Training Youth for Leadership
The National Forensic League (NFL) is a non-partisan, not for profit educational honor society established to encourage and motivate high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts: debate, public speaking, and interpretation. , a professor at Ripon College, first envisioned the League after receiving a letter which inquired whether an honor society existed for high school debaters. Noting that no such society existed, Jacob drafted and circulated a proposal for what would become the nations oldest and largest high school debate and speech honor society. NFL welcomed its first member school on March 28, 1925.
NFL grew in both membership and organization during the next few years. In 1926, NFL chartered one hundred high schools. In 1927, the League began producing The Bulletin, a professional newsletter that served as the forerunner to todays magazine. Chapter manuals, jeweled insignia pins, and other organizational items emerged during this time. One of the most significant changes came in 1930, when Bruno E. Jacob proposed a national speech tournament for NFL members. The following year, the first NFL National Tournament was held at Ripon College with 49 schools from 17 states competing. Miami, Oklahoma won the first national championship in high school debate.
In spite of economic turmoil, NFL continued to grow during the depression years. National Tournament winners appeared on an NBC network program and CBS aired the championship debate. In 1938, the first Student Congress was held in conjunction with the National Tournament and Poetry Reading was formalized as a consolation event. To encourage and channel its growth, the Executive Council voted to increase requirements for membership and degrees while abolishing most of its student fees. This practice was hoped to incentivize excellence while increasing access to League opportunities.
With the onset of World War II, NFL suspended its National Tournament. However, upon request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the National Student Congress continued to meet. Recognizing the need for community service during this time in the nations history, the Executive Council approved an emergency war schedule of service points to be awarded for speeches made to school and community audiences. As the war neared its end, the concept of service points was written into the Leagues constitution to promote service among NFL members. The National Tournament resumed in 1947.
In the mid-20th century, NFL experienced another growth spurt. Bruno E. Jacob resigned his teaching position at Ripon College in order to devote his full attention to the NFL. He traveled approximately 20,000 miles a year, mostly by car, visiting with members of the League and offering his support. At the same time, the League was incorporated and engaged its first Assistant Secretary to increase its services to members. These administrative changes were rewarded with increased membership, as the 100,000th League membership was recorded in December 1957.
The 1960s and 70s were a time of transition for the NFL. After decades of service, Bruno E. Jacob retired as Executive Secretary, and President Karl E. Mundt soon followed. League leadership was restructured as NFL expanded to include 44 districts and the Executive Council was increased by two members. New awards were also introduced, including recognition for leading schools and the NFL Hall of Fame, which recognized outstanding forensic coaches and educators. Humorous Interpretation and Lincoln-Douglas debate were added as main events at Nationals, expanding the number of opportunities available to students. In 1975, NFL celebrated its Golden anniversary, which included a move into its own building.
As society began to embrace technology, NFL worked to incorporate this new field into its mission and services. In the 1980s, NFL began videotaping final rounds as a means of preserving the history of the contest. As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, NFL developed and refined its Web site to extend opportunities for students previously marginalized by geographic or fiscal constraints. In this vein, NFL turned its attention toward engaging previously underserved communities. During the 1991-92 school year, Phillips Petroleum made a major gift to NFL to promote speech education in rural and urban communities. A few years later, the National Junior Forensic League was established to serve junior high and middle schools. The Barbara Jordan Youth debates, made possible by the Kaiser Family Foundation, were held for urban debaters. As a result of these and other NFL outreach efforts, the 900,000th member was recorded in the mid-nineties.
At the millennium, NFL continues to grow and improve. New award opportunities, including the Academic All-American Awards and the National Student of the Year award, have been established to recognize excellence in scholarship and character. The NFL Code of Honor was adopted in 2007 to promote the holistic development of youth: Its tenets include integrity, humility, respect, leadership, and service.
Since its founding, the NFL has enrolled over 1.3 million members in all fifty states, U. S. possessions and several foreign countries. Currently over 112,000 high school students and over 5000 coach educators are active members. Prominent include President Lyndon B. Johnson; Senators Richard Lugar, Russ Feingold, and William Frist; media visionaries Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey; Academy Award winners Patricia Neal, Don Ameche, and Renee Zellweger; Emmy award winners Kelsey Grammar and Shelly Long; news anchor Jane Pauley; CSPAN founder Brian Lamb; and Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.
The continues to be held annually, featuring competition in a number of including Policy Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Congressional Debate, Public Forum (Ted Turner) Debate, United States Extemporaneous Speaking, International Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Commentary, Impromptu Speaking, Prose Reading, Poetry Reading, Expository Speaking, Storytelling, and Supplemental Debate. Top students take home more than $200,000 in at each national tournament. Through the tournament, its services, its outreach, and its support, NFL aspires to continue its decades-long tradition of excellence and pursue its mission of giving youth a voice.