Presidential 1776 Award: What It Is and Who Won This National Civics Contest

Barb Oates 2 minutes ago

What To Know

The Presidential 1776 Award is a national civics competition for high school students, organized by the U.S. Department of Education, with a grand prize of $150,000 in scholarship money and additional prizes for second and third place.
Students from all 50 states and the U.S. territories competed through rigorous online and regional rounds, answering challenging questions about American history, the Constitution and the Revolutionary War.
The national finals, hosted by Mario Lopez and broadcast live on CBS, feature the top 20 contestants competing in oral rounds judged by vetted American history and civics teachers.

And you thought your old civics class was hard! One uber-smart high schooler is about to get some national attention (and well deserved). Host Mario Lopez will be rewarding the top three high school students with the Presidential 1776 Award live on Tuesday, June 30 at 8/7c on CBS. The grand prize winner will receive a whooping $150,000 in scholarship money, the second place winner will receive $75,000 and third place will receive $25,000. The contest is run by our nation’s Department of Education.

High schoolers from around the nation were encouraged to test their knowledge of the “founding of America, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the great soldiers and battles of the American Revolutionary War.” One look at the extensive study material would turn most students away, as this was no easy “Who was the first U.S. president?” type of competition.

How did the Presidential 1776 Award testing work?

Registration for the contest began in December 2025 and continued through February 2026, during which participants were given extensive study materials to “enhance” their history knowledge. High schoolers from every state competed in the first round, the online Impossible Civics Test, from Feb. 22 to Feb. 28, which consisted of three 30-minute timed sections — foundational (correct answers given .5 points), intermediate (correct answers given 1.0 point) and advanced (correct answers given 2.0 points) — which included an unlimited number of questions. All of the questions were multiple choice.

The top four scorers (along with alternates) from each state advanced to five regional contests of two rounds.

What states were in each region for the Presidential 1776 Award?

Region 1 – Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia

Region 2 – South: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Region 3 – Midwest: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa

Region 4 – Frontier: Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico

Region 5 – West: Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands

The top four winners from each regional contest (a total of 20 winners) will be competing in the national final in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 30. If you miss the live competition, you can stream it on Paramount+.

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and US actor Mario Lopez speak on the grounds of the White House as they welcome the top three finalists of the Presidential 1776 Awards in Washington, DC on June 10, 2026. Trump is scheduled to meet with the finalists today.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and actor Mario Lopez. Photo credit: Ken CEDENO/AFP via Getty Images

How will the final rounds work?

There will be two heats of 10 contests competing onstage in front of a panel of five judges with a proctor. Students who are not testing are sequestered between the heats. Similar to the National Spelling Bee or pageant questioning, contestants will be asked, one-by-one, oral questions by the proctor and given 30 seconds to answer. Each student will be asked the same number of questions (about eight to 10 questions).

The top eight contestants with the most points will advance to the Semifinal Knockout Round, again competing onstage with a series of oral questions. The top three contestants standing will then advance to the Championship Round. Contestants will be asked questions in a knockout style, so if they don’t answer correctly, the next contestant has the opportunity to answer (if all three answer incorrectly, the round resets). The Department of Education will announce the winners and award the prizes as determined by their scores.

Presidential 1776 Civics Test study materials example

Study material example for the Presidential 1776 Award

Who are the judges of the Presidential 1776 Award?

Active and retired secondary school teachers of American history, civics and government were recruited by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. A vetting process to ensure judges had no personal, financial or familial interest with a participant was conducted. For more information on the judging or scoring methodology, visit the official rules site.

What do you win for the Presidential 1776 Award?

Top finalists earned a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete onstage for the grand prize of $150,000 in scholarship money, 2nd place receives $75,000 and third place $25,000. The three winners will also take part in the 1250 Semiquincentennial Celebration on Saturday, July 4.