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The Daily Signal
The State of
the Union: What It Is and Why It Matters
Philip Wegmann
January 19, 2015
This Tuesday, President Obama will face the toughest crowd of his
presidency when he delivers his State of the Union address to the newly
controlled Republican Congress.
Each president’s State of the Union offers a distinct historical
snapshot while continuing an enduring constitutional tradition.
The president is expected to underscore past policy victories, like
Obamacare, while outlining future initiatives, including federally
subsidized community college and accompanying tax increases.
More than an administrative photo-op, each State of the Union exists as
a historical microcosm of a particular moment in the American
experience.
During the 1862 State of the Union, as the Civil War tore the nation
asunder, President Abraham Lincoln urged Congress to abolish slavery to
preserve freedom. When Nazi tyranny threatened European liberty,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt used his address to urge a neutral
Congress to resupply America’s future allies.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivering the State of the Union
address on Jan. 4, 1939. (Photo: Everett Collection/Newscom)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivering the State of the Union
address on Jan. 4, 1939. (Photo: Everett Collection/Newscom)
Before Congress in his 1965 address, President Lyndon B. Johnson
outlined his Great Society, a conglomeration of liberal assistance
programs. Then in 1996, President Bill Clinton announced historic
welfare reform declaring that “the era of big government is over.”
From George Washington to Barack Obama, each address has punctuated a
specific historical American epoch.
A constitutional cornerstone, the annual State of the Union hallmarks
the institution of democratic mixed government. Article II, Section 3
of the Constitution mandates that the president “shall from time to
time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.”
Unlike the British crown in Parliament model, the U.S. executive only
addresses Congress at the express consent of a coequal legislature.
When invited by the speaker of the House, the president must give an
account for the health of the union.
Once a year for this address, the whole government gathers in the House
chamber as representatives sit next to senators as well as Supreme
Court justices and cabinet secretaries.
In 1790, George Washington first fulfilled this responsibility
delivering the address, in person and verbally to Congress, then housed
in New York City.
Concerned that an oral address smacked of monarchical ceremony and
privilege, President Thomas Jefferson presented Congress with a written
address in 1803. Following suit for the next century, each subsequent
president submitted written addresses.
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson broke the mold.
A vocal progressive and proponent of increased executive authority,
Wilson chose to deliver the address directly, a controversial decision.
On the eve of his speech, one newspaper headline captured the mood of
the nation, “Wilson to Read Message in House: Washington Amazed.”
Addressing Congress
Since Wilson, presidents have read their State of the Union addresses
in person (with a few exceptions). With the advent of mass media, the
speech has developed a more democratic flavor as presidents address
both Congress and the nation.
In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge, otherwise known for his silence,
was first to give an address broadcasted over radio. President Harry
Truman did it on live television in 1947. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson was
the first to deliver during primetime.
President George W. Bush was the first to provide a live webcast of his
State of the Union in 2002, and the first to give his speech in
high-definition television in 2004.
Though required to give a thorough account during the State of the
Union, the length of different addresses varies.
Men of many words, but some kept it short
The shortest on record, Washington’s 1790 address, was little more than
three pages long with 1,089 words. Clinton gave the longest spoken
address packed with 9,190 words.
As unique as the administrations that authored them, each State of the
Union offers a distinct historical snapshot while continuing an
enduring constitutional tradition.
Read this article with photos and videos at The Daily Signal
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