A Constitutional Speech Contest

Each year the Department of Delaware joins the 54 other Departments and over 10,000 local Posts in the American Legion National High School Oratorical Scholarship Competition.

The contest is open to U.S. citizens or lawful residents under the age of 20 and currently enrolled in grades 9–12.  It is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and with public speaking skills that can help them later in life.  Each contestant gives an 8 to 10 minute prepared oration on what it means to be a citizen under the U.S. Constitution.  Each student must also speak from 3 to 5 minutes on an “assigned topic” drawn at the contest from a list of 4 predetermined topics.  The four topics remain the same throughout the contest year, however at each level a new drawing will be held from the original list and will be the same for all students.

Delaware holds competitions in each District.  The top three winners in each District advance to the Department contest held in March of the National contest year.  The winner represents the Department at the National contest, in May, at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI.  In addition to scholarship awards at the District level, the Department provides scholarships to the top three contestants at the state level.  The National organization provides scholarships to those that compete in the final three rounds at Hillsdale College with the top three contestants receiving additional scholarships.

Additional information regarding eligibility, participation and rules may be obtained by visiting Legion.org or contact the Oratorical Committee Chair.  An application for the contest is attached and should be submitted, both electronically and in hard copy to arrive at the address at the bottom of the app the day prior to the contest.