The American Legion
High School Oratorical Scholarship Program
"A Constitutional Speech Contest"
2007-2008 Official Rules
The Prepared Oration
The Prepared Oration must be
on 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.
In the Prepared Oration, as well as in the Assigned Topic
Discourse, quotations must be indicated as such. Where quotations are more
than ten words in length, the author's name must be given in the manuscript and
cited orally.
The Prepared Oration must be the original effort of
each contestant and must not take up less than eight (8) minutes or more than
ten (10) minutes for delivery. It must be delivered in the English
language. The singing of a song(s) is not permitted. The contestant
may, however, quote a verse(s) of a song provided proper attribution is made.
Contestants may have in their possession a copy of their
Prepared Oration in the First Holding Room. They may consult the copy of
their Prepared Oration, until they exit the holding room in order to begin the
contest, at which time the copy of the Prepared Oration will be surrendered to
the contest official who is monitoring the First Holding Room.
Assigned Topic
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/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 Constitution of the United States,
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.
Approved Ruling
It is acceptable to utilize or incorporate short phrases of a
foreign language into the Prepared Oration and/or Assigned Topic in order to
develop the argument, establish a point, etc. It is to be understood that
the vast majority of the Prepared Oration and/or Assigned Topic must still be
delivered in the English language.
Assigned Topics for 2007-2008
Art 1 Sec 3 clause 6
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on Oath or
Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief
Justice shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the
concurrence of two thirds of the members present.
Art 1 Sec 6 clause 1
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except Treason,
Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they
shall not be questioned in any other place.
Art 2 Sec 4
The President, Vice President and all civil officers
of the United States, shall be removed from Office on impeachment for, and
conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Amendment 14 Section 1
All persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
Contest Regulations
A drawing shall be held by
the official in charge of the contest to determine the order in which the
contestants will appear. The Contest Chairman shall announce the title of
the contestant's prepared oration immediately after introducing him/her as
Contestant No. 1, Contestant No. 2, etc. The chairman will request the
audience to refrain from applause until the Judges have made their decision.
A raised platform is not compulsory; however, it is strongly
recommended. The use of notes, amplification, lectern or speaker's
stand by contestants or prompting in any manner is NOT permitted. Props
are NOT permitted.
The use of any type of electronic/digital data gathering,
receiving and/or transmitting equipment in any form by contestants or members of
the audience is prohibited.
The time allotted for each contestant to deliver their
Prepared Oration shall not be less than eight (8) or more than ten (10) minutes
and for the Assigned Topic, not less than three (3) or more than five (5)
minutes.
An official timer shall be named by the Contest Chairman
whose duty it shall be to keep an accurate time record of each contestant, and
he shall be located on the main floor in full view of the contestants.
The timekeeper shall begin timing each contestant at the start of the Prepared
Oration. The timer should be equipped with a stopwatch and time cards
for the Prepared Oration carrying the figures 8, 9 and 10. When eight
minutes have been used, the time warning card with the figure 8 thereon shall be
placed in full view of the speaker, following with 9 and 10 as the speaker
progresses. The same procedure shall be used with cards bearing 3, 4 and 5
during the Assigned Topic Discourse. The Contest Chairman shall announce
the time consumed by each contestant for the Prepared Oration and the Assigned
Topic immediately after each contestant speaks for the benefit of the Judges.
Contestants are required to remain in a private room where
the discourse of the other speakers cannot be heard until it is their turn to
speak (contestants will be under the supervision of an individual appointed by
the Contest Chairman). As the contestants conclude their Prepared
Orations, they must return to a soundproof waiting room. As each speaker
concludes his or her Assigned Topic Discourse, they shall not be allowed to
associate with contestants who have not fulfilled the Assigned Topic
requirement.
Approximately five minutes prior to the time of the delivery
of the Assigned Topic Discourse, Contestant No. 1 will be informed of the topic
drawn for the Assigned Topic and shall be permitted to retire to privacy under
the direction of an individual appointed by the Contest Chairman, whose duty it
shall be to see that no contestant is permitted to consult any test matter or
notes having any connection with the subject matter upon which he/she is to
speak, other than the actual words of the topic provided on the card drawn.
Each succeeding contestant will be called upon in the order
in which he/she previously appeared. He/she shall also, in turn, be
informed of the topic of the Assigned Topic Discourse and shall then be escorted
to privacy in the manner as provided for Contestant No. 1.
Travel Expenses
The National Organization of
The American Legion will pay the travel and lodging expenses of Department
Winners and their chaperones to the National Contest. All contestants
must be accompanied by a chaperone over 21 years of age.
The National Organization of The American Legion will not
assume liability for personal injury, property damage or loss sustained by any
contestant or chaperone enroute to or from the contest; however, The American
Legion does carry a nominal group accident insurance policy on contestants
certified into the National competition. Contestants will travel by an air
carrier selected by the National Organization of The American Legion.
Uniforms are not permitted. Appropriate business attire is to be worn by all contestants. Contestants are not permitted to wear awards and medals from previous competition.
TV and Radio
Live television and radio
broadcasts are permitted in all contests as well as filming, taping or other
types of media for later showing, provided:
1) the lighting and other site
conditions are the same for all contestants;
2) the filming or broadcasts shall in
no way distract the contestants or interfere with the pre-announced scheduled
time of the contest;
3) the normal speaking voice of the
contestant is not interfered with or amplified within the auditorium; and
4) The American Legion is in no way
financially obligated without its prior approval.
Judges
The judges are a very
integral part of the Oratorical Contest. Their qualifications are
considered carefully as the decision of the judges is final and must be reached
without bias. Impartial judging in all contests is the key to fairness and
success of the program which results in the selection of a National Champion.
All Department Finals and the National Contest must utilize
five judges. No publicity shall be given to the names of the judges in
advance of the contest. During the contest, the judges will be seated in
different locations in the auditorium and each judge shall render his or her
final decision without consultation with other judges or any other person.
Judges will be advised that a lack of emphasis in the
Prepared Oration and the Assigned Topic Discourse on the attendant duties and
obligations of a citizen must result in their downgrading the contestant
involved. Judges are permitted to downgrade a contestant up to a maximum
of ten (10) points for failure to speak on the Constitution. The Contest
Chairman will announce any violation of time for each contestant. A
penalty of one point for each minute, or fraction thereof, shall be assessed
against the contestant's total score.
The judges, timekeepers, tabulators and the Contest Chairman,
following the last Assigned Topic Discourse, may proceed to a private room for
final review and tabulation. The decision of the judges is final.
Tabulators
The Contest Chairman will
appoint no less than three tabulators for the Department Finals contest.
It will be their responsibility to review the judges' scorecards to be certain
they are fully tabulated and signed before they are submitted for final
tabulation.
Judges' scorecards for Department Finals and the National
Contest will not be divulged to anyone at the site of the contest.
The judges' scorecards become the property of The American Legion National
Headquarters.
National Finals Contest Information
- The National Finals Contest
will be conducted April 4-6, 2008 at the Indiana University-Perdue University at
Indianapolis Conference Center & Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Quarter-Final and Semi-Final contests will be held Saturday, April 5.
Championship Contest will be held Sunday, April 6.
- All contestants and chaperones will arrive Friday, April 4.
All contestants and chaperones will be lodged at the UIPUI Conference Center
Hotel, 850 West Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46202
- A mandatory pre-contest orientation session for all
contestants will be held Friday evening, April 4.
- A banquet honoring all contestants will be held Sunday
afternoon, April 6.
- All contestants and chaperones will depart for home late
Sunday afternoon, April 6.