the following material is drawn from competition notices sent by the Americanism Educational League to law school deans:
1st Prize—$3,000 ...2nd—$1,250 ...3rd—$1,000
Students may choose to write on any topic listed below. They may also submit an essay on all three. There is only one set of cash prizes, and all essays will be judged in the same pool, regardless of its topic.
TOPIC A:
Health care. The current American health care system has been widely praised for delivering high quality care while at the same time it has been widely criticized for its costs, bureaucracies and the fact that not all Americans are covered. Many proposals have been advanced to improve the system, ranging from total privatization to total government control, or something in between. What type of health care system would most efficiently deliver high quality health care for the largest number of Americans?
TOPIC B
Election campaigns. Political campaigns to elect a new Parliament and Prime Minister in Great Britain last a total of approximately 90 days, private spending is heavily restricted and all major parties get the same amount of free airtime on television and radio. Should the United States adopt the British model for future presidential and congressional elections?
TOPIC C:
Immigration. Immigration and/or migration is a worldwide phenomena and one that has occurred throughout history. When considering this issue there would seem to be two competing, and possibly incompatible, interests at work: the legitimate interests of sovereign states to control their national borders: and the equally legitimate humanitarian interest of fairly treating migrants seeking a better life. Is it possible for the United States to balance these two interests? If not, why not, and if so, how?
The essays will be judged — not on the basis of agreement or disagreement with the views of Americanism Educational League, or on the length of their bibliographies — but on their internal logic, coherence, originality, thoughtfulness, and evidence of sound research.
Maximum length is 2,000 words/ Essays must be typed and double spaced. Each essay must be accompanied by a brief biography and an Entry Form, available on our website (scroll to the bottom of the website for the entry form). Each college instructor may submit an unlimited number of essays.
POSTMARK—NOT LATER THAN Monday, May 11th, 2009 (deadline extended from Friday, May 8)
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