Q&A: Trump and the State of the Union address. Will he or won’t he deliver one? In person?.
The U. S. Constitution spells it out clearly in Article II, Section 3: 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.»
But the modern State of the Union address — the pageantry, the televised address and the agenda-setting message — is a far more recent tradition.
A look at the history of the State of the Union address as the White House weighs its response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s suggestion that President Donald Trump delay this year’s address or give it in writing due to the partial government shutdown:
Q: Who delivered the first State of the Union address?
A: George Washington on Jan. 8,1790, in New York.
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Q: Does it have to be a speech?
A: No. For his first address on Dec. 8,1801, Thomas Jefferson sent written copies to both houses of Congress to be read by each chamber’s clerks. Jefferson wanted to simplify what he believed was an aristocratic imitation of the British monarch’s speech from the throne, which he thought ill-suited for a republic. The practice of sending written copies to Congress continued for more than a century.
Woodrow Wilson later resumed the tradition of delivering the annual message in person on April 8,1913.
