State of the Union 1946 to 1953 Author:Harry S. Truman "He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the — state of the Union..." The Constitution of the United States, under the — above words in Article II Section 3, require the President to give a — State of the Union message to the Congress from time to time on no set — schedule. Tradition has made this a yearly message from the Pre... more »sident to
Congress.
The message now is made in a speech by the President before
Congress, George Washington and John Adams delivered the message in
person. Then for more than 100 years after this the message was delivered
and read in the Congress. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, Presidents have
delivered the message in a speech before Congress.
The State of the Union usually has an important influnce on public
opinion. It has been used to bring forth important policy positions
such as the Monroe Doctrine.
The State of the Union messages in this compilation are from