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History Of The State Of The Union

NPR

President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night.  He's expected to discuss income inequality, immigration reform, health care and Afghanistan and Iran in his fifth State of the Union speech.  The Constitution requires a yearly State of the Union message, but doesn't mandate the president deliver it verbally.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt started the modern tradition by delivering his first report to Congress as a speech in 1934.  Emily Wanless, assistant professor of Government and International Affairs/Political Science at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, discussed the history and tradition of the State of the Union message.