The American Legion Oratorical
Scholarship
Program
- A Constitutional Public Speaking Contest
Eligibility
To participate in the Oratorical Contest of The American Legion, the
prospective contestant must meet the following criteria:
1) a citizen, or lawful permanent resident, of the United States.
2) Under the age of 20 years on the date of the National Contest
3) Enrolled in an accredited school (public, parochial, military,
private, or state accredited home school) with a curriculum that is
considered to
be of high school level (grades 9 - 12) at the time of participation in
every level (local through national) of the contest.
4) Legal residence and/or school attended must be in South Dakota.
5) Can not have been a prior finalist at the national contest.
The Contest
Each participant will prepare an Oration (speech) of 8 to 10 minutes in
length, and will also need to present a second speech of 3 to 5 minutes
on one of the Assigned Topics that will be randomly chosen and then
given to the contestant approximately 5 minutes prior to their
presentation. All speeches will be given in the English language
and will be presented without
the aid of a microphone, notes, podium, or any props.
Contestants
will not be allowed to hear or see each others presentations during the
contest,
and will be in a separate room until it is their turn to
speak.
Further details of each speech are provided below.
The Oration
The Oration will be the first speech presented by each contestant, and
must be on some aspect of the Constitution of the United States
with
emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government.
Any
portion of the Constitution can be used for the prepared oration, other
then those that are part of the assigned topics for the current year
This speech will be prepared ahead of time by the contestant, and a
typed copy of it, with the contestants name on the cover sheet, must be
presented to the judges prior to the start of the contest. The
same prepared
oration will be used at each level of the contest, but the contestant
can
do minor revisions at the early levels.
Quotations used must be indicated, and if they are longer then 10
words, the author's name must be cited in both the manuscript and the
oration.
The contestant will be allowed to maintain a copy of the oration's
manuscript up until the time they are called to the stage for their
presentation, but will have to recite the oration without any external
memory aids.
A designated judge will keep track of time, and will indicate when the
speech has reached 8 minutes, 9 minutes, and 10 minutes by holding up a
card with each number on it as the speech reaches that time. If
the
speech runs long, the 10 minute card will be lowered and no further
indicator
will be given.
Assigned Topics
One of four topics (all of which will be provided to the participants
in advance) will be drawn at random at the start of each contest.
The topic
will be kept secret from all contestants until approximately 5 minutes
before
it is their turn to present on it. During that time, no notes or
reference
material will be provided, only the card with the topic on it.
After
their 5 minutes is up, they will have to turn the card back in, and
then
present a 3 to 5 minute discourse on the topic. Similar to the
prepared
oration, a timer will indicate when the 3 minute mark has been reached,
and
will also show the 4 and 5 minute cards.
For the 2016 contest, the assigned topics are:
Amendment 8:Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 26:Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Article 1 Section 9 Paragraph 2:The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
Article 1 Section 6 Clause 1:The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
2016 Contest Dates
Local contest. Sunday, Jan 10th at the Eagles building (316 S 2nd Street, Aberdeen, SD). Doors will be open at 1:45pm, first contestent will take the stage at 2:15
District contest. Saturday, Jan 23rd, same time and location
State contest. Sunday, Feb. 14th 1:00pm in Huron (Convention Center)
National contest. April 16-17, 2016, at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel, 2544 Executive Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana
For more on the Oritorical Contest, please see The American Legion's national website