1997 State of the Union Address of high school students sponsored by the Close Up Foundation. Dan Glickman, the Secretary of Agriculture, served as the designated survivor. The speech was broadcast live on television and radio and lasted 1:04:21 and consisted of 6,774 words. This was the first State of the Union Address carried live on the Internet. 1997 State of the Union Address The 1997 State of the Union address was given by President Bill Clinton to a joint session of the 105th United States Congress on Tuesday, February 4, 1997. The speech was the first State of the Union address of President Clinton's second
State of the Union be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice despite some initial controversy. However, there have been exceptions to this rule. Presidents during the latter half of the 20th century have sent written State of the Union addresses. The last President to do this was Jimmy Carter in 1981, after his defeat by Ronald Reagan and days before his term ended. For many years, the speech was referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress". The actual term "State of the Union" first emerged in 1934 when Franklin D. Roosevelt used the phrase, becoming its