American Legion posts support high school youth with the organization’s youth programs like Boys State, Legion Baseball and speech contest on the U.S. Constitution.
The American Legion’s premier youth programs engage students in civics, sportsmanship, marksmanship skills and government instruction, as well as instill patriotism and active citizenship. Each year thousands of high school students participate in American Legion Boys State and Boys Nation, Oratorical Contest, Junior Shooting Sports Program, American Legion Baseball and Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Program.
The American Legion’s annual Consolidated Post Report (CPR) helps capture the impact of these youth programs at the local level, even though only 7,920 of the 11,592 American Legion posts submitted a 2025-2026 CPR for a 68% completion rate.
Highlights from the recently compiled CPRs include:
- 1,515 posts sponsored an American Legion Baseball team
- 12,601 rising high school seniors participated in American Legion Boys State
- 2,631 number of high school students who participated in a post-level Oratorical Contest
- 1,836 number of posts that sponsors a Scouting unit
- 51,732 number of Scouts sponsored by a post
- 133 number of Junior Shooting Sports teams sponsored by a post
- 411 number of posts that participated in their department Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Program
- 5,553 number of youth sponsored by a post to attend Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Program
Learn more about The American Legion’s youth programs here.
“There seems to be something more important about this contest (American Legion Oratorical Contest on the U.S. Constitution) in the sense that we are learning about the principles that our country was founded on, the principles that allow us to have individual rights to speak, to live a free life. And that is something that is completely invaluable, and other speech and debate competitions don't target that quite like this one.” – Juliet Hetzel of Colorado Springs, Colo., 2026 American Legion National Oratorical Contest winner.
“You can learn something from just about every aspect of (American Legion Boys State). Whether you don’t know much about the state government — I know I didn’t know a lot about the procedures — or you want to meet people. I think the connections you make are everlasting, the camaraderie you make is everlasting, and the experience is just something you won’t ever forget. It’s a tight-knit community and something that’s going to be really important in your future. Whether you take stuff from it or not, you will always remember it as a defining experience in your life.” – Charlie Russell, who attended 2026 Tennessee Boys State and Boys Nation in Washington, D.C.
- Youth Programs