10 of the most powerful things US presidents have said during their State of the Union addresses

• A State of the Union address has been given by presidents each year since after the founding of the country.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at the beginning of World War II gave hope to millions of Americans.
• Abraham Lincoln spoke about emancipation and the survival of democracy.

The annual State of the Union addresses have come with unforgettable moments, emotional stories and powerful calls-to-action. From FDR's speech given just before the US entered World War II, to Lyndon B. Johnson calling for a war on poverty, State of the Union addresses have kept Americans informed and appraised of the situation.

Currently, the State of the Union, which was scheduled for January 29 is being postponed, with a tentative plan for the address to be scheduled once the government reopens.

Read on to see some of the most powerful stories presidents have told at State of the Union addresses throughout history.

George Washington's powerful speech about knowledge in 1790 set up the tradition of annual State of the Union addresses.

In 1790, George Washington gave the first, and most brief, State of the Union address ever. In his speech, he said, "Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness."

He set a precedent for presidents to keep the public informed, on both the state of the country as well as the most pressing issues at hand, that has been followed ever since.

James Polk's State of the Union address in 1848 sparked one of the largest migrations of people in United States history.

In former President Polk's 1848 State of the Union address, he incited the California gold rush when he talked about how much gold could be found in the area. Hundreds of thousands of people migrated to California, and in 1850 California became a state.

Abraham Lincoln talked about the survival of democracy in 1862.

Some of Lincoln's most powerful words came out of his State of the Union address in 1862. Just before his address, he had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves would be free.

In this address, he said, "We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union … In giving freedom to the slave, we ensure freedom to the free – honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth."