Joint Session of The United States Congress - Historic Joint Sessions

Historic Joint Sessions

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  • The first occurrence of a joint session was on April 6, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City during the 1st Congress, for the counting of electoral votes.
  • The first formally recorded joint meeting occurred on December 18, 1874 during the 43rd Congress in Washington, D.C., as a reception of Kalākaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Because of a severe cold and hoarseness, the King could not deliver his speech, which was read by former Representative Elisha Hunt Allen, then serving as Chancellor and Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Islands.
  • On September 18, 1986, just 7 months after she was swept to power by a popular revolt (the People Power Revolution of 1986) against dictator Ferdinand Marcos, president Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines addressed the joint session of Congress during her first visit since she came home to bury slain opposition leader and husband Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. in August 1983.
  • On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the "Infamy Speech" to a joint session of Congress. Less than an hour later, Congress issued a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the U.S. into World War II. This address is regarded as one of the most famous American political speeches of the 20th century.
  • On September 20, 2001, president George W. Bush gave a speech before a joint session of Congress in response to the September 11 attacks.

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