What is the State of the Union address? Everything you need to know

Watch the State of the Union address on Tuesday wherever you are: on TV, desktop, mobile devices, apps, CNNgo and more. History The concept for a State of the Union address is enshrined in Article II, Section 3, Clause I of the Constitution, which states 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.” According to the National Archives, George Washington first gave his “annual message” to Congress on January 8, 1790, in the Senate Chamber of Federal Hall in New York City – which was then the temporary seat of government. President Franklin Roosevelt was the first to call his speech the “State of the Union” address, according to the Senate Historical Office, and the term was made official under President Harry Truman. Video Ad Feedback Congress reaction brings SEAL's widow to tears 01:24 - Source: CNN Last year, the President and first lady Melania Trump hosted: Megan Crowley, a 20-year-old Notre Dame sophomore diagnosed with Pompe disease Jessica Davis and Susan Oliver, the widows of slain Detective Michael Davis and Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, respectively Denisha Merriweather, a first generation graduate Maureen McCarthy Scalia, widow of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Jamiel Shaw Sr., whose son, Jamiel Jr., was shot and killed by an undocumented immigrant Carryn Owens, the widow of slain Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who was killed during an operation in Yemen in January 2017. These 15 guests will join first lady Melania Trump in her box: Elizabeth Alvarado, Robert Mickens, Evelyn Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas, the parents of two girls murdered in 2016 by members of the MS-13 gang in New York Agent Celestino “CJ” Martinez, a Supervisory Special Agent for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit Jon Bridgers, a member of the “Cajun Navy” who rescued Hurricane Harvey victims David Dahlberg, who saved 62 children and staff members from a raging wildfire in California Corey Adams, a beneficiary of the Trump tax cuts Officer Ryan Holts, an Albuquerque police officer who adopted a baby from opioid addicted parents who he met while on patrol Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger, business owners who say they have seen a bump this year Preston Sharp, who organized the placement of more than 40,000 American flags and carnations on soldiers’ graves Corporal Matthew Bradford, who after stepping on an improvised explosive device reenlisted in the Marine Corps as the first blind, double amputee Members of Congress are also allowed guests to the speech.