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech, he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.[65]

Four Freedoms

During his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944, FDR proposed the . Roosevelt's argument was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness".[66] This was technically a "Message" and not a speech, as Roosevelt had "a case of the grippe" and could not come; there was no joint session, and a Senate clerk read the message. (Although he did manage to read it as a Fireside Chat over the radio, from his office that same day.)[67]

Second Bill of Rights

During his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson introduced legislation that would come to be known as the "". This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. The speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.[68][69]

War on Poverty

During his State of the Union address on January 15, 1975, very bluntly stated that "the state of the Union is not good: Millions of Americans are out of work...We depend on others for essential energy. Some people question their Government's ability to make hard decisions and stick with them; they expect Washington politics as usual." Ford said he did not "expect much if any, applause. The American people want action, and it will take both the Congress and the president to give them what they want. Progress and solutions can be achieved, and they will be achieved."[70]

Gerald R. Ford

List of State of the Union addresses

List of joint sessions of the United States Congress

State Opening of Parliament

Weekly address of the president of the United States

table of all State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to present, with additional data such as word count and guests, from the American Presidency Project at UCSB; as well as other documents related to the presidency

The American Presidency Project: State of the Union Messages

at C-SPAN (since 1945)

State of the Union videos and transcripts

(Visualizations, statistical analysis, and searchable texts)

State of the Union

(in downloadable electronic file formats)

State of the Union Addresses of American Presidents (1790–2002)

RealClearPolitics.com

Top 10 State of the Union Addresses

: free access to political speeches by American and other politicians, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library

Corpus of Political Speeches