Article Two in Section Three of the United States Constitution stipulates that 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.” For the nation’s first 130 years this yearly address to Congress was simply called the president’s “Annual Message”. Beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the traditional speech has been titled “the State of the Union” address.
George Washington delivered the first annual address, on January 8, 1790. Washington also claims the shortest of all speeches, using just 1,089 words in his address. President Bill Clinton used the most words in his 1995 State of the Union speech. Clinton’s 9,190 words were nearly nine times the amount Washington used.
President Joe Biden prepares for his State of the Union address, March 2022, in the Treaty Room of the White House. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt giving radio address regarding his state of the union message to Congress, 1944. Image: Circa Images/GHI/Universal Images Group 
President Harding addressing Congress circa 1921. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 January 5, 1933) was the 30th President of the United States (1923.1929). Image: Photo12/Universal Images Group 
Interior of empty House of Representatives circa 1910-1926. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group
Typically, the president uses the annual address to report the present condition of the nation, its recent successes and ongoing challenges. They also use the speech to forecast their administration’s policy priorities for the next year. These speeches can often include a lot of high-level thoughts and ideas, but few details. The more memorable addresses tend to have included important foreign policy declarations, such as James Monroe announcing his Monroe Doctrine; Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech; and George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil” warning in 2002.
The State of the Union, although televised nationally, often scores a poor audience. It often feels as a purely political speech that only those involved in politics really want to hear. Despite the accessibility for the public, the State of the Union’s importance is perhaps less of interest to the public then it was prior to President Truman’s 1947 address which was the first televised one. Calvin Coolidge’s 1923 address was the first one delivered via radio broadcast.
1982 – President Reagan in the Oval Office working on State of the Union Speech. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
U.S. President John Kennedy delivering State of the Union address to member of U.S. congress, 1963. Image: GHI/Universal Images Group 
United States Capitol building in Washington DC. Image: Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group 
Jimmy Carter presents his State of the Union Speech to Congress. 1979. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
President Nixon delivers the State of the Union Address. January 20, 1972. Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group
President Donald J Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address will be on February 24. Trump’s prior annual speeches during his first term were quite long, each at or about one hour and twenty minutes. Bill Clinton’s 1995 speech took him one hour and twenty-eight minutes to deliver, the longest on record.
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Sources
Council on Foreign Relations; Ten Facts About the State of the Union Address; by James M. Lindsey March 5, 2024 https://www.cfr.org/blog/ten-facts-about-state-union-address-3