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Youth Scholarships

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $35,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.

Voice of Democracy

Established in 1947, our Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, download the  2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?"

About the 2023-2024 winner ...

Sophia Lin, a high school junior at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, was named the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Sophia's speech on the theme, "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?" won her a $35,000 college scholarship. Sophia was sponsored by Scottsdale VFW Post 3513. Watch as Sophia delivered her speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full Parade of Winners ceremony which was streamed live on Facebook, or see this year's complete list of winners .

Patriot's Pen

Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000! 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. Before submitting your essay,  download the 2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "My Voice in America's Democracy?"

Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, Ohio, was named the 2023-2024 Patriot's Pen first place winner. His essay on the theme, "How Are You Inspired by America?" won the national first place $5,000 award. Bryant was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary in Mansfield, Ohio.

Watch as Bryant delivered his winning essay during the VFW's Parade of Winners streamed live on Facebook, or read  his essay here.  See the complete list of 2024 national winners .

Youth Scholarships Additional Resources

2023-2024 VOD Winners

Voice of democracy entry form, voice of democracy national scholarship listing, 2023-2024 patriot's pen winners, patriot's pen entry form, patriot's pen national scholarship listing, sponsor a youth scholarship.

VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

Established in 1947, our Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. Each year, nearly 80,000 high school students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program.  The national first place winner receives a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$16,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins a minimum scholarship of $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.   The 2023-24 theme is "What are the greatest attributes of our Democracy?".  Want to apply?  Read the rules and eligibility requirement on the Entry Form below.   VOD/PP Chairman's Manual   VOD Entry Form and Requirements VOD District to Department Summary Sheet VOD District to Department Awards Form VOD Post Score Sheet   VOD-PP Donation Flyer

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VOICE OF DEMOCRACY ESSAY

Voice of democracy.

Established in 1947, our  Voice of Democracy  audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 9-12 grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$16,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, read  the rules and eligibility requirements , and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2022-23 theme is:  " Why is the Veteran Important? "

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VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

Established in 1947, the Voice of Democracy audio-essay competition is open to high school students in 9th through 12th grades, with the national first place prize scholarship totaling $35,000 and the first-place winner from each VFW Department (State) being awarded a scholarship of at least $1,000.  The first place Department (State) winners receive a special Parade of Winners trip to Washington, D.C., sponsored by Twisted X, where they compete for more than $170,000 in national scholarship awards. Nearly 22,000 high school students worldwide compete in the competition each year.

The 2024-25 Voice of Democracy scholarship competition theme is:

"Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?”

Before submitting your essay, download the 2024-2025 entry form here and find your sponsoring local VFW Post here .

This year, all submissions will have to be submitted via our new scholarship management program, Scholar’s App. This is an online platform that is intended to not only streamline the application submission and judging processes for the competition, but it will also expose the students to a wide range of scholarship opportunities once they create an account on the system. Please go to our ScholarsApp page for more information.

Applications/Essays are due to your local VFW Post by 31 October!

JUDGING CRITERIA

Originality - 30 points: Treatment of the theme should show imagination and human interest

Content - 35 points: Clearly express your ideas in an organized manner. Fully develop your theme and use transitions to move smoothly from one idea to the other.

Delivery - 35 points: Speak in a clear and credible manner.

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VOICE OF DEMCRACY ESSAY CONTEST

2023-2024 Theme

"What are the greatest attributes of our Democracy?”

Student Entry Deadline: October 31, 2023

Patriotic Audio Essay Competition Grand Prize: $35,000 Award

VOD Entry Form

VOD Score Sheet

VFW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

At the turn of the 20th century, the founders of the Veterans of Foreign Wars created an organization that would honor and serve veterans and perpetuate the values and ideals for which those veterans had served.  Although men of vision, it is doubtful they could imagine the millions of Americans impacted today by the VFW’s youth, scholarship and recognition programs. Every year, tens of thousands of students nationwide participate in the Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition and the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest, garnering more than $3.2 million in scholarships, awards, and incentives.

Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition  The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) started the Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition in 1946. The Veterans of Foreign Wars became a national sponsor in the late 1950s and assumed sole responsibility for the program in 1961. Many notables have participated in the Voice of Democracy including journalist Charles Kuralt, Miss America Anita Bryant and former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Voice of Democracy competition provides high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors the opportunity to write and record an audio essay on a patriotic theme, competing for more than $2 million in college scholarships and incentives. Each first place Department (state) winner is brought to Washington, D.C. in March to enjoy our nation’s capital. 

VFW national Voice of Democracy scholarships have been raised $5k each, bringing the total national scholarship amount to   $171,000.  

1st Place $35,000 T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship

2nd Place $21,000 Charles Kuralt Memorial Scholarship

3rd Place $15,000 VFW Scholarship

Deadlines 2023-24

The deadlines for both Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen are as follows:

• Midnight, October 31 ,  Entries to the Post *
• November 15, Entries received at your District
• December 15, Entries received at Department
• December 15 , District participation reports to Department Chairmen**
• January 15 , Department winners to National*
• January 31 , Department reports to National*  

Post entries are required to include: Typed essay, an audio file of the recorded essay (3-5 minutes, +/- 5 seconds), and a student entry form completed legibly.  Please refer to the student Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen entry forms to review the complete rules and guidelines.

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VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

Established in 1947, our  Voice of Democracy  audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regard to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 9-12 grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $2 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships ranges from $1,000-$16,000, and the first-place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, read  the rules and eligibility requirements , and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 .  Download and complete the 2022-2023 Voice of Democracy entry form here .

The Voice of Democracy Scholarship Students compete by writing and recording an audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. Prizes and scholarships can be awarded at the Post, District, state, and national level. Department (State) winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington DC, to tour the city, be honored by the VFW and its Auxiliary and receive their portion of $156,000 in national awards, the top scholarship being $30,000. The Voice of Democracy is open to students in grades 9-12 who submit their application and essay by the Oct. 31 deadline. The student records their original 3-5 minute (+ or – 5 second max.) audio essay on a flash drive, or other electronic device. They will submit the recording, typed essay and this completed entry form. Students will provide these items to their school/group competition or a local VFW Post for judging. In addition, they can submit their emailed entry form, essay, and audio file to the VFW Post upon approval.

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VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

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Voice of Democracy

The theme for 2024-2025 is: “Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?”

YOU TOO CAN WIN $30,000!

WHO CAN ENTER:

The Voice of Democracy Program is open to students in grades 9-12 (on the Oct. 31 deadline), who are enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school or home study program in the United States and its territories.

HOW TO ENTER:

The deadline for submissions for the 2024-2025 program is October 31, 2024.

The theme for 2024-2025 is: “ “Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision” ?”

Students should record their reading of the draft to a CD. The recording can be no shorter than 3 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes (plus or minus 5 seconds).

Entries begin at the Post level. Once the student creates their essay and completes burning the audio version to a CD, they can submit their typed version, CD

and the Voice of Democracy entry form to their local participating VFW Post by the November 1 deadline.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

Originality is worth 30 points: Treatment of the theme should show imagination and human interest

Content is worth 35 points: Clearly express your ideas in an organized manner. Fully develop your theme and use transitions to move smoothly from one idea to the other .

Delivery is worth 35 points: Speak in a clear and credible voice.

You can  get the application here .

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Corning VFW awards Patriot Pen, Voice of Democracy winners

Jan. 2—Five Corning youths received cash prizes for their winning essays into the Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriots Pen and Voice of Democracy essay contests.

Mike Taylor, a member of VFW Post 4218 in Corning and the chairman of the contest program, said the theme of the 2023 contest was "What Inspires Me About America" for the Patriot Pen and "What Are the Greatest Attributes of our Democracy" for the Voice of Democracy essay contest.

ThePatriot Pen contest is for students in the sixth-eighth grades and the Voice of Democracy for high school students.

Taylor presented the winner of the Patriot Pen essay contest, Hayley Day, with $100. She is the 13-year-old daughter of Pamela and Ryan Day of Corning, and a seventh-grade student at Richfield Elementary School.

Gabriel Henry, the 13-year-old son of Brett and April Henry, was the second place winner who earned $75 with his essay. He is also a seventh-grade student at Richfield Elementary School.

Third place and $50 was won by 11-year-old Lily Devine, the daughter of Tim and Nicole Devine. She is a sixth-grade student at Richfield Elementary School.

Taylor said each essay was entered in the VFW district-wide contest and that Henry's essay was the winner of that level and will go on to the state level contest.

Winner of the Voice of Democracy and $350 was Carlos Albornoz, the 16-year-old son of Jennifer and Carlos Albornoz of Corning. He is homeschooled through the Kolbe Academy.

Corning High School ninth-grade student Kimberly Rodriguez was the second place winner of Voice of Democracy, awarded $250 for her essay. She is the 14-year-old daughter of Aleli Rodriguez.

In addition to awarding the cash prizes to the essay winners, Taylor presented $1,000 to the Corning High School Parents Club on behalf of VFW Post 4218.

VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

Voice of democracy.

Established in 1947, our  Voice of Democracy  audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, read  the rules and eligibility requirements , and return to Post 1160 as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 .  Download and complete the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy entry form here .

The 2023-24 theme is:  "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?"

About the 2022-2023 winner ...

Scotland Stewart, a sophomore at Franklin County High School in Winchester, Tennessee,, was named the 2022-2023 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Scotland’s speech on the theme, "Why is the Veteran Important?" won him a $35,000 college scholarship. Scotland was sponsored by VFW Post 1893 in Estill Springs, Tennessee.  Watch as Scotland delivered his speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or  read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full  Parade of Winners ceremony  which was streamed live on Facebook, or  see this year's complete list of winners .

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How To Write A Democracy Essay: Best Tips And Topics

Did you just receive your very fist democracy essay writing prompt? We know, it may look like a very difficult assignment. The truth is that most professors don’t provide ample directions to their students. They don’t explain exactly what they expect you to do in your democracy essay. This leaves most students searching for answers on the Internet. The only problem is that most of the information out there is unreliable. Moreover, many of the websites that you find on the Internet will try to make you pay for their advice. Even when you just need to write a simple democracy is the best form of government essay, you will be asked to pay for information.

Not here, though! Whether you need to enter a voice of democracy essay contest or to write a complex academic paper on a topic in democracy, our blog post provides you with all the information you need (including topics and a how to guide). And we have even better news: you can use this information for free. We are all about helping students get a top grade on their next essay, so all the information you will read in this post is entirely free.

Is a Democracy Essay Difficult to Write?

So, what is democracy essay? As you’ve probably figured out, this is basically an essay about something in democracy. It’s no different from your average argumentative essay. Is a short essay on democracy vs dictatorship difficult to write? Probably not, if you’ve managed to find a good topic and have experience writing academic papers. However, most students are not that good at writing essays. Also, there are other problems that can make writing an essay on role of media in democracy difficult:

• You may not know anything about the subject matter. Yes, it can happen, especially when you need to write something like a what types of citizen does a democracy need essay.
• You may lack the time to write the paper. Nowadays, students are required to write dozens of essays each semester. If you lack the time to write your paper, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts.
• You may now know how to start and how to end an essay. Let’s face it: not everyone has experience writing academic papers.
• You may have hit a writer’s block. You’ve probably reached a point where you don’t know what to write about or how to support a statement. Don’t hesitate to send us a quick message if you need more help, even if it’s about a relatively simple importance of democracy essay.

Getting the Best Democracy Topics for Essay

The very first thing you need to do is you want to make sure you write a stellar essay is to find the best possible democracy topics for essay. This is easier said than done, we know. The Internet is full of websites that advertise their amazing topics. The only problem is that these topics are nowhere near what you need. Even worse, your classmates are probably using these very same websites to get topic. The last thing you want is to write a paper on a topic that has already been selected by somebody in your class. To help you write the best essay on democracy, we have created a few topics that should work great in 2023. All of these are unique at the time of writing, so don’t hesitate to pick the one you like:

• Compare and contrast democracy and socialism
• Discuss democracy and the Internet in the United States
• Write an excellent Jacksonian democracy essay
• Discuss the major democracy principles
• Write a voices of democracy essay
• Democracy in Africa
• The establishment of democracy in ancient Greece
• Write a role of youth in democracy essay
• Democracy in the Middle East
• Inequality in UK democracy
• Discuss democracy in China
• Latin America’s first democracy
• Western democracies in the Cold War

We think that the voice of democracy essay is the best choice, but it is entirely up to you which topic you choose. All of these are free to use as you see fit. You can even reword them, if necessary.

The 5 Paragraph Essay Structure

It doesn’t matter what kind of essay you need to write. Be it a democracy in America essay or an essay on role of education in democracy, you can use the same structure: the 5 paragraph essay structure. We know, you may not know anything about this structure. We are here to help you, though. This is how the essay should look like:

• The first paragraph should be the democracy essay introduction.
• You will then write at least 3 body paragraphs, each dealing with a major idea.
• The fifth paragraph is the conclusion of democracy essay

We know that writing a democracy advantages essay may not be easy, but we can assure you that it is doable using this structure. To improve your chances of getting a top grade on your next paper, we advise you to find at least one excellent example. Simply by reading an example, you can learn a lot about what you need to do. You can even ask our ENL writers to write an example just for you, so that you may able use the content in your own project.

Writing an Essay on Democracy in 6 Easy Steps

Now that you have a good topic and you know how to structure your essay about democracy, it’s time to provide you with a how to guide. This is a general guide, of course, because each topic should be approached differently. However, it contains all of the information you need to do a great job. Here is what you need to do, step by step:

• Find a perfect topic . You can use any of the topics we’ve provided above or come up with a topic on your own. Remember that the topic shouldn’t be too general, nor too narrow. It’s best to have at least several sources of information on the Internet.
• Write the thesis statement . This is basically a sentence that describes concisely what you aim to achieve with your writing. Think about the main purpose of the essay when writing the thesis statement.
• Write the introduction for your paper . This is the part where you introduce the topic and provide a bit of background information about it. What made you choose this topic? Why is your writing relevant or important? Don’t forget to include the thesis statement at the beginning of the intro.
• Write at least 3 body paragraphs . Each one should discuss a major idea or support a single important statement. It’s best to start each paragraph with the statement and use the rest of the paragraph to support it. You can write from 3 to 5 body paragraphs, each about 100 words in length.
• Write the democracy essay conclusion . The conclusion is the part where you summarize all the most important ideas, remind your readers the thesis statement and show how your research and content has supported the thesis of your paper. If you want, you can end the conclusion with a call to action.
• Edit and proofread your work . Many students forget to do this and get penalized for mistakes that could have easily been avoided. It’s best to proofread the paper at least twice. Also, we advise you to ask your friends and family to read your essay and suggest improvements. You can get some very objective feedback this way.

As you can see, writing a great essay on democracy is not very difficult, if you know how to approach the project. In general, your paper should be around 500 words long, even though many professors ask for longer paper (up to 1,500 words even). The good news is that we can help you with both a short essay on democracy and a long one. Our experienced academic writers have extensive experience writing all sorts of papers, so you can rely on them to do a great job.

In addition, our custom essay service can help you a lot. These are extremely important, especially if you are not a native English speaker. Our team will make sure your paper is perfect in every way. After all, this is a sure way to get an A+ on your essay. So, what are you waiting for? Get help with your democracy essay today!

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For Contributors

Guidelines for preparing submissions.

The curriculum units on Voices of Democracy consist of four documents:

• an authenticated speech text (or texts);
• a peer-reviewed critical/interpretive scholarly essay, published in the VOD journal;
• teaching-learning materials, including suggestions for classroom activities, student research, and citizenship resources; and
• a list of additional resources, categorized in terms of print, multi-media, and online resources;

Complete curriculum units should be submitted electronically as four separate WORD documents to Shawn J. Parry-Giles . Submissions should also include a title page identifying the author(s) with contact information (e.g., email address, phone number). All information identifying the author(s) should be removed from the other documents.

Editorial Policy & Editorial Board

Topic selection & copyright issues.

Authenticated Speech Text : Each curriculum unit should include a complete speech text, along with audio/video recordings of the speech or excerpts of the speech when available. The author of the unit must ensure that the text is part of the public domain, or that copyright permission can be obtained for publishing the text on VOD.

• If there are multiple texts of a speech available, the contributor should choose a preferred text.
• That text typically will represent the words that were actually spoken on the day the speech was delivered.
• Authors may make a case for publishing a different text of the speech than the one originally delivered (e.g., the prepared speaking text, a version that was subsequently edited or published, or a version that circulated after its original delivery). That decision must be explained, justified, and approved by VOD’s co-editors.
• The authenticated speech text should be single-spaced, in Times New Roman 12-point font, with double spacing between paragraphs.
• Each paragraph of the speech should be numbered consecutively with the numbers placed in square brackets at the beginning of each paragraph.
• Information about the text and its authentication should be included at the end of the text submitted to VOD but will be published on a separate page, linked off of the page where the text is published on VOD.

For more detailed information about textual authentication and a sample of the Authentication Information for a speech published on VOD, visit our Texts and Textual Authentication   page.

Critical/Interpretive Essay : Critical/interpretive essays submitted for publication on VOD should be 15-25 pages, single-spaced, in Times New Roman 12-point font. The essay should have a bold-faced title with the speaker’s name, the preferred title of the speech, and the date of delivery. For example:  Theodore Roosevelt, “Conservation as a National Duty” (13 May 1908).  That should be followed by the names and institutional affiliations of all authors, also bold-faced and centered, followed by (1) an abstract of about 75-100 words, and (2) a list of key words.  The Abstract and Keywords should be introduced by bold faced headings, flush left. Each essay should include an author’s note with the names and institutional affiliations of all authors, along with any credits or acknowledgements the author(s) might wish to include. The author’s note should be placed at the end of the essay, just before the endnotes.

The critical/interpretive essay should be prepared in conformance with the endnote style of the Chicago Manual of Style’s (17th edition). The typical essay would include the following:

• An introduction articulating a clear and original argument about the speech or debate and its historical and/or rhetorical significance. The argument should make clear how the speech is relevant to one of the seven deliberative themes featured on VOD.
• Biographical information about the speaker, particularly information that is relevant to the speech or debate (e.g., significant childhood experiences, religious background or training, educational and professional background, political experiences and/or rhetorical training).  The biographical information in the essay also might include a consideration of the speaker’s reputation and credibility at the time of the speech.
• Discussion of the historical, political, and/or cultural context of the speech, including both long-term trends and immediate events that illuminate the rhetorical exigencies that gave rise to the speech or debate under examination. This might include an analysis of the issues, ideas, and/or controversies that the speech or debate engages, information about the location and the occasion for the speech or debate, and analysis of the various audiences for the speech, both immediate and removed.
• An analysis of the speech or debate itself, engaging existing scholarship on the speech/debate, drawing upon archival sources that shed new light on the text, and/or providing an original interpretation based on close-textual analysis.
• A conclusion summarizing the speech or debate’s legacy and relevance to ongoing social and/or political controversies and debates. This might include reflections on the implications of the analysis and the legacy of the speech for democratic deliberation, particularly as it relates to the seven deliberative themes featured on VOD.

In all critical essays, passages quoted from the featured speech (or speeches) should be cited with parenthetical references to the paragraph where the quoted material appears in the authenticated speech text published on VOD. At the first parenthetical citation, there should be an endnote explaining the parenthetical citations and referring readers to the text published on VOD. Here is an example of such an endnote:

“All passages from Kerry’s April 22, 1971, speech before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations are cited with reference to paragraph numbers in the printed text that accompanies this essay on the VOD website.”

For more detailed information about formatting and style in critical/interpretive essays submitted to VOD, visit our Formatting Documents for VOD page.

Teaching-Learning Materials : Each VOD curriculum unit should include a third document with materials designed to help educators teach the speech at the college level. These materials should be organized in three categories, each introduced with a centered, bold-faced heading (Classroom Activities, Student Research, and Citizenship Resources), with individual entries numbered and single-spaced.

• Classroom Activities : These typically will be discussion questions that teachers can use to help students understand and reflect further upon the historical significance of the speech or debate, or upon rhetorical principles or concepts illustrated by the text or discussed in the critical essay. Other discussion questions might focus on the relevance of the speech or debate to broader issues or controversies in American history. In addition to discussion questions, classroom activities might include creative ideas for other sorts of in-class exercises, like writing exercises or debates.
• Student Research : These materials should help teachers develop assignments grounded in library or online research beyond the assigned text and critical essay. Typically, they consist of questions that students need additional information in order to answer, along with suggestions for where students might find such information.
• Citizenship Resources : These materials should help teachers and students illuminate the relevance of particular speeches or debates to ongoing or current issues or controversies, or to America’s history and traditions of free speech and democratic deliberation. In preparing these materials, the author might emphasize how the speech relates to one or more of the seven deliberative themes featured on Voices of Democracy, or the materials might suggest ways students might themselves exercise their right to “get involved” or speak out as citizens.

For more information about formatting the Teaching-Learning Materials document, visit our Formatting Documents for VOD page.

Additional Resources : Each VOD submission should include a fourth document with a list of additional resources for the study of the speech or debate of interest. These materials should be organized into three categories, each introduced with a centered, bold-faced heading: Suggested Readings, Audio-Visual Materials, and Online Resources. The citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17 th edition, and online sources should include hyperlinks.

For more information about formatting the Additional Resources document, visit our Formatting Documents for VOD page.

Contact Information

Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project Shawn J. Parry-Giles Department of Communication 2130 Skinner Building University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-7635

301-405-6527 spg@umd.edu

Questions/comments about the VOD website may be directed to Shawn Parry-Giles, University of Maryland

Web Accessibility Privacy Notice

The McCourtney Institute   for Democracy

Voices of democracy.

The Center for Democratic Deliberation is a co-sponsor of the  Voices of Democracy  project, an online curriculum and teaching resource with multimedia texts, critical essays, and other pedagogical materials focusing on great speeches in U.S. history.  The Web site was originally developed through a three-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Now that the grant has expired, the Web site is supported by the CDD and the University of Maryland.

In addition to pedagogical materials categorized under themes such as “War and Peace,” “Freedom of Speech,” and “Social and Economic Justice,” Voices of Democracy includes a refereed online journal edited by J. Michael Hogan and Shawn Parry-Giles. Voices of Democracy aligns with the CDD’s mission of enhancing the quality of public deliberations and promoting civic, rhetorical, and historical literacy.

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Where can I watch the debate? USA TODAY to livestream CNN's presidential debate

USA TODAY is joining broadcast, streaming, and cable networks like Fox News and ABC to show the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast next Thursday.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 cycle is breaking with tradition: Instead of being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and presented across different networks, the candidates decided to bypass the commission and instead participate in two network-produced debates.

Tune into the ‘ CNN Presidential Debate ’ on Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. ET on CNN, or watch it simulcast on USA TODAY via YouTube .

Fox News announced it would present “ extensive live coverage ” of the CNN presidential debate across all its platforms, including the “FOX News Democracy 2024: CNN Presidential Debate” from 9–11 p.m./Eastern Daylight Saving Time. ABC News announced it would be showing “‘Battle for the White House’ and ABC News’ Presentation of the CNN Presidential Debate” on ABC New Live and streamed on Hulu on Thursday from 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Other networks like  NewsNation  will also show the debate with pre- and post-debate analysis. 

While networks won’t be able to add their commentary during the debate, many plan to have programs before and after where they can provide their own color. Fox News, for example, has already taken a disapproving tone of the debate, with host Sean Hannity telling debate moderators and CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash to “get their network in check,” referring to it as “Fake CNN.”