Oratorical Contest

Since 1938, the contest has developed knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students.

Eighty Fifth edition of
THE AMERICAN LEGION
High School Oratorical Scholarship Program
“A Constitutional Speech Contest”

Oratorical Registration Form

Events

DEPARTMENT CONTEST TIME SCHEDULE

POST LEVEL - to be completed by February 8, 2025(results to the County Chairperson by February 15, 2025) 

COUNTY LEVEL - to be completed by February 22, 2025(results to the District Chairperson by March 8, 2025) 

DISTRICT LEVEL -to be completed by March 15, 2025(results to the Department and the Department Chairman immediately after contest completion) 

District 1 Competition - Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic

Competition will be held on March 1, 2025, at 09:30 am

American Legion Post 310

100 Liberty Street

Little Ferry, NJ 07643

District 2 Competition – Morris, Sussex, Union, Warren

Date, Location and time - TBA

District 3 Competition - Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Monmouth

Date: March 8, 2025

Woodbridge Municipal Building

contestants arriving by 10:30am Contest 11:00am

1 Main Street, Woodbridge NJ 07095

District 4 Competition – Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Ocean

Date and Time - Tuesday evening March 11th, 2025, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Maple Shade Fire Department Hall

53 South Maple Ave, Maple Shade, N.J. 08052

District 5 Competition – Atlantic, Cape May Cumberland, Salem

Date, Location and time - TBA

Department Competition will be held on March 29, 2025, at the Joyce Kilmer Post 25 – 4 J. F. Kennedy Drive Milltown, NJ 08850 at 9:00 a.m. Snow date if needed April 5, 2025.

National Competition – Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan

Quarter – Finals and Semi-Finals will be held Saturday, May 17th, 2025.

Finals will be held Sunday morning, May 18th, 2025. 

Contest

The Prepared Oration

The oration must be on some aspect of the Constitution, with emphasis on a citizen’s duties and obligations to our government. The same subject and oration used in the department contest must be used in the national contest.

Contestants may have a copy of their prepared oration while waiting in the first holding room. They may consult the copy until they exit to begin the contest. The copy will then be surrendered to the contest official monitoring the first holding room.

Quotations must always be indicated as such. Where quotations are more than 10 words in length, the author’s name must be given in the manuscript and cited orally.

It is acceptable to utilize or incorporate short phrases in a foreign language to develop the argument, establish a point, etc. It should be understood that the vast majority of the prepared oration and/or assigned topic must still be delivered in English. Singing is not permitted and will result in immediate disqualification. The contestant may, however, quote a verse(s) of a song(s) provided proper attribution is made.

Assigned Topic Discourse

The assigned topic discourse must not consume less than three (3) minutes or more than five (5) minutes for delivery. The purpose of the assigned topic discourse 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 assigned topic shall be drawn by the contest official in full view of the audience immediately before the last speaker begins delivery of his or her prepared oration and will be made known to the audience and each contestant approximately five (5) minutes prior to the time of delivery. The topic will be on some phase of the U.S. Constitution, selected from Articles and Sections as listed under assigned topics for the current year's contest in this brochure.

All contestants at each contest level are required to speak in the English language on the same assigned topic.

Assigned Topics for 2025 Oratorical Contest

Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, then according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment XVIII
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Amendment XXVI
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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.