Declamation asks students to choose a public speech and present an extract of that speech in front of an audience. As a result, in order to fulfill time constraints, students frequently reduce the text of the speech. The purpose of the event is not for pupils to imitate the original author of the speech. Rather, it is designed so that they can show off their oratory skills by choosing an interesting topic and presenting it in an effective way. There are two types of declamation competitions: written and oral. In written declamation competitions, students must write out their speeches in full before attending the event. In oral declamation competitions, students will have an opportunity to read out their speeches from memory in front of an audience. Written declamation competitions first began in France in 1872 when Louis Le Prince created a series of events called "concours de doléances" ("appeal contests"). These events were intended to allow teachers to discover new talent within their schools and encourage them to develop their speaking abilities. Today, they are still held under this name and are known as le concour des prix Victor Hugo. In America, a similar event called the Lincoln-Douglas Debate was introduced by John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln. It was believed that this type of activity would help students develop important skills such as reasoning and argumentation. Today, there are still annual Lincoln-Douglas Debates held at various high schools across the country.