American Legion Department of New Jersey High School Oratorical Contest

The American Legion Oratorical Contest exists to develop deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students. The New Jersey Contest will award a $4,000 scholarship for the first place winner, $2,500 for second place, $2,000 for third place and $1,000 each for fourth and fifth place. The New Jersey winner will advance to the National Finals Contest, a weekends competition of Quarter-final, Semi-final and National final contests that are held in the headquarters city of The American Legion, Indianapolis, Indiana. For the time schedule: POST LEVEL to be completed by January 30, 2021 (Results to the County Chairman by February 6, 2021), COUNTY LEVEL to be completed by February 13, 2021 (Results to the District Chairman by February 20, 2021), DISTRICT LEVEL to be completed by February 27, 2021 (Results to the Department and Department Chairman immediately after contest completion), and Department Finals will be held on March 20, 2021, at the Trenton War Memorial at 9:00 a.m. Eligible participants must be citizens of or lawful permanent residents of the United States. All contestants must be bona fide students herein described as any student under the age of 20 years on the date of the national contest who is presently enrolled in a high school or junior high school (public, parochial, military, private or home school). The curriculum of the school must be considered to be of high school level, commencing with grade 9 and terminating with grade 12. Students must be enrolled in high school or junior high school during the time of participation at any level of The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest. Contestants must either be legally domiciled within or attend an educational institution within the department that they enter competition. Contestants can enter competition through only one department. The oration must be on some aspect of the Constitution, with emphasis on a citizens duties and obligations to our government. The same subject and oration used in the department contest must be used in the national contest. 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. Uniforms of any kind are not permitted. Appropriate business attire is required of all contestants. Contestants are not permitted to wear awards and medals from previous competition. Further instructions on the prepared oration and the assigned topics can be seen on the scholarship site. Find the county that you live in or attend school in and contact the associated District Chairman for the application process. List of District Chairmans can be seen at the scholarship site.