Eleven Â鶹¹û¶³ students have been honored by the Birmingham Center of Colonial Dames of America for outstanding papers written in Â鶹¹û¶³ history classes. The winners received cash prizes for their work submitted in the annual Colonial Dames’ American Independence essay contest.
Hannah James, a senior history and religion major from London, Kentucky, won the first place prize of $600. Her paper was entitled “For the Kingdom of God or for the Kingdom of Man? American Indigenous Societies and Their Alterations of Environmental Practices during Colonization, Sixteenth to Mid-Eighteenth Century.”
Morgan Roettele, a junior history major from Naples, Florida, won second place and a $500 cash award for her paper, “The Columbian Patriot: The Intellectual Achievements and Political Voice of Mercy Otis Warren.”
William Higgins, a junior political science and classics major from Knoxville, Tennessee, won third place and $400 for his paper, “It Started with Paxton’s Case: An Explanation and Analysis of the Weak Legal Cases and Political Rhetoric That Founded the United States.”
Sam Fink, a freshman from Fayetteville, Georgia, won fourth place and $400 for his paper, “The Hero of Two Worlds.”
Trevor Waldrop, a junior classics and history major from Birmingham, won fifth place and $300 for his paper, “The Exile of Thomas Hutchinson.”
Anna-Drake Stephens, a freshman history major from Dothan, Alabama, won sixth place and $300 for her paper, “Thomas Jefferson.”
Nicholas Kromann, a senior history major from Huntsville, Alabama, won seventh place and $300 for his paper, “Loyalism and Its Consequences: The Tribulations of Thomas Hutchinson.”
Honorable Mention and $50 prizes went to four essay writers: Sarah Harbaugh, a freshman voice major from Owens Crossroads, Alabama; Rachel Johnson, a freshman mathematics major from Memphis, Tennessee; Delaney Harrison, a junior political science major from Cataula, Georgia; and Cole Arn, a freshman music and worship leadership major from Plant City, Florida.
The awards were presented by Â鶹¹û¶³ history department chair S. Jonathan Bass at a luncheon at Mountain Brook Country Club March 16.
A collection of the winning papers was dedicated to Kathryn Hicks Porter in recognition of her service as Colonial Dames president. A bound volume of the essays will be housed in the Â鶹¹û¶³ library.