National Oratorical Contest American Legion

This is Spencer Harjung, the 2008 winner of the American Legion National Oratorical Contest. The 2009 contest will be held April 18-19 in Indianapolis, Indiana and a new champion will be selected. This is a fantastic program with some great scholarship money available. You really should give this contest a try if you're looking for a way to earn a college scholarship.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• American Legion
• 2008 Winner

[catlover0050]

I liked his point. I aslo like his ability to expand on such a small topic. I think he did fabulous.

[kmarsolek4]

I can tell he did a lot of research... He did a good job. (:

[purpleblast123]

@nobreakfastinhel1 its supposed to be speech, not SPEACH! just trying to be honest :)

[jellycairo18]

I LOVE IT SO MUCH.......

[nobreakfastinhel1]

This speach is amazing. My american legion speach is nothing compared to this. This video really helps me see what the judges want to see in a speach, and the speaker.

[jasonkim112]

@adco209 I'm sorry; I must have let that bit slip. The Articles did have "guidelines," if you could call them that. They consisted of a sentence or two in which the need for a unanimous decision was described. However, Harjung won because he gave an amazing oration, and that can't really be contested. I say that, despite his bit about the Articles, his speech was impeccable.

[adco209]

@jasonkim112 Harjung said, "The Articles had no guidelines for an amendment process." That is not an evaluative statement about the ease of such a process, but a denial of its existence.

[jasonkim112]

@adco209 Yes, they did; however, one of the greatest flaws of the Articles of Confederation was that they were nearly impossible to amend because amendment required a unanimous vote. In fact, the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to attempt this. Even in the decade following the American Revolution, the United States was not truly a united nation. As Harjung mentioned, states were unfairly taxing other states and there was no clear direction of national intent in any matter.

[reaper9979]

im actually joining the regionals for this contest.

[reaper9979]

im actually joining the regionals for this contest....

i don't think ill be that good though.

[adco209]

How did this guy win? He had a factual inaccuracy! The Articles of Confederation had explicit guidelines for amendments to the document.