List of State of the Union addresses

George W. Bush during his 2005 State of the Union address.

This is a list of State of the Union addresses. The State of the Union is the constitutionally mandated annual report by the president of the United States, the head of the U.S. federal executive departments, to the United States Congress, the U.S. federal legislative body. ^[1]

William Henry Harrison and James A. Garfield are the only presidents in U.S. history to not deliver a State of the Union, as they both died within their first year in office before they could do so.

Before 1933, the State of the Union was delivered at the end of the calendar year. The ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933 changed the opening of Congress from early March to early January, affecting the delivery of the annual message. There was none in 1933, and since 1934, it has been in January, February, or March. ^[2]

Starting in 1981, new presidents have been invited to address a joint session of Congress shortly after their inauguration. These have reflected the style of a State of the Union address. However, the addresses are not officially titled "State of the Union" but "Address to Joint Session of Congress" or like that instead. ^{[3] [4]} Since 1989, the opposition party has offered a response. ^[5] There were unofficial addresses by incoming presidents in 1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2017, 2021, and 2025.

List

Year	President	Format	Date	Word count [6]	Time (minutes) [7]
Jan 1790	George Washington	Spoken	Jan 8	1,089	Unknown
Dec 1790			Dec 8	1,401
1791			Oct 25	2,302
1792			Nov 6	2,101
1793			Dec 3	1,968
1794			Nov 19	2,918
1795			Dec 8	1,989
1796			Dec 7	2,871
1797	John Adams	Spoken	Nov 22	2,063
1798			Dec 8	2,218
1799			Dec 3	1,505
1800			Nov 22	1,372
1801	Thomas Jefferson	Written	Dec 8	3,224	—N/a
1802			Dec 15	2,197	—N/a
1803			Oct 17	2,263	—N/a
1804			Nov 8	2,096	—N/a
1805			Dec 3	2,927	—N/a
1806			Dec 2	2,860	—N/a
1807			Oct 27	2,384	—N/a
1808			Nov 8	2,675	—N/a
1809	James Madison	Written	Nov 29	1,831	—N/a
1810			Dec 5	2,446	—N/a
1811			Nov 5	2,273	—N/a
1812			Nov 4	3,242	—N/a
1813			Dec 7	3,257	—N/a
1814			Sep 20	2,111	—N/a
1815			Dec 5	3,146	—N/a
1816			Dec 3	3,364	—N/a
1817	James Monroe	Written	Dec 12	4,418	—N/a
1818			Nov 16	4,376	—N/a
1819			Dec 7	4,702	—N/a
1820			Nov 14	3,446	—N/a
1821			Dec 3	5,814	—N/a
1822			Dec 3	4,723	—N/a
1823			Dec 2	6,358	—N/a
1824			Dec 7	8,400	—N/a
1825	John Quincy Adams	Written	Dec 6	8,985	—N/a
1826			Dec 5	7,705	—N/a
1827			Dec 4	6,917	—N/a
1828			Dec 2	7,282	—N/a
1829	Andrew Jackson	Written	Dec 8	10,525	—N/a
1830			Dec 6	15,114	—N/a
1831			Dec 6	7,178	—N/a
1832			Dec 4	7,863	—N/a
1833			Dec 3	7,877	—N/a
1834			Dec 1	13,411	—N/a
1835			Dec 7	10,825	—N/a
1836			Dec 5	12,367	—N/a
1837	Martin Van Buren	Written	Dec 5	11,449	—N/a
1838			Dec 3	11,488	—N/a
1839			Dec 2	13,431	—N/a
1840			Dec 5	8,991	—N/a
—N/a	William Henry Harrison	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
1841	John Tyler	Written	Dec 7	8,241	—N/a
1842			Dec 6	8,417	—N/a
1843			Dec 5	8,036	—N/a
1844			Dec 3	9,318	—N/a
1845	James K. Polk	Written	Dec 2	16,111	—N/a
1846			Dec 8	18,222	—N/a
1847			Dec 7	16,414	—N/a
1848			Dec 5	21,309	—N/a
1849	Zachary Taylor	Written	Dec 4	7,617	—N/a
1850	Millard Fillmore	Written	Dec 2	8,322	—N/a
1851			Dec 2	13,244	—N/a
1852			Dec 6	9,929	—N/a
1853	Franklin Pierce	Written	Dec 5	9,590	—N/a
1854			Dec 4	10,139	—N/a
1855			Dec 31	11,612	—N/a
1856			Dec 2	10,486	—N/a
1857	James Buchanan	Written	Dec 8	13,655	—N/a
1858			Dec 6	16,349	—N/a
1859			Dec 19	12,336	—N/a
1860			Dec 3	14,049	—N/a
1861	Abraham Lincoln	Written	Dec 3	6,987	—N/a
1862			Dec 1	8,385	—N/a
1863			Dec 8	6,114	—N/a
1864			Dec 6	5,865	—N/a
1865	Andrew Johnson	Written	Dec 4	9,232	—N/a
1866			Dec 3	7,134	—N/a
1867			Dec 3	12,002	—N/a
1868			Dec 9	9,834	—N/a
1869	Ulysses S. Grant	Written	Dec 6	7,706	—N/a
1870			Dec 5	8,743	—N/a
1871			Dec 4	6,459	—N/a
1872			Dec 2	10,102	—N/a
1873			Dec 1	10,026	—N/a
1874			Dec 7	9,819	—N/a
1875			Dec 7	12,211	—N/a
1876			Dec 5	6,799	—N/a
1877	Rutherford B. Hayes	Written	Dec 3	10,724	—N/a
1878			Dec 2	7,879	—N/a
1879			Dec 1	11,635	—N/a
1880			Dec 6	13,347	—N/a
—N/a	James A. Garfield	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
1881	Chester A. Arthur	Written	Dec 6	13,321	—N/a
1882			Dec 4	10,274	—N/a
1883			Dec 4	8,363	—N/a
1884			Dec 1	8,917	—N/a
1885	Grover Cleveland	Written	Dec 8	19,960	—N/a
1886			Dec 6	15,285	—N/a
1887			Dec 6	5,290	—N/a
1888			Dec 3	13,226	—N/a
1889	Benjamin Harrison	Written	Dec 1	13,004	—N/a
1890			Dec 1	11,522	—N/a
1891			Dec 9	16,306	—N/a
1892			Dec 6	13,680	—N/a
1893	Grover Cleveland	Written	Dec 4	12,282	—N/a
1894			Dec 3	15,892	—N/a
1895			Dec 2	14,670	—N/a
1896			Dec 7	15,453	—N/a
1897	William McKinley	Written	Dec 6	12,113	—N/a
1898			Dec 5	20,224	—N/a
1899			Dec 5	22,831	—N/a
1900			Dec 3	19,142	—N/a
1901	Theodore Roosevelt	Written	Dec 3	19,616	—N/a
1902			Dec 5	9,782	—N/a
1903			Dec 7	14,943	—N/a
1904			Dec 6	17,415	—N/a
1905			Dec 5	25,071	—N/a
1906			Dec 3	23,609	—N/a
1907			Dec 3	27,397	—N/a
1908			Dec 8	19,411	—N/a
1909	William Howard Taft	Written	Dec 7	13,901	—N/a
1910			Dec 6	27,651	—N/a
1911			Dec 5	23,744 [a]	—N/a
1912			Dec 3	25,161 [b]	—N/a
1913	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	Dec 2	3,553	Unknown
1914			Dec 8	4,537
1915			Dec 7	7,687
1916			Dec 5	2,118
1917			Dec 4	3,913
1918			Dec 2	5,463
1919		Written	Dec 2	4,756	—N/a
1920			Dec 7	2,706	—N/a
1921	Warren G. Harding	Spoken	Dec 6	5,606	Unknown
1922			Dec 8	5,748
1923	Calvin Coolidge	Spoken	Dec 6	6,706
1924		Written	Dec 3	6,968	—N/a
1925			Dec 8	10,848	—N/a
1926			Dec 7	10,305	—N/a
1927			Dec 6	8,777	—N/a
1928			Dec 4	8,061	—N/a
1929	Herbert Hoover	Written	Dec 3	10,994	—N/a
1930			Dec 5	4,536	—N/a
1931			Dec 8	5,682	—N/a
1932			Dec 6	4,201	—N/a
1933	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
1934	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	Jan 3	2,230	Unknown
1935			Jan 4	3,525
1936			Jan 3	3,826	50 [9]
1937			Jan 6	2,732	Unknown
1938			Jan 3	4,697
1939			Jan 4	3,768
1940			Jan 3	3,196
1941			Jan 6	3,312	36 [10]
1942			Jan 6	3,511	Unknown
1943			Jan 7	4,588
1944		Written	Jan 11	3,805	—N/a
1945			Jan 6	8,211	—N/a
1946	Harry S. Truman	Written	Jan 21	27,465	—N/a
1947		Spoken	Jan 6	6,028	Unknown
1948			Jan 7	5,094
1949			Jan 5	3,401
1950			Jan 4	5,130
1951			Jan 8	3,994
1952			Jan 9	5,369
1953		Written	Jan 7	9,683	—N/a
1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	Feb 2	6,973	56 [11]
1954			Jan 7	5,985	52 [12]
1955			Jan 6	7,250	53 [12]
1956		Written	Jan 5	8,265	—N/a
1957		Spoken	Jan 10	4,137	33 [13]
1958			Jan 9	4,915	44 [14]
1959			Jan 9	4,933	42 [15]
1960			Jan 7	5,633	45 [16]
1961		Written	Jan 12	6,210	—N/a
1961	John F. Kennedy	Spoken	Jan 30	5,274	43 [17]
1962			Jan 11	6,569	53 [18]
1963			Jan 14	5,470	43 [19]
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	Jan 8	3,168	41
1965			Jan 4	4,399	47
1966			Jan 12	5,542	51
1967			Jan 10	7,195	71
1968			Jan 17	4,914	50
1969			Jan 14	4,115	44
1970	Richard Nixon	Spoken	Jan 22	4,457	37
1971			Jan 22	4,508	33
1972			Jan 20	3,976	29
1973		Written	Feb 2	27,147 [c]	—N/a
1974		Spoken	Jan 30	5,144	43
1975	Gerald Ford	Spoken	Jan 15	4,126	41
1976			Jan 19	4,948	51
1977			Jan 12	4,727	45
1978	Jimmy Carter	Spoken	Jan 19	4,580	46
1979			Jan 25	3,257	33
1980			Jan 21	3,412	32
1981		Written	Jan 16	33,667	—N/a
1981 [d]	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	Feb 18	4,446	33
1982			Jan 26	5,154	40
1983			Jan 25	5,554	46
1984			Jan 25	4,931	43
1985			Feb 6	4,214	40
1986			Feb 4	3,514	31
1987			Jan 27	3,847	35
1988			Jan 25	4,955	44
1989 [d]	George H. W. Bush	Spoken	Feb 9	4,811	48
1990			Jan 31	3,777	36
1991			Jan 29	3,823	47
1992			Jan 28	5,012	51
1993 [d]	Bill Clinton	Spoken	Feb 17	7,003	66
1994			Jan 25	7,432	64
1995			Jan 24	9,190	85
1996			Jan 23	6,317	67
1997			Feb 4	6,774	64
1998			Jan 27	7,303	77
1999			Jan 19	7,514	79
2000			Jan 27	7,452	89
2001 [d]	George W. Bush	Spoken	Feb 27	4,362	49
2002			Jan 29	3,878	48
2003			Jan 28	5,413	60
2004			Jan 20	5,229	54
2005			Feb 2	5,096	53
2006			Jan 31	5,323	51
2007			Jan 23	5,590	49
2008			Jan 28	5,760	53
2009 [d]	Barack Obama	Spoken	Feb 24	5,902	52
2010			Jan 27	7,304	69
2011			Jan 25	6,878	62
2012			Jan 24	7,059	65
2013			Feb 12	6,775	60
2014			Jan 28	6,989	65
2015			Jan 20	6,718	60
2016			Jan 12	6,044	59
2017 [d]	Donald Trump	Spoken	Feb 28	5,006	60
2018			Jan 30	5,839	81
2019			Feb 5	5,540	82
2020			Feb 4	6,217	78
2021 [d]	Joe Biden	Spoken	Apr 28	8,003	65
2022			Mar 1	7,705	62
2023			Feb 7	9,216	73
2024			Mar 7	8,078	67
2025 [d]	Donald Trump	Spoken	Mar 4	9,831	99
2026			Feb 24

Notes

1. In 1911 President Taft submitted his written message in four parts on Dec 5, Dec 7, Dec 20, and Dec 21. This word count includes all four parts. ^[8]
2. In 1912 President Taft submitted his written message in three parts on Dec 3, Dec 6, and Dec 19. This word count includes all three parts. ^[8]
3. In 1973, President Nixon delivered a series of six written State of the Union messages to Congress from February 2 to March 14. One message was an overview, followed by five additional messages each of which focused on a specific public policy theme. This word count includes all six messages. ^[8]
4. Starting in 1981, new presidents have been invited to address a joint session of Congress shortly after their inauguration. These have reflected the style of a State of the Union address but are not officially titled as a "State of the Union." Since 1989 the opposition party has offered a response. ^[20]

See also

• Article Two of the United States Constitution § Section 3: Presidential responsibilities
• List of joint sessions of the United States Congress

References

1. "U.S. Senate: About Traditions & Symbols | State of the Union". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
2. "The Speech: Where and When". History, Art & Archives.
3. "Remarks of President Barack Obama -- Address to Joint Session of Congress". White House . 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
4. House, The White (2021-04-29). "Remarks by President Biden in Address to a Joint Session of Congress". The White House. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
5. The President's State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications (PDF). Congressional Research Service. January 24, 2014. p. 2.
6. Peters, Gerhard. "Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses in Words". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
7. Peters, Gerhard. "Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1964)". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
8. Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. (2024). "Annual Messages to Congress on the State of the Union (Washington 1790 - the present)" . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
9. "The First Evening Annual Message". Office of the Historian of the House of Representatives. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
10. "January 6, 1941: State of the Union (Four Freedoms) | Miller Center". millercenter.org. 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
11. "GOP Greets President With Cheer a Minute". Philadelphia Inquirer. February 3, 1953. p. 2. Retrieved March 14, 2024. Hand clapping was heard 55 times during the 56-minute speech, mostly from the GOP side of the aisle.
12. "Speeches". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home. United States National Archives. August 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
13. "Ike In Plea For Vigilance". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. January 11, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2024. Dressed in a conservative gray business suit, Eisenhower stood for 33 minutes before a combined, undemonstrative Senate-House session in the klieg-lit House chamber.
14. "First Lady Receives Double Ovation in House Gallery". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. January 10, 1958. p. 9. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
15. "Ike Challenges Democrats In 'State of Union' Speech". Great Falls Tribune. January 10, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
16. "January 7, 1960: State of the Union Address". Miller Center. University of Virginia. 13 July 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
17. "January 30, 1961: State of the Union". Miller Center. University of Virginia. 20 October 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
18. "January 11, 1962: State of the Union Address". Miller Center. University of Virginia. 20 October 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
19. "January 14, 1963: State of the Union Address". Miller Center. University of Virginia. 20 October 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
20. The President's State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications (PDF). Congressional Research Service. January 24, 2014. p. 2.

External links

• American Presidency Project (UCSB.edu) - Table of all States of the Union