Princeton Model Congress

Princeton Model Congress is the oldest model congress in America. Its inaugural conference took place in 1982 in New York City under the leadership of a group of students from the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, which is the oldest debate union in the country. Over the course of the last three decades, our annual conference has evolved, expanded, and relocated to our nation’s capital Washington, DC to enrich our participants’ experience with an added dimension of realism that no other model congress in America offers. Princeton Model Congress exemplifies the University’s motto: “In the nation’s service and the service of humanity” To foster civic engagement among America’s future, our conference draws approximately 1,000 participants from all across the political spectrum and from all over the country. Under the direction of Princeton undergraduates, high school students simulate the experience of serving in all three branches of the American government by debating bills in Congress, sitting on the bench as a Supreme Court Justice, and counseling our Commander-in-Chief as a member of the Presidential Cabinet.