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NDNY-FCBA Constitutional Scholars Program: Contest Topics

CSP Home | About the Program | Topics for 2026 | Contact CSP - Submissions due no later than Saturday, July 4, 2026

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The Northern District of New York–Federal Court Bar Association (NDNY-FCBA) is now accepting submissions for its 11th Annual Constitution Contest, an academic competition open to all high school students (grades 9–12) residing in the 32 counties of the Northern District of New York.

Students may submit entries in one of two formats:

  • Short video essay (posted to YouTube)
  • Creative poster (digital or paper; submitted in PDF format)

Entries must address one of four topics regarding the U.S. Constitution:

  1. The independence of federal judges
  2. The 17 enumerated powers of Congress
  3. The 27 amendments to the Constitution
  4. James Madison’s “If men were angels…” passage from Federalist No. 51

The particular questions that must be answered for each topic are listed below and on page two (2) of the contest flyer: Download the contest flyer.

  1. “The Independence of Federal Court ” In a PDF poster or YouTube video, answer each of these five questions in detail:
    • What are at least three different ways the Constitution makes federal court judges independent, and where are those ways found in the Constitution?
    • What/who does each way make such judges independent from?
    • Why does each way do so?
    • What does Canon 5 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges do, and how does it help?
    • What does the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act do, and how does it help?
  1. “The Enumerated Powers of ” In a PDF poster or YouTube video, answer each of these five questions in detail:
    • What are the 17 enumerated powers of Congress and where are they found in the Constitution?
    • What is a real-life example of each power?
    • Rank the powers from most important to least important in your opinion, and explain the reasons for your ranking.
    • What is the 18th power in this section, and how does it relate to the others?
    • What is the major debate regarding this 18th power, and why is the answer to that debate important?
  1. “The Amendments to the ” In a PDF poster or YouTube video, answer each of these five questions in detail:
    • What are the different ways that the Constitution may be formally amended, and where are those ways found in the Constitution?
    • What are the 27 amendments to the Constitution?
    • What is a real-life example of each of the rights that are protected by those amendments?
    • Rank the amendments from most important to least important in your opinion, and explain the reasons for your ranking.
    • What new amendment(s) would you propose and why?
  1. “If [People] Were Angels.” In a YouTube video only (not a poster), recite from memory (without reading it) James Madison’s “If men were angels” passage from Federalist Paper 51 (Feb. 8, 1788), then discuss what you think it means and why.   
    [T]he great security against a gradual concentration of . . . powers in the same department[] consists in giving to those who administer each department the . . . constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. . . . Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the [person] must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If [people] were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern [people], neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by [people] over [people], the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. . . .

All entries must be received no later than the end of July 4, 2026. Winners will be announced on Constitution Day — September 17, 2026.

Each entry will be evaluated by a panel of federal judges, with prizes awarded in both the Video and Poster categories:

  • 1st Place — $1,000
  • 2nd Place — $400
  • 3rd Place — $100
  • Honorable Mentions — $25