State of the Union Fun Facts
If you ever thought the presidents State of the Union address was kind of like a made-for-tv movie youre not far off. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the Commander and Chief from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union. But of course the Constitution says nothing about television or even speaking for that matter. That part can be credited to contemporary times.
For a good chunk of our nations history, the State of the Union was simply a letter delivered from the Executive Office to Congress. This happened as recently as 1981 with Jimmy Carter.
Though the concept of giving it as a speech is nothing new. George Washington and John Adams both personally meet with Congress. Though, the tradition wasnt again picked up until Woodrow Wilson gave it as a speech in 1913.
Senior Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations Dr. James M. Lindsay wrote a special column for CNN containing all sort of State of the Union fun facts.
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