Why did President Carter send a written message to Congress in 1980 instead of giving a State of the Union speech in person?
Uhm . . near as I can tell, he did deliver it to Congress in person. Cite.
Damn Wikipedia :smack: . So who was the last president to send a written address?
Wilson was the first President to address Congress in person since John Adams. Jefferson thought it was too imperial and the custom of sending written messages prevailed for a long time.