High School Oratorical Scholarship Program
The main purpose of The High School Oratorical Scholarship Program is to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution of the United States on the part of high school students. Other objectives of the contest include the development of leadership qualities, the ability to think and speak clearly and intelligently, and the preparation for acceptance of the duties and responsibilities, the rights and privileges of American citizenship.
This contest is for students who welcome learning...
For the student who looks for an academic challenge and an opportunity to gain scholarship monies, The American Legion's High School Oratorical Scholarship Program is a natural fit. Students learn valuable information about our country's Constitution in a contest that has been held by The American Legion for more than 65 years.
Scholarships are Awarded
Scholarship awards are presented to the three finalists in the Final Round of the National Program as follows: 1st Place -$18,000; 2nd Place -$16,000; 3rd Place -$14,000. Each Department (State) winner who is certified into and participates in the first round of the National Program will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Each first round winner who advances to and participates in the second round, but does not advance to the Final Round, will receive and additional $1,500 scholarship to pursue education beyond high school.
The Scholarships awarded by the National Organization of The American Legion may be used to attend any college or university in the United States. Funds for the scholarships awarded by the National Organization are provided by the American Legion Life Insurance Fund.
What topics do contestants speak on?
The Prepared Oration: The subject to be used for the Prepared Oration must be some aspect of the Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government. The same subject and oration used in the Department Contest must be used in the National Contest.
The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must not take up less than eight minutes or more than ten minutes for delivery. It must be delivered in the english language.
The Assigned Topic: The purpose of the Assigned Topic is to test the speaker's knowledge of the subject, the extent of his or her research, and the ability to discuss the topic as related to the basic principles of government under the Constitution. The topic will be on some phase of the Constitution of the United States.
The assigned topic must take no less than three minutes and must not exceed five minutes for time of delivery. Each year, the list of Assigned Topics will be made available prior to the contest and posted on the Legion web site at www.legion.org.
Who is Eligible to Participate?
You are eligible to participate in The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program if you are a citizen or a lawful resident of the United States. Further, all contestants must be bona fide students under the age of 20 years on the date of the National program and must be enrolled in a high school or junior high school in which the curriculum of the high school is considered to be of high school level, commencing with grade nine and terminating with grade twelve. Students must be enrolled in high school or junior high school during the time of participation at any level of the Oratorical Program.
More Information
For more information contact the Department's Oratorical Committee Chairman Bill Barr at 353-4388 or check out the 2008-2009 Oratorical Program section of National's web site. (Links open a new browser window)
Oratorical Kudos
Dear Ron:
I do not know if you received any comments on the first annual Oratorical Contest held by the Department of Maine in the new structural format, but I did feel Bill Barr did an outstanding job in duplicating National’s format and feel that he should be recognized for his accomplishment. There are so many tasks to perform before the final contest is completed and all tasks are time consuming, e.g. arranging for the judges, timekeepers, ushers, rooms, etc, etc. I realize that all of our projects have similar obstacles to overcome, but not all have a new structure to contend with. Bill’s job is not an easy one and sometimes heartbreaking in that we have 17 districts and only 7 showed up to compete. Those in attendance enjoyed the exceptional speakers. THANK YOU BILL BARR.
Noah “Bud” Steele
District 7 Commander
