"Rendezvous with History"
 Roosevelt Essay Contest

This inaugural essay contest, inspired by the lives, values and legacies of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt is designed to stimulate and reward students’ interest in United States History and help them appreciate the universal and enduring values of the Roosevelts.

As they craft their essays, students will acquire valuable research and writing skills that will assist them as they prepare for their college applications. Those students who submit truly outstanding work will be awarded cash prizes to honor their distinguished essays.

Students will create ONE essay (between 750 and 1,250 words) prompted by a quotation from EITHER Franklin OR Eleanor Roosevelt. The essay must be based on an individual or event in United States History that they believe exemplifies the selected quote.

The 2021-22 essay prompts are:

Completed essays will be due no later than May 1, 2022. Winners will be notified no later than September 15, 2022. The contest is open to all high school juniors.

RESOURCES:

Contest Rules

Printable Flyer (PDF)

Quotes (text)

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

“We have never been willing to face this problem, to line it up with the basic, underlying beliefs in Democracy.” -Eleanor Roosevelt