Gallery Pass, Annual Message, House of Representatives Chamber, January 4, 1935

Shortly after twelve noon on Friday, January 4, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his second annual address to Congress. Admission to the joint session was by ticket only.

Visitors filled the galleries of the House of Representatives Chamber to hear the president’s remarks. Roosevelt began his speech, “Mr. President [of the Senate], Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Constitution wisely provides that the Chief Executive shall report to the Congress on the state of the Union, for through you, the chosen legislative representatives, our citizens everywhere may fairly judge the progress of our governing.” This occasion marked the first use of “state of the Union” in an annual message, although the title for the president’s address to Congress would not be formalized until 1947.