Subjects – Joint Sessions and Meetings
The first inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City
April 30, 1789
On this date, George Washington was sworn in as President of the United States before a Joint Meeting of Congress at Federal Hall in New York City.
President George Washington delivered his first regular Annual Message to a Joint Session of Congress
January 08, 1790
On this date, George Washington delivered his first regular Annual Message to a Joint Session of Congress.
President George Washington’s Memorial Service
December 26, 1799
On the morning after Christmas Day, the House attended a memorial Joint Session for former President George Washington.
President John Adams’s Annual Message of 1800
November 22, 1800
On this date, President John Adams delivered his fourth annual message to a Joint Session of the 4th Congress (1799–1801) in the new Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Marquis de Lafayette’s historic address to the House
December 10, 1824
On this date, the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general and Revolutionary War hero, became the first foreign dignitary to address the House of Representatives in its chamber.
The electoral vote count of the 1876 presidential election
February 01, 1877
On this date, a Joint Session of the 45th Congress (1877–1879) met for the first time to count the electoral votes in the 1876 presidential election.
A Joint Session to commemorate the completion of the Washington Monument
February 21, 1885
On this date, the House and Senate met in a Joint Session to commemorate the completion of the Washington Monument.
Congress’s centennial celebration of Washington, DC
December 12, 1900
On this date, Congress held a Joint Meeting to commemorate the centennial of Washington, DC, serving as the capital city.
House Doorkeeper William “Fishbait” Miller
July 20, 1909
On this date, the longtime Doorkeeper, William “Fishbait” Miller was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
President Woodrow Wilson’s Joint Session message appealing for the avoidance of a national railroad strike
August 29, 1916
On this date during the 64th Congress (1915–1917), President Woodrow Wilson addressed a Joint Session to discuss a looming national railroad crisis.
The reception of Japanese Ambassador Viscount Kikujiro Ishii
September 05, 1917
On this date, Viscount Kikujiro Ishii, an ambassador from Japan addressed the House of Representatives in a House Reception.
President Woodrow Wilson’s Joint Session outlining his vision for a program for world peace
January 08, 1918
President Woodrow Wilson delivered an address outlining his vision for a program for world peace to a Joint Sessions and Meetings of Congress in 1918.
President Woodrow Wilson’s Joint Session regarding the Central Powers’ response to his Fourteen Points peace plan
February 11, 1918
On this date, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a Joint Session of Congress in the House Chamber regarding the Central Powers’ response to his outline of the Fourteen Points peace plan (which Wilson had delivered to Congress a month earlier).
President Woodrow Wilson’s Joint Session Address Regarding the World War I Armistice
November 11, 1918
On this date, President Woodrow Wilson dramatically announced to a Joint Session of Congress, “The war thus comes to an end.”
A memorial tribute to the late President Theodore Roosevelt in the House Chamber
February 09, 1919
A Joint Session of Congress, serving as a memorial tribute to the late President Theodore Roosevelt, was held in the House Chamber.
President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Annual Message
May 20, 1919
On this date, a White House emissary read President Woodrow Wilson’s Annual Message (later known as the State of the Union) to the House.
A Joint Session of Congress memorializing President Woodrow Wilson
December 15, 1924
On this date, Dr. Edwin Anderson Alderman, president of the University of Virginia, addressed a Joint Session of Congress memorializing his close friend, the late President Woodrow Wilson.
The Inauguration of President Calvin Coolidge in 1925
March 04, 1925
On this date, the first national radio broadcast of an inauguration occurred when President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office on the East Front of the Capitol.
A Joint Session to commemorate the completion of the Washington Monument
February 22, 1927
On this date, Congress held a Joint Session to commemorate the birthday of George Washington and to inaugurate elaborate planning of festivities for the 1932 bicentennial of the first President’s birth.
The first time Congress met for two Joint Sessions in one day
January 06, 1937
On this date, for the first time in congressional history, Congress met for two Joint Sessions in one day.
The first inauguration after the lame duck amendment
January 20, 1937
On this date, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol for a second term as President.
The first major radio broadcast of a Joint Meeting
March 04, 1939
On this date, more than 400 radio broadcasters from the United States and Canada covered the proceedings in the House Chamber marking the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of Congress.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Joint Session of Congress opening a Special Session to revise U.S. neutrality law
September 21, 1939
Less than three weeks after the outbreak of European hostilities in World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a Joint Session of Congress to open a Special Session which he had called to revise U.S. neutrality law.
The Declaration of War against Japan
December 08, 1941
On this date, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressing the nation in a Joint Session in the House Chamber, asked Congress to declare war against Japan for the surprise attack against American naval facilities in and around Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a day earlier
Secretary of State Cordell Hull’s Joint Meeting
November 18, 1943
On this date, Secretary of State Cordell Hull addressed a Joint Meeting becoming the first cabinet Member ever to address the Congress.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth inauguration
January 20, 1945
On this date, the White House hosted President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth inauguration and disregarded the tradition of using the U.S. Capitol.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s address to a Joint Meeting of Congress
October 05, 1945
On this date, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of Allied naval forces in the Pacific during World War II, addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress.
A Joint Session to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt
July 01, 1946
On this date, Congress held a Joint Session to honor the memory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The first live televised House proceedings
January 03, 1947
The first live television broadcast from the House Chamber occurred during the opening session of the 80th Congress (1947–1949).
President Harry S. Truman's March 17, 1948 address to a Joint Session
March 17, 1948
On this date, President Truman, Harry S. addressed European security and condemned the Soviet Union before a hastily convened Joint Session of Congress.
President Harry S. Truman’s special Joint Session on inflation, housing, and civil rights
July 27, 1948
On this date during the 80th Congress (1947–1949), President Harry Truman delivered a message to a special Joint Session of Congress.
President Harry S. Truman’s Fair Deal proposal to a Joint Session of Congress
January 05, 1949
President Harry S. Truman’s Fair Deal proposal to a Joint Session of Congress
General Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to a Joint Meeting of Congress
April 19, 1951
General Douglas MacArthur delivered his famous farewell address to a Joint Meeting of Congress, arguing for a tougher course against Communist China in prosecuting the Korean War.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addressed a Joint Meeting
January 17, 1952
Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress
May 09, 1957
On this date, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress.
President John F. Kennedy’s first State of the Union Address
January 30, 1961
On this date during the 87th Congress (1961–1963), President John F. Kennedy delivered his first State of the Union Address before a Joint Session of Congress.
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s first address to a Joint Session of Congress
November 27, 1963
On this date, Lyndon B. Johnson addressed a Joint Session of Congress for the first time as President of the United States.
An extraordinary Joint Session of Congress to support a landmark voting rights bill of 1965
March 15, 1965
On this date, in response to a brutal assault by local officials against civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, President Lyndon B. Johnson held an extraordinary Joint Session of Congress to garner support for a landmark voting rights bill.
The Apollo 11 crew members appear before a Joint Meeting of Congress
September 16, 1969
When Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts introduced the Apollo 11 crew members before a Joint Meeting of Congress on this date, the moment marked the culmination of a determined American effort to defeat the Soviet Union in a “space race” that began with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets in 1957.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress
April 21, 1982
On this date, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress to celebrate 200 years of unbroken diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands.
A Joint Meeting to celebrate the birth of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
March 27, 1990
On this date, Congress celebrated the centennial of the birth of President Dwight D. Eisenhower with a Joint Meeting.
President George H.W. Bush’s Joint Session on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
September 11, 1990
On this date, President George H. W. Bush addressed a Joint Session of Congress to explain the U.S. response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait six weeks earlier.
Prime Minister John Howard of Australia addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress
June 12, 2002
On this date, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber.
An address by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom to a Joint Meeting of Congress
July 17, 2003
On this date, Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress.