The American Legion Builds Future Generations of U.S. Citizens

By: Tara Blue
On Sunday Feb. 26th, the American Legion sponsored its 89th annual Oratorical Contest at Southern Boone High School. One contestant from each of the four Legion zones in Missouri delivered a “Constitutional Speech” to the audience and judges. Each contestant was scored based on their knowledge of content and speaking skills. Contestants were required to recite a prepared oration which addressed aspects of the U.S. Constitution, with an emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our country. In addition to the main oration, they were also required to give a secondary, improvised discourse, which they were given five minutes to prepare for. The secondary topic was Amendment XIV section 1, the protection of rights of persons born or naturalized in the United States and was drawn randomly from a list of four total amendments.