ConVal senior Daniel McCall garnered first place in the District 2 American Legion Oratorical Contest which was held at Post #23 in Milford on Saturday, February 11.
McCall had prepared for a pair of successful speeches, one on the “elastic clause,” a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) which grants Congress the power to pass all laws necessary for carrying out the enumerated list of powers, and the other on section 1 of the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing citizenship rights to natural born or naturalized U.S. citizens, including the right to due process and equal protection under the law. Additional preparations included the 6th Amendment (the right to a speedy and public trial in front of a jury of peers), the 10th Amendment (the relationship between the federal government’s powers and those powers reserved to the states), and the 16th Amendment (the power of Congress to lay and collect taxes).
The mission of the American Legion Oratorical Contest is to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students. Speaking subjects must be on some aspect of the U.S. Constitution.
The competition is held in two rounds. The first set of speeches involves orations on a constitutional topic and are eight to ten minutes long. In addition, contestants prepare four three- to five-minute speeches on four different constitutional amendments and must be ready to speak on all of them. One of these assigned topic speeches is then chosen for presentation at the contest.
With his win at the District 2 American Legion Oratorical Contest, McCall advances to the state-level contest which will be held at St. Anselm College in Manchester on March 11.