How was the first State of the Union address delivered? ++++++++++ 01-20-04, 07:24 PM Sailracer George Washington delivered the first State of the Union message before combined assembly of the Senate and the House on 8 January 1790.
01-20-04, 07:29 PM Leppi I was looking for the fact that it was hand delivered.
01-20-04, 07:47 PM Sailracer This source disagrees;
"The first address was made by George Washington on January 8, 1790 in New York City, the first U.S. capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person, regarding it as too regal (and perhaps due to the fact that he had a raspy voice). Until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice despite some initial controversy, the address was instead written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union_Address
01-20-04, 07:51 PM Leppi My source was the state of the union history quiz at Whitehouse.gov
Go to question number 2. The correct answer is Hand delivered by george washington.
01-20-04, 08:20 PM Sailracer We'll have to research this further, Yafa, your source is certainly credible, but as a quiz, does not exclude the possibilty that he hand delivered it prior to a speech.
Good question! I can't research anymore tonight, but let's look into it! Anyone else have some input?
01-20-04, 10:31 PM DorianGreyed Right now, all I can tell you is that wikipedia relies on user input for entries, and that I have found errors on government sites as well. Not much help, is it.
01-20-04, 10:51 PM Sailracer was right. ( ) Another error uncovered by AnswerPool.com ! Your AnswerPool.com dollars at work!
Q:Has the President always delivered the Address in person?
A:No. Presidents Washington and Adams delivered the Address in person, but President Jefferson began the practice of sending the Address to Congress in written form.
Q. When did the President begin delivering the Address in person again?
A:President Wilson delivered the State of the Union to Congress on April 8, 1913 and every Chief Executive since then has made the trip to Capitol Hill each January.
Is it true that the State of the Union speech does not have to be delivered in person? What are some of the traditions involved with it?
The President delivers his State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. Click on picture for larger image It is true. Our first two Presidents, George Washington and John Adams, delivered the address to Congress in person. However, President Thomas Jefferson, consistent with his aversion to any practice that resembled British royal behavior, sent his State of the Union addresses to Congress in writing, and they were read to the chamber by a Clerk of the House. For over the next 100 years, Presidents continued to submit written State of the Union speeches.
President Woodrow Wilson broke with the written tradition in 1913. Since Wilson, every President except Herbert Hoover has delivered most, if not all, of his State of the Union addresses in person. The first televised State of the Union speech was President Harry Truman's in 1947. With television in mind, President Lyndon Johnson became the first President to shift the time of the State of the Union message from during the day to a prime-time evening hour. http://www.c-span.org
Annual Addresses to Congress. Washington delivered his first State of the Union address in the Senate chambers on 8 January 1790. According to Sen. William Maclay's account "The President was dressed in a second Mourning, and . . . read his speech well. the senate headed by their President were on his right The House of Representatives . . . with their Speaker were on his left his [official] Family with the Heads of Departments attended. the business was soon over and the Senate were left alone" - http://gwpapers.virginia.edu [This message was edited by Doriangreyed on 01-20-04 at 11:01 PM.]
01-20-04, 11:22 PM DorianGreyed Below is an excerpt from an email I sent to the "White House Web Team" (The message below has been edited to prevent page distortion; the full URL was used in the original.)
In the State of the Union quiz, there is an error in one of the answers. The correct answer as given by the site states that Wilson gave the first State of the Union message as a speech. This is not true. Both George Washington and John Adams gave their State of the Union addresses as speeches. Jefferson started the tradition of merely sending messages. Wilson re-estblished the oral tradition. See AnswerPool.com for several links that show those facts. AnswerPool.com strives for accuracy in its posts, and can be relied on for facts of this nature.
Your attention in this matter would be appreciated.
[This message was edited by Doriangreyed on 01-20-04 at 11:32 PM.]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
) Another error uncovered by AnswerPool.com ! Your AnswerPool.com dollars at work!
