The Lincoln Lyceum Summer Essay Contest

Rhetoric school students from ACCS affiliated schools are eligible to submit essays. The contest originally began at The Wilberforce School in Princeton, New Jersey, in 2020. The topic changes each year and is intended to stimulate reflection, reading, thought, and debate on important topics. The contest is made possible through friends of The Wilberforce School who care deeply about future Christian leaders.

Note: To qualify, the essay must be of a quality consistent with ACCS writing standards.

Are you an ACCS school?

Get entry details and forms for your student competitor(s).

Are you an ACCS student?

Talk to a teacher or administrator about entering. Students entering 10th, 11th, and 12th grade are eligible.

Interested in learning more?

Keep reading to see more details and past winners.

Overview

  • Guidelines and Topic: 2024 guidelines and topic will be published on the Member Resource Center (MRC) and will be sent to ACCS member schools when available.
  • Enter: Ask your ACCS school to complete the online entry form. Schools can access entry forms and details on the MRC (Member Resource Center).
  • Deadline: Summer 2024 (exact date will be published when available)
  • Eligibility: ACCS students entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade
  • Honorarium:
    1st place: $2,500
    2nd place: $1,500
    3rd place: $1,000
    4th place: $750
    5th place: $500

Lincoln Lyceum Summer Essay Contest Winners

2023

Summer 2023 Essay Topic:
It is December 2024. The newly elected President of the United States is preparing to take the oath of office in January. The President is grateful for the formative role that his military experience played in his life as both a man and citizen, and has therefore made it a central plank of his program for national renewal that every male citizen of the United States must serve in the U.S. military for one (1) year before the age of 22. He is fond of reciting a quote from Robert F. Kennedy (the former US Attorney General), “Since the days of Greece and Rome, when the word ‘citizen’ was a title of honor, we have often seen more emphasis put on the rights of citizenship than on its responsibilities.” As a key member of the policy team, you are tasked with making the case for mandatory military service to both Congress and a skeptical American public. Your task is to present the most convincing argument possible for this policy, and address the strongest potential counter-arguments, drawing from whatever sources you choose. The President has asked for your position paper to be no more than 1,000 words. Note: The President requires you to include quotes from actual interviews you have conducted of adults who were eligible for the draft during the years when the draft was the law (1948-1973).

1st Place: Gabrielle York, Loudoun Classical School (VA)

2nd Place: David Jen, The Wilberforce School (NJ)

3rd Place: Micah LeClair, Covenant Christian Academy (PA)

4th Place: Joshua Jen, The Wilberforce School (NJ)

5th Place: Elijah Chandler, Paideia Academy (TN)