The State of the Union address is the only constitutionally mandated speech given by the president. At the start, George Washington and John Adams personally delivered their addresses to Congress. But Thomas Jefferson thought an in-person speech was too magisterial and began the custom of delivering the address in writing.

In 1913, Woodrow Wilson resumed the practice of appearing before Congress to give his speech. Lyndon B. Johnson broke with precedent by moving the State of the Union speech from noon to primetime television. And in 1982, Ronald Reagan began inviting guests to sit with the first lady in the House gallery and told their stories to a rapt television audience.

Today, the House of Representatives has become its own primetime television studio for presidents to stage their State of the Union performances.

Members of Congress have also become part of the political drama. Democrats or Republicans either stand up to cheer the president or sit glumly in their seats depending on which party controls the White House. After Donald Trump delivered his 2020 State of the Union address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tore up his speech, a profound breach of congressional protocol. NBC anchor Lester Holt called it a “stunning moment.”

Three years later, Joe Biden was mercilessly heckled by congressional Republicans over his pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare after Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) had........

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