Franklin D. Roosevelt s State of the Union Address, 1934

Roosevelt Administration
Presidential Addresses

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Presidential addresses

Recent addresses:
Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2024
Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2023
Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2022
Joe Biden's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 2021)

* * *

Historical addresses:

Select an address:Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2024Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2023Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2022Joe Biden's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 2021)Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2020Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2019Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2018Donald Trump's address to joint session of Congress (February 28, 2017)Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2016Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2015Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2013Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2012Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (September 8, 2011)Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2011Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2010Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (September 9, 2009)Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (February 24, 2009)George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2008George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2007George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2006George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2005George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2004George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2003George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2002George W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (September 20, 2001)George W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (February 27, 2001)Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 2000Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1999Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1998Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1997Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1996Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1995Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1994Bill Clinton's address to joint session of Congress (September 22, 1993)Bill Clinton's address to joint session of Congress (February 17, 1993)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1992George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (March 6, 1991)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1991George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (September 11, 1990)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1990George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (February 9, 1989)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1988Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1987Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1986Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (November 21, 1985)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1985Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1984Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (April 27, 1983)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1983Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1982Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 1981)Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (February 18, 1981)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1980Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (June 18, 1979)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1979Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (September 18, 1978)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1978Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (April 20, 1977)Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1977Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1976Gerald Ford's address to joint session of Congress (April 10, 1975)Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1975Gerald Ford's address to joint session of Congress (October 8, 1974)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1974Richard Nixon's address to joint session of Congress (June 1, 1972)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1972Richard Nixon's address to joint session of Congress (September 9, 1971)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1971Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1970Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1969Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1968Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1967Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1966Lyndon Johnson's address to joint session of Congress (March 15, 1965)Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1965Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1964Lyndon Johnson's address to joint session of Congress (November 27, 1963)John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1963John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1962John F. Kennedy's address to joint session of Congress (May 25, 1961)John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1961Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1960Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1959Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1958Dwight Eisenhower's address to joint session of Congress (January 5, 1957)Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1957Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1956Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1955Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1954Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1953Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (June 10, 1952)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1952Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1951Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1950Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1949Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (July 27, 1948)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (April 19, 1948)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (March 17, 1948)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1948Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (November 17, 1947)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (March 12, 1947)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1947Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (May 25, 1946)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1946Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (October 23, 1945)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (May 21, 1945)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (April 16, 1945)Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (March 1, 1945)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1945Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1944Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1943Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1942Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (December 8, 1941)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1941Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 16, 1940)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1940Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (September 21, 1939)Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (March 4, 1939)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1939Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1938Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1937Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1936Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 22, 1935)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1935Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 20, 1934)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1934Herbert Hoover's address to joint session of Congress (February 22, 1932)Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1932Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1931Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1930Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1929Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1928Calvin Coolidge's address to joint session of Congress (February 22, 1927)Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1927Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1926Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1925Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1924Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (February 7, 1923)Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1923Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (November 21, 1922)Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (August 18, 1922)Warren Harding's State of the Union Address, 1922Warren Harding's State of the Union Address, 1921Submit

On Jan. 3, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his first 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]

The 1934 address began the modern tradition of holding State of the Union speeches at the beginning of the year rather than the end. Before the  20th Amendment changed the time at which members of Congress began their terms in 1933, State of the Unions were mostly held in December.[4]

## Contents

* 1 State of the Union address
* 1.1 Transcript
* 2 Response to the State of the Union address
* 3 Designated survivor
* 4 Background
* 5 Footnotes

## State of the Union address[edit]

### Transcript[edit]

The following text is a transcript of Roosevelt's address, as prepared for delivery:

“  |

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senators and Representatives in Congress:

I COME before you at the opening of the Regular Session of the 73d Congress, not to make requests for special or detailed items of legislation; I come, rather, to counsel with you, who, like myself, have been selected to carry out a mandate of the whole people, in order that without partisanship you and I may cooperate to continue the restoration of our national wellbeing and, equally important, to build on the ruins of the past a new structure designed better to meet the present problems of modern civilization.

Such a structure includes not only the relations of industry and agriculture and finance to each other but also the effect which all of these three have on our individual citizens and on the whole people as a Nation.

Now that we are definitely in the process of recovery, lines have been rightly drawn between those to whom this recovery means a return to old methods—and the number of these people is small—and those for whom recovery means a reform of many old methods, a permanent readjustment of many of our ways of thinking and therefore of many of our social and economic arrangements. . . . .

Civilization cannot go back; civilization must not stand still. We have undertaken new methods. It is our task to perfect, to improve, to alter when necessary, but in all cases to go forward. To consolidate what we are doing, to make our economic and social structure capable of dealing with modern life is the joint task of the legislative, the judicial, and the executive branches of the national Government.

Without regard to party, the overwhelming majority of our people seek a greater opportunity for humanity to prosper and find happiness. They recognize that human welfare has not increased and does not increase through mere materialism and luxury, but that it does progress through integrity, unselfishness, responsibility and justice.

In the past few months, as a result of our action, we have demanded of many citizens that they surrender certain licenses to do as they please, in their business relationships; but we have asked this in exchange for the protection which the State can give against exploitation by their fellow men or by combinations of their fellow men.

I congratulate this Congress upon the courage, the earnestness and the efficiency with which you met the crisis at the Special Session. It was your fine understanding of the national problem that furnished the example which the country has so splendidly followed. I venture to say that the task confronting the First Congress of 1789 was no greater than your own.

I shall not attempt to set forth either the many phases of the crisis which we experienced last March, or the many measures which you and I undertook during the Special Session that we might initiate recovery and reform.

It is sufficient that I should speak in broad terms of the results of our common counsel. The credit of the Government has been fortified by drastic reduction in the cost of its permanent agencies through the Economy Act.

With the twofold purpose of strengthening the whole financial structure and of arriving eventually at a medium of exchange which over the years will have less variable purchasing and debt paying power for our people than that of the past, I have used the authority granted me to purchase all American-produced gold and silver and to buy additional gold in the world markets. Careful investigation and constant study prove that in the matter of foreign exchange rates certain of our sister Nations find themselves so handicapped by internal and other conditions that they feel unable at this time to enter into stabilization discussion based on permanent and world-wide objectives.

The overwhelming majority of the banks, both national and State, which reopened last spring, are in sound condition and have been brought within the protection of Federal insurance. In the case of those banks which were not permitted to reopen, nearly six hundred million dollars of frozen deposits are being restored to the depositors through the assistance of the national Government.

We have made great strides toward the objectives of the National Industrial Recovery Act, for not only have several millions of our unemployed been restored to work, but industry is organizing itself with a greater understanding that reasonable profits can be earned while at the same time protection can be assured to guarantee to labor adequate pay and proper conditions of work. Child labor is abolished. Uniform standards of hours and wages apply today to 95 percent of industrial employment within the field of the National Industrial Recovery Act. We seek the definite end of preventing combinations in furtherance of monopoly and in restraint of trade, while at the same time we seek to prevent ruinous rivalries within industrial groups which in many cases resemble the gang wars of the underworld and in which the real victim in every case is the public itself.

Under the authority of this Congress, we have brought the component parts of each industry together around a common table, just as we have brought problems affecting labor to a common meeting ground. Though the machinery, hurriedly devised, may need readjustment from time to time, nevertheless I think you will agree with me that we have created a permanent feature of our modernized industrial structure and that it will continue under the supervision but not the arbitrary dictation of Government itself.

You recognized last spring that the most serious part of the debt burden affected those who stood in danger of losing their farms and their homes. I am glad to tell you that refinancing in both of these cases is proceeding with good success and in all probability within the financial limits set by the Congress.

But agriculture had suffered from more than its debts. Actual experience with the operation of the Agricultural Adjustment Act leads to my belief that thus far the experiment of seeking a balance between production and consumption is succeeding and has made progress entirely in line with reasonable expectations toward the restoration of farm prices to parity. I continue in my conviction that industrial progress and prosperity can only be attained by bringing the purchasing power of that portion of our population which in one form or another is dependent upon agriculture up to a level which will restore a proper balance between every section of the country and between every form of work.

In this field, through carefully planned flood control, power development and land-use policies in the Tennessee Valley and in other, great watersheds, we are seeking the elimination of waste, the removal of poor lands from agriculture and the encouragement of small local industries, thus furthering this principle of a better balanced national life. We recognize the great ultimate cost of the application of this rounded policy to every part off the Union. Today we are creating heavy obligations to start the work because of the great unemployment needs of the moment. I look forward, however, to the time in the not distant future, when annual appropriations, wholly covered by current revenue, will enable the work to proceed under a national plan. Such a national plan will, in a generation or two, return many times the money spent on it; more important, it will eliminate the use of inefficient tools, conserve and increase natural resources, prevent waste, and enable millions of our people to take better advantage of the opportunities which God has given our country.

I cannot, unfortunately, present to you a picture of complete optimism regarding world affairs.

The delegation representing the United States has worked in close cooperation with the other American Republics assembled at Montevideo to make that conference an outstanding success. We have, I hope, made it clear to our neighbors that we seek with them future avoidance of territorial expansion and of interference by one Nation in the internal affairs of another. Furthermore, all of us are seeking the restoration of commerce in ways which will preclude the building up of large favorable trade balances by any one Nation at the expense of trade debits on the part of other Nations.

In other parts of the world, however, fear of immediate or future aggression and with it the spending of vast sums on armament and the continued building up of defensive trade barriers prevent any great progress in peace or trade agreements. I have made it clear that the United States cannot take part in political arrangements in Europe but that we stand ready to cooperate at any time in practicable measures on a world basis looking to immediate reduction of armaments and the lowering of the barriers against commerce.

I expect to report to you later in regard to debts owed the Government and people of this country by the Governments and peoples of other countries. Several Nations, acknowledging the debt, have paid in small part; other Nations have failed to pay. One Nation—Finland—has paid the installments due this country in full.

Returning to home problems, we have been shocked by many notorious examples of injuries done our citizens by persons or groups who have been living off their neighbors by the use of methods either unethical or criminal.

In the first category—a field which does not involve violations of the letter of our laws—practices have been brought to light which have shocked those who believed that we were in the past generation raising the ethical standards of business. They call for stringent preventive or regulatory measures. I am speaking of those individuals who have evaded the spirit and purpose of our tax laws, of those high officials of banks or corporations who have grown rich at the expense of their stockholders or the public, of those reckless speculators with their own or other people's money whose operations have injured the values of the farmers' crops and the savings of the poor.

In the other category, crimes of organized banditry, coldblooded shooting, lynching and kidnapping have threatened our security.

These violations of ethics and these violations of law call on the strong arm of Government for their immediate suppression; they call also on the country for an aroused public opinion.

The adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment should give material aid to the elimination of those new forms of crime which came from the illegal traffic in liquor.

I shall continue to regard it as my duty to use whatever means may be necessary to supplement State, local and private agencies for the relief of suffering caused by unemployment. With respect to this question, I have recognized the dangers inherent in the direct giving of relief and have sought the means to provide not mere relief, but the opportunity for useful and remunerative work. We shall, in the process of recovery, seek to move as rapidly as possible from direct relief to publicly supported work and from that to the rapid restoration of private employment.

It is to the eternal credit of the American people that this tremendous readjustment of our national life is being accomplished peacefully, without serious dislocation, with only a minimum of injustice and with a great, willing spirit of cooperation throughout the country.

Disorder is not an American habit. Self-help and self-control are the essence of the American tradition—not of necessity the form of that tradition, but its spirit. The program itself comes from the American people.

It is an integrated program, national in scope. Viewed in the large, it is designed to save from destruction and to keep for the future the genuinely important values created by modern society. The vicious and wasteful parts of that society we could not save if we wished; they have chosen the way of self-destruction. We would save useful mechanical invention, machine production, industrial efficiency, modern means of communication, broad education. We would save and encourage the slowly growing impulse among consumers to enter the industrial market place equipped with sufficient organization to insist upon fair prices and honest sales.

But the unnecessary expansion of industrial plants, the waste of natural resources, the exploitation of the consumers of natural monopolies, the accumulation of stagnant surpluses, child labor, and the ruthless exploitation of all labor, the encouragement of speculation with other people's money, these were consumed in the fires that they themselves kindled; we must make sure that as we reconstruct our life there be no soil in which such weeds can grow again.

We have plowed the furrow and planted the good seed; the hard beginning is over. If we would reap the full harvest, we must cultivate the soil where this good seed is sprouting and the plant is reaching up to mature growth.

A final personal word. I know that each of you will appreciate that. I am speaking no mere politeness when I assure you how much I value the fine relationship that we have shared during these months of hard and incessant work. Out of these friendly contacts we are, fortunately, building a strong and permanent tie between the legislative and executive branches of the Government. The letter of the Constitution wisely declared a separation, but the impulse of common purpose declares a union. In this spirit we join once more in serving the American people.[5]

| ”

|
|

—President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D), Jan. 3, 1934 [6]

## Response to the State of the Union address[edit]

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.[7]

## Designated survivor[edit]

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.[8]

## Background[edit]

The following table provides a list of annual and other presidential addresses delivered to joint sessions of Congress between 1790 and 2024. It does not include inaugurations. The information was compiled from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian.[9]

* 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 2024, 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 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[edit]

1. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," accessed February 3, 2020
2. ↑ CNN, "Harry Truman delivered the first ever State of the Union. (Really.)," Feb. 5, 2019
3. ↑ History, Art & Archives of the United States House of Representatives, "State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 28, 2022
4. ↑ Congressional Research Service "The President's State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," Jan. 16, 2015 (page 4)
5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
6. ↑ The American Presidency Project, “Annual Message to the Congress,” Jan. 3, 1934
7. ↑ United States Senate, "Opposition Response to the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 25, 2022
8. ↑ United States Senate, "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 23, 2022.
9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `History`

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