THE AMERICAN LEGION DEPARTMENT OF GEORGIA
HIGH SCHOOL ORATORICAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
“A Constitutional Speech Contest” Cash Prizes, Scholarship Awards and Contest Contact Information
In addition to the monetary prizes awarded at the local Post and District levels, there are the cash prizes available for subsequent Department of Georgia contests (see Official Rules below for Scholarship Awards at the National American Legion Oratorical Contest):
High school students under age 20 are eligible. Competition begins at the Post level and advances to a state competition. Legion department representatives certify one winner per state to the national contest, where department winners compete against each other in two speaking rounds. The contest caps off with a final round that decides the three top finishers.
Speaking subjects must be on some aspect of the U.S. Constitution, with some emphasis on the duties and obligations of citizens to our government. There are two parts: a speech that is eight- to ten-minutes in length; and a speech that is three- to five-minutes in length on an assigned topic.
Note: The following Rules and Regulations are mandated for the National Contest. The Department of Georgia, Area and District Contests will be conducted following these Rules & Regulations as closely as possible. However, the local Post Contest Chairman has the flexibility to conduct the Post Contest using these Rules & Regs as guidelines and will conduct the Contest in such a manner as to assure fairness to all contestants and maintain decorum in all instances.
A Contestant may compete in more than one Post Contest but contestant must advise the second and any subsequent Post Chairman prior & which Contest(s) have been participated in and the Post Chairman will determine whether the contestant may be allowed to participate in his/her Post Contest. If contestant has placed first in a Post Contest he/she will not be eligible to compete in further Post Contests.
Post 50 2024 Contest date & location: Sunday, January 14th, 2024, 1pm @ Post 50, 201 McIntosh Trail, Peachtree City, GA 30269 Post 50 Contact Info: Mark Weaver, Post 50 Commander & Oratorical Chairman, 619-764-1141-cell or Marty Crane, Co-Chair, email: marty.d.crane@gmail.com 404-543-1835-cell
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 Topics
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.