Franklin D. Roosevelt s State of the Union Address, 1942

Roosevelt Administration
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt

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* * *

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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. 6, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his ninth 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]

## Contents

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

## State of the Union address[edit]

### Video[edit]

### Transcript[edit]

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

“  |

IN FULFILLING my duty to report upon the State of the Union, I am proud to say to you that the spirit of the American people was never higher than it is today—the Union was never more closely knit together—this country was never more deeply determined to face the solemn tasks before it.

The response of the American people has been instantaneous, and it will be sustained until our security is assured.

Exactly one year ago today I said to this Congress: "When the dictators. . . are ready to make war upon us, they will not wait for an act of war on our part. . . . They—not we—will choose the time and the place and the method of their attack."

We now know their choice of the time: a peaceful Sunday morning— December 7, 1941.

We know their choice of the place: an American outpost in the Pacific.

We know their choice of the method: the method of Hitler himself.

Japan's scheme of conquest goes back half a century. It was not merely a policy of seeking living room: it was a plan which included the subjugation of all the peoples in the Far East and in the islands of the Pacific, and the domination of that ocean by Japanese military and naval control of the western coasts of North, Central, and South America.

The development of this ambitious conspiracy was marked by the war against China in 1894; the subsequent occupation of Korea; the war against Russia in 1904; the illegal fortification of the mandated Pacific islands following 1920; the seizure of Manchuria in 1931; and the invasion of China in 1937.

A similar policy of criminal conquest was adopted by Italy. The Fascists first revealed their imperial designs in Libya and Tripoli. In 1935 they seized Abyssinia. Their goal was the domination of all North Africa, Egypt, parts of France, and the entire Mediterranean world.

But the dreams of empire of the Japanese and Fascist leaders were modest in comparison with the gargantuan aspirations of Hitler and his Nazis. Even before they came to power in 1933, their plans for that conquest had been drawn. Those plans provided for ultimate domination, not of any one section of the world, but of the whole earth and all the oceans on it.

When Hitler organized his Berlin-Rome-Tokyo alliance, all these plans of conquest became a single plan. Under this, in addition to her own schemes of conquest, Japan's role was obviously to cut off our supply of weapons of war to Britain, and Russia and China- weapons which increasingly were speeding the day of Hitler's doom. The act of Japan at Pearl Harbor was intended to stun us—to terrify us to such an extent that we would divert our industrial and military strength to the Pacific area, or even to our own continental defense.

The plan has failed in its purpose. We have not been stunned. We have not been terrified or confused. This very reassembling of the Seventy-seventh Congress today is proof of that; for the mood of quiet, grim resolution which here prevails bodes ill for those who conspired and collaborated to murder world peace.

That mood is stronger than any mere desire for revenge. It expresses the will of the American people to make very certain that the world will never so suffer again.

Admittedly, we have been faced with hard choices. It was bitter, for example, not to be able to relieve the heroic and historic defenders of Wake Island. It was bitter for us not to be able to land a million men in a thousand ships in the Philippine Islands.

But this adds only to our determination to see to it that the Stars and Stripes will fly again over Wake and Guam. Yes, see to it that the brave people of the Philippines will be rid of Japanese imperialism; and will live in freedom, security, and independence.

Powerful and offensive actions must and will be taken in proper time. The consolidation of the United Nations' total war effort against our common enemies is being achieved.

That was and is the purpose of conferences which have been held during the past two weeks in Washington, and Moscow and Chungking. That is the primary objective of the declaration of solidarity signed in Washington on January 1, 1942, by 26 Nations united against the Axis powers.

Difficult choices may have to be made in the months to come. We do not shrink from such decisions. We and those united with us will make those decisions with courage and determination.

Plans have been laid here and in the other capitals for coordinated and cooperative action by all the United Nations—military action and economic action. Already we have established, as you know, unified command of land, sea, and air forces in the southwestern Pacific theater of war. There will be a continuation of conferences and consultations among military staffs, so that the plans and operations of each will fit into the general strategy designed to crush the enemy. We shall not fight isolated wars—each Nation going its own way. These 26 Nations are united-not in spirit and determination alone, but in the broad conduct of the war in all its phases.

For the first time since the Japanese and the Fascists and the Nazis started along their blood-stained course of conquest they now face the fact that superior forces are assembling against them. Gone forever are the days when the aggressors could attack and destroy their victims one by one without unity of resistance. We of the United Nations will so dispose our forces that we can strike at the common enemy wherever the greatest damage can be done him.

The militarists of Berlin and Tokyo started this war. But the massed, angered forces of common humanity will finish it.

Destruction of the material and spiritual centers of civilization-this has been and still is the purpose of Hitler and his Italian and Japanese chessmen. They would wreck the power of the British Commonwealth and Russia and China and the Netherlands—and then combine all their forces to achieve their ultimate goal, the conquest of the United States.

They know that victory for us means victory for freedom. They know that victory for us means victory for the institution of democracy— the ideal of the family, the simple principles of common decency and humanity.

They know that victory for us means victory for religion. And they could not tolerate that. The world is too small to provide adequate "living room" for both Hitler and God. In proof of that, the Nazis have now announced their plan for enforcing their new German, pagan religion all over the world—a plan by which the Holy Bible and the Cross of Mercy would be displaced by Mein Kampf and the swastika and the naked sword.

Our own objectives are clear; the objective of smashing the militarism imposed by war lords upon their enslaved peoples the objective of liberating the subjugated Nations—the objective of establishing and securing freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear everywhere in the world.

We shall not stop short of these objectives—nor shall we be satisfied merely to gain them and then call it a day. I know that I speak for the American people- and I have good reason to believe that I speak also for all the other peoples who fight with us—when I say that this time we are determined not only to win the war, but also to maintain the security of the peace that will follow.

But we know that modern methods of warfare make it a task, not only of shooting and fighting, but an even more urgent one of working and producing.

Victory requires the actual weapons of war and the means of transporting them to a dozen points of combat.

It will not be sufficient for us and the other United Nations to produce a slightly superior supply of munitions to that of Germany, Japan, Italy, and the stolen industries in the countries which they have overrun.

The superiority of the United Nations in munitions and ships must be overwhelming—so overwhelming that the Axis Nations can never hope to catch up with it. And so, in order to attain this overwhelming superiority the United States must build planes and tanks and guns and ships to the utmost limit of our national capacity. We have the ability and capacity to produce arms not only for our own forces, but also for the armies, navies, and air forces fighting on our side.

And our overwhelming superiority of armament must be adequate to put weapons of war at the proper time into the hands of those men in the conquered Nations who stand ready to seize the first opportunity to revolt against their German and Japanese oppressors, and against the traitors in their own ranks, known by the already infamous name of "Quislings." And I think that it is a fair prophecy to say that, as we get guns to the patriots in those lands, they too will fire shots heard 'round the world.

This production of ours in the United States must be raised far above present levels, even though it will mean the dislocation of the lives and occupations of millions of our own people. We must raise our sights all along the production line. Let no man say it cannot be done. It must be done—and we have undertaken to do it.

I have just sent a letter of directive to the appropriate departments and agencies of our Government, ordering that immediate steps be taken:

First, to increase our production rate of airplanes so rapidly that in this year, 1942, we shall produce 60,000 planes, 10,000 more than the goal that we set a year and a half ago. This includes 45,000 combat planes- bombers, dive bombers, pursuit planes. The rate of increase will be maintained and continued so that next year, 1943, we shall produce 125,000 airplanes, including 100,000 combat planes.

Second, to increase our production rate of tanks so rapidly that in this year, 1942, we shall produce 45,000 tanks; and to continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall produce 75,000 tanks.

Third, to increase our production rate of anti-aircraft guns so rapidly that in this year, 1942, we shall produce 20,000 of them; and to continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall produce 35,000 anti-aircraft guns.

And fourth, to increase our production rate of merchant ships so rapidly that in this year, 1942, we shall build 6,000,000 deadweight tons as compared with a 1941 completed production of 1,100,000. And finally, we shall continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall build 10,000,000 tons of shipping.

These figures and similar figures for a multitude of other implements of war will give the Japanese and the Nazis a little idea of just what they accomplished in the attack at Pearl Harbor.

And I rather hope that all these figures which I have given will become common knowledge in Germany and Japan.

Our task is hard- our task is unprecedented—and the time is short. We must strain every existing armament-producing facility to the utmost. We must convert every available plant and tool to war production. That goes all the way from the greatest plants to the smallest—from the huge automobile industry to the village machine shop.

Production for war is based on men and women—the human hands and brains which collectively we call Labor. Our workers stand ready to work long hours; to turn out more in a day's work; to keep the wheels turning and the fires burning twenty-four hours a day, and seven days a week. They realize well that on the speed and efficiency of their work depend the lives of their sons and their brothers on the fighting fronts.

Production for war is based on metals and raw materials-steel, copper, rubber, aluminum, zinc, tin. Greater and greater quantities of them will have to be diverted to war purposes. Civilian use of them will have to be cut further and still further —and, in many cases, completely eliminated.

War costs money. So far, we have hardly even begun to pay for it. We have devoted only 15 percent of our national income to national defense. As will appear in my Budget Message tomorrow, [See APP Note.] our war program for the coming fiscal year will cost 56 billion dollars or, in other words, more than half of the estimated annual national income. That means taxes and bonds and bonds and taxes. It means cutting luxuries and other non-essentials. In a word, it means an "all-out" war by individual effort and family effort in a united country.

Only this all-out scale of production will hasten the ultimate all-out victory. Speed will count. Lost ground can always be regained- lost time never. Speed will save lives; speed will save this Nation which is in peril; speed will save our freedom and our civilization—and slowness has never been an American characteristic.

As the United States goes into its full stride, we must always be on guard against misconceptions which will arise, some of them naturally, or which will be planted among us by our enemies.

We must guard against complacency. We must not underrate the enemy. He is powerful and cunning—and cruel and ruthless. He will stop at nothing that gives him a chance to kill and to destroy. He has trained his people to believe that their highest perfection is achieved by waging war. For many years he has prepared for this very conflict- planning, and plotting, and training, arming, and fighting. We have already tasted defeat. We may suffer further setbacks. We must face the fact of a hard war, a long war, a bloody war, a costly war.

We must, on the other hand, guard against defeatism. That has been one of the chief weapons of Hitler's propaganda machine—used time and again with deadly results. It will not be used successfully on the American people.

We must guard against divisions among ourselves and among all the other United Nations. We must be particularly vigilant against racial discrimination in any of its ugly forms. Hitler will try again to breed mistrust and suspicion between one individual and another, one group and another, one race and another, one Government and another. He will try to use the same technique of falsehood and rumor-mongering with which he divided France from Britain. He is trying to do this with us even now. But he will find a unity of will and purpose against him, which will persevere until the destruction of all his black designs upon the freedom and safety of the people of the world.

We cannot wage this war in a defensive spirit. As our power and our resources are fully mobilized, we shall carry the attack against the enemy—we shall hit him and hit him again wherever and whenever we can reach him.

We must keep him far from our shores, for we intend to bring this battle to him on his own home grounds.

American armed forces must be used at any place in all the world where it seems advisable to engage the forces of the enemy. In some cases these operations will be defensive, in order to protect key positions. In other cases, these operations will be offensive, in order to strike at the common enemy, with a view to his complete encirclement and eventual total defeat.

American armed forces will operate at many points in the Far East.

American armed forces will be on all the oceans- helping to guard the essential communications which are vital to the United Nations.

American land and air and sea forces will take stations in the British Isles- which constitute an essential fortress in this great world struggle.

American armed forces will help to protect this hemisphere—and also help to protect bases outside this hemisphere, which could be used for an attack on the Americas.

If any of our enemies, from Europe or from Asia, attempt long-range raids by "suicide" squadrons of bombing planes, they will do so only in the hope of terrorizing our people and disrupting our morale. Our people are not afraid of that. We know that we may have to pay a heavy price for freedom. We will pay this price with a will. Whatever the price, it is a thousand times worth it. No matter what our enemies, in their desperation, may attempt to do to us- we will say, as the people of London have said, "We can take it." And what's more we can give it back and we will give it back—with compound interest.

When our enemies challenged our country to stand up and fight, they challenged each and every one of us. And each and every one of us has accepted the challenge—for himself and for his Nation.

There were only some 400 United States Marines who in the heroic and historic defense of Wake Island inflicted such great losses on the enemy. Some of those men were killed in action; and others are now prisoners of war. When the survivors of that great fight are liberated and restored to their homes, they will learn that a hundred and thirty million of their fellow citizens have been inspired to render their own full share of service and sacrifice.

We can well say that our men on the fighting fronts have already proved that Americans today are just as rugged and just as tough as any of the heroes whose exploits we celebrate on the Fourth of July.

Many people ask, "When will this war end?" There is only one answer to that. It will end just as soon as we make it end, by our combined efforts, our combined strength, our combined determination to fight through and work through until the end —the end of militarism in Germany and Italy and Japan. Most certainly we shall not settle for less.

That is the spirit in which discussions have been conducted during the visit of the British Prime Minister to Washington. Mr. Churchill and I understand each other, our motives and our purposes. Together, during the past two weeks, we have faced squarely the major military and economic problems of this greatest world war.

All in our Nation have been cheered by Mr. Churchill's visit. We have been deeply stirred by his great message to us. He is welcome in our midst, and we unite in wishing him a safe return to his home.

For we are fighting on the same side with the British people, who fought alone for long, terrible months, and withstood the enemy with fortitude and tenacity and skill.

We are fighting on the same side with the Russian people who have seen the Nazi hordes swarm up to the very gates of Moscow, and who with almost superhuman will and courage have forced the invaders back into retreat.

We are fighting on the same side as the brave people of China—those millions who for four and a half long years have withstood bombs and starvation and have whipped the invaders time and again in spite of the superior Japanese equipment and arms. Yes, we are fighting on the same side as the indomitable Dutch. We are fighting on the same side as all the other Governments in exile, whom Hitler and all his armies and all his Gestapo have not been able to conquer.

But we of the United Nations are not making all this sacrifice of human effort and human lives to return to the kind of world we had after the last world war.

We are fighting today for security, for progress, and for peace, not only for ourselves but for all men, not only for one generation but for all generations. We are fighting to cleanse the world of ancient evils, ancient ills.

Our enemies are guided by brutal cynicism, by unholy contempt for the human race. We are inspired by a faith that goes back through all the years to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: "God created man in His own image."

We on our side are striving to be true to that divine heritage. We are fighting, as our fathers have fought, to uphold the doctrine that all men are equal in the sight of God. Those on the other side are striving to destroy this deep belief and to create a world in their own image—a world of tyranny and cruelty and serfdom.

That is the conflict that day and night now pervades our lives. No compromise can end that conflict. There never has been—there never can be—successful compromise between good and evil. Only total victory can reward the champions of tolerance, and decency, and freedom, and faith.[4]

| ”

|
|

—President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D), Jan. 6, 1942 [5]

## 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.[6]

## 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.[7]

## 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.[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 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. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
5. ↑ The American Presidency Project, “State of the Union Address,” Jan. 6, 1942
6. ↑ United States Senate, "Opposition Response to the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 25, 2022
7. ↑ United States Senate, "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 23, 2022.
8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `History`

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