President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address in the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015.

Robert F. Kennedy. (Credit: Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

State of the Union Addresses

State of the Union Addresses Archives | HISTORY

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HISTORY

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

1790

During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.

State of the Union Addresses

Stories

Reagan Delayed the 1986 State of the Union to Mourn the Challenger Disaster

How Bobby Kennedy Started the War on Gangs

The President’s Annual State of the Union Address, Explained

This Day in History

President George Washington delivers first State of the Union