First Place
Creed Parham, Watonga

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Second Place
Rafael Nevarez, Pryor

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First Place
Amie McDaniel, Stillwater

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Second Place
Logan Around Him Jr., Pryor

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First Place
Clayton Rohla, Roff

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Second Place
William Hanna, Edmond

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Honorable Mention
Wyatt Manke, Watonga

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First Place
Rebecca Conrad, Muskogee

A Citizen's Responsibilities – What Can You Do For Your Country?
In his 1961 Inaugural Address, President John F. Kennedy said, “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” Being a United States citizen is good, but it also involves certain responsibilities. I think the most important ones are voting wisely, paying taxes and obeying laws. Read the full essay

Second Place
Luke Kauffman, Tulsa

There are a lot of ways citizens can participate in government and let their voices be heard. Serving on juries, being an informed voter, paying taxes, obeying laws and defending the nation are some of the important responsibilities of a good citizen, and voting is the best way to have a say in the government. Read the full essay

First Place
Avari Earp, Skiatook

A Tale of Two Countries
Life under an absolute monarchy versus a direct democracy can be drastically different. A country with a direct democracy gives citizens the right to speak up and vote, and a country with an absolute monarchy is ruled by a king or ruler. A citizen can either be ruled by someone that answers to the people, or someone that answers to themselves or their God. A day in the life as a citizen under these two different countries will have its own set of obstacles. One government has more advantages, and allows citizens to be heard. Read the full essay

First Place
Noah Mathews, Tulsa

Democracy and Dictatorship
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain? The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world!" This is a famous quote from the cartoon Pinky and the Brain. The duo tries and fails on repeat to take over the world with their silly schemes. In real life the people who come the closest to doing that aren't rodent supervillains, but dictators. This essay will compare and contrast democracy and dictatorships. Two polar opposite types of government. One by the people, the other by the will of one person. Read the full essay

Second Place
Danica Smith, Mounds

Discrimination
If people didn't always discriminate,
Then all would not feel so much hate.
When they just look at
Your gender, race, shapes, and sizes,
They don't truly see you are the
Great prizes...
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First Place
Bella Bridgeman, Clinton

Road to Revolution
Fall 1769
Revolution is occurring within our states in hope to create a new nation; this rebellion has brought moral ambiguity to our nation and has caused disputes among people. Some of my neighbors are Loyalists, who follow British rule and are its loyal subjects, yet others are Patriots, who are against Britain ruling over them. Recently, Patriots have been rioting, fighting, and rampaging in hope of independence. Even though the fighting may seem inadequate, Britain is no better. King George III is lining our streets with Redcoats, who are patrolling us like we are some type of enraged animals in need of keeping caged up. Thus I say, we do not need to be caged up; we came to this new world to be free. King George is refusing to hear our grievances about the injustices that he has enforced on us. It is not a new world; it is becoming just like Britain, an authoritarian monarchy ruled by tyranny. Read the full essay

Second Place
Stephen Hall, Oklahoma City

A Report on American Independence and The Revolutionary War
The Declaration of Independence is a very important historical document which every citizen in the United States benefits from its existence. The rebelling founding fathers wrote it on hopes to declare their independence from Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence was built on a set of principles that would unite the thirteen colonies, after they were refused Assent to Laws, which were the most wholesome and necessary for public good. Essential to its five major components is evidence of proof against the King of Great Britain having established tyranny over the states. The central idea alleged a sequence of damage (27 grievances) by the British government for oppression. The document was drafted, signed, and delivered to the King. It was vital for colonist to declare the cause for which they were forced to speak out and against. It was necessary for the people to dissolve political bands which had connected them. The respected opinions of humanity required that the colonist should declare the causes that would force them to separation. Read the full essay

First Place
Ledesli Armendariz, Pauls Valley

Our Responsibility
Civic participation is the way we citizens of the United States build a stronger sense of community. Civic participation by definition is the involvement of individual constituents or communities in local, state, and national government. The United States is defined as a democracy which relies on our responsibility to engage and be the change we want to see in our government. Influencing others to be active in participating can lead to our voices being heard and represented. Enlightenment philosopher John Locke strongly believed that people are the source of power. Read the full essay

Second Place
Kelsey Patton, Tulsa

Honorable Mention
Nathan Berry, Pauls Valley

A Great Nation
Where communication is key Working together is a must
Where people are free
Where people have trust
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First Place
Julie Martin, Cache

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Second Place
Gracie Rucker, Tulsa

My Day as a Time Traveler
It felt like a normal day when I got to school. Everything went how it was supposed to except for that one math quiz, but I just blew it off. However, things changed the second I walked into my history class. Obviously, I had walked through a portal that transported me to some previous time in history. I could not believe my eyes because it was a whole new world. Instead of my normal school clothes, I was wearing an outfit that looked like a costume of a southern belle in an old-time movie. Read the full essay

Second Place
Brooke Weaver, Pawnee

The Impact of Group Participation
Democracy is the intricate system that was developed by Ancient Greece, adopted by our founding fathers, and continually improved by the active contributions of institutions, individual leaders, and social groups. Rooted in the fundamental concept of government by the people, democracy empowers citizens with the ability to influence legal decisions promoting equal participation, representation, and the safety of individual rights. Throughout time, social groups have proven as the most effective way to make change developing efficiency in influential policies, pressuring institutions, and ensuring a better democratic landscape. Read the full essay

Honorable Mention
Erin Colby Hudson, Cache

“The Nature of a Country”
This melting pot of people and cultures needs to become our life as we want it to be.
A block of marble is chiseled away, drops of water run the dust along,
But inside the block is hollow with no dream of what it could become.
If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it really fall?
If the people speak, but they are not heard, do they really matter?
A country is crafted on the basis of people.
The voice, participation, liberties, and above all the representation of the individual.
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First Place
Jessie Wong, Norman

Establishing Voices of Democracy: Post-Civil War American Reform
"Our fathers believed that if this noble view of the rights of man was to flourish, it must be rooted in democracy. The most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders", says President Lyndon B. Johnson in a special message to Congress regarding the American promise in 1965.

Democracy is the cornerstone of America and is what allows the ideas of possibility and hope to run through the country. Present-day democracy in America allows all Americans to have the opportunity to express their voice and participate as important decisions are made for the betterment of the people. However, during the post-Civil War era, establishing what opportunities there were and who had access to them was still a looming question. Americans were faced with many new challenges and developments beyond simply reuniting the North and the South after the ultimate display of sectionalism, the Civil War. Read the full essay

First Place
Mary Elizabeth Kauk, Clinton

The Lost Stories from History
The sky's engulfed with light, blinding everything around me. I wake up sweating, wondering about the absurd dreams that fill my mind this time. I look at the clock seeing 6 am bold across the face, peering at me like a cat. I lazily leave my bed, and put on my fuzzy green slippers. As I walk to fulfill that longing for a single drip of coffee, I stop suddenly, dead in my tracks. Through the window I see a huge contraption, which peaks my interest. I ran out, instantly regretting not wearing a jacket. The ground is covered with a light fluffy snow, and the stars are sparkling through the early morning. I walked up to a silver box-shaped contraption with a door that seemed easy enough to open. I open the heavy door to see a bench with a blanket and a single pillow. I let curiosity take over, and I sat down inspecting the inside. I looked across to see four buttons which were 4 shades of blue, each one lighter than the last. I was puzzled, thinking about the possibilities of each of these buttons. Read the full essay

Second Place
Kember Sloat, Garber

Civic Participation
Since the beginning of civilization, there has always been a need for a hierarchy. Government was the result of this need: a necessity for order. One of the classifications of government is a constitutional democracy whose purpose is for its citizens to have participation in the management of their government. Civic participation is the foundation for where a constitutional democracy draws its motive and power from. Examples include voting, writing to a representative, and volunteering and without it, there is no democracy. Read the full essay

Honorable Mention
Izzy Foster, Tulsa

When I think of The Voices of Democracy
These are the people I see
Rosa Parks
She creates Sparks
For equality
For a new policy
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