If it's LD related,
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With this page, I will try to list every Lincoln Douglas Debate resource available on the World Wide Web for public use. Since joining the debate team at Lincoln Northeast High School
as a junior, I have really enjoyed LD debate. After graduating in 1997, I now am a judge for the same
school.
When I finally found time to make a web page, I thought I could make a master list of all LD resources on the Internet. I realize that this is probably not a complete listing, so if you maintain an LD page not on my list, or know of a good one that isn't on my list, please let me know. Also, please mail me if you have any suggestions for my page, no matter how small. Lastly, if you spot any spelling or grammatical errors, let me know. Thanks.
If you somehow stumbled on to this page and have no clue as to what LD debate is, let me briefly tell you. The idea for debating issues in a structured format began over a century ago. The name Lincoln Douglas (LD) started back in the mid 1800's in the debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas when they were running for congress. LD got it's current format several years ago, and is popular in many high schools today. It begins with a debater taking a resolution from the NFL (National Forensics League), such as "An oppressive government is more desirable than no government.", and writing an affirmative and a negative case for the resolution. Then, the debater will, at a tournament, use their cases in a round with an opponent and a judge. Tournaments are held on weekends at high schools across the country.
The NFL September/October 2001 Resolution is:
Resoved: Decentralized governmental power ought to be a fundamental goal
of democratic society.
The NFL November/December 2001 Resolution is;
Resolved: A lesser developed nation's right to develop ought to take
priority over it's obligation to protect the environment.
I know this site is in dire need of updating, and if someone else would like
to try their hand at it, I'm more than willing to give that a try. I judge
occasionally, and travel about 5,000 miles a month with work. Needless to
say, it's tough to find time to keep this page current! If you're interested
in helping out, e-mail me. You
will need to be at least a little competent in HTML, though, as this page is
done entirely by hand - I don't believe in those whiz-bang web page creator
programs.
Now, on to the list!
I know some of these links are outdated or dead, and I will try to
keep up with them. If you find a bad link, please mail me.
Probably the first thing that a beginning debater needs to read is the Crash Course to LD Debate. This document is a mulit-page paper on the basics of LD debate, with information on everything from how to write a case to what a tournament is like and how to interact with judges.
James Scott maintains a nice web page that has a nice breakdown of the current NFL resolution and the Texas UIL resolution. He is currently a student at Katy High School in Katy, Texas.
The Shelbyville Speech/Debate Home Page has quite a bit of information on LD and Policy Debate, as well as tournament schedules. They are centered more around the Texas U.I.L resolution, instead of the NFL resolution. The Texas resolution for Fall is: "Resolved: That US immigration policies contradict American ideals." Novices will also want to check out their Student Handbook with information on all aspects of LD debate.
The Shepton Forensic Team maintains a very nice site. They have research sites for general debate, philosophy, extemp, and government and law. Worth looking at.
Leslie Neeland maintains a nice web page. She
was a debater at Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, and now attends
Yale University. Leslie's site is one of the oldest LD sites on the 'net,
up since 1995!
Debate.Net has quite a bit of information on various debate forms,
although it's more CX than LD.
Debate Central has a list of many resources and information on all forms of competetive debate. This site has a lot of good information.
The LD Mailing List is a very useful mailing list to subscribe to. Information is posted about anything LD related. During the school year, much of the mailings concern various aspects of the current resolution. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to the above address with a blank subject and in the message body, the word "subscribe" (without the quotes).
For another large list of debate links for not just LD debate, check out Steve Schneider's page.
The Wake Forest Debate Page has information on various debate-related topics.
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company is a large corporate sponsor of LD debate across the nation. Their website has general LD info, as well as a schedule of all the debates and Student Congresses they sponsor.
The Yahoo Debate Index has a limited amount of debate information.
The University of Michigan Library System maintains a large list of debate related material, not all LD though.
The LD Links page has links to many debate resources, not just LD. Some of the links on this page are on mine also.
Nimitz High School's LD team maintains a home page with information for LD and other forms of debate. This page is dedicated to LD debate.
The LD Judge Page is good if you are trying to find out what judges in general like and dislike. Keep in mind that this is only a general list, and can vary from judge to judge.
West Coast Publishing maintains a web site for the LD community. The offer analysis on the current topic, free evidence, info on LD handbooks, and they will answer questions. West Coast also publishes (on that old fashioned white stuff called paper) a handbook, for sale, for each resolution. View an example here. Their handbook is highly recommended.
Paradigm Research has a nice debate area on many forms of debate, as well as product information.
Here is more product information for products related to debate.
The Information Press has information relating to various handbooks for Debate that are available for purchase. They have handbooks on the current resolution, various values, and other resource information.
Reference Pages
There is a lot of reference information available on the Internet, that's what makes the 'net so awesome. I'll provide a few general reference sites useful to LD debaters, and then a number of Philosophy links, which every LD debater needs.
If you are looking for just general information, the Internet Public Library (also available in a text only version) has quite a bit of general research information. Give it a try.
The Government Printing Office (GPO) at the University of California has copies of thousands of government documents. Good information for both LD and CX debate.
The University of Kansas also has a large listing of government information sites.
Another good research site is the LD Research Page. This page has links to many other debate research materials.
The Minnesota Debate Web has many LD links, links to legal study information, political theory, as well as philosophy and daily news.
Paradigm Research also has a large list of searchable libraries available for your use.
Last but not least, the Philosophy Links!
This site has a large listing of information on many popular LD philosophers.
The Yahoo Philosophers Page has information on many philosophers, many you've probably never heard of.
Bjorn's Guide to Philosophy (also available without frames) is a very large and comprehensive guide to philosophy and popular as well as less well-known LD philosophers. This is a very good site.
The Routeledge Guide to Philosophy is also a very good philosophy site.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a growing amount of information on philosophy and philosophers.
Well, that's about it. Like I said above, if you maintain a web page that isn't on here, or if you know of one that isn't on here, please let me know. Thanks!
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