Recent Southern Illinois University Edwardsville master of arts graduate Patrick Ayres has received the 2019 Lewis E. Atherton Prize for his thesis “Embattled Conservatism: Hamilton Gamble and Conservatism in Civil War Missouri.” The prize is awarded annually by the State Historical Society of Missouri to the author of an outstanding thesis on a Missouri history or biography topic.
The award consists of a $500 prize and an invitation to the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Annual Meeting on Nov. 2 at the Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia.
“This award means a lot to me,” Ayres said. “It is nice to have the hard work that went into my thesis recognized.”
Throughout his thesis, Ayres analyzed the career of Missouri Civil War Governor Hamilton Gamble as a case study on conservatism in the border states and the larger West during that era. He defended his thesis last May, and his committee consisted of the Department of Historical Studies’ Erik Alexander, PhD, associate professor and co-director of graduate studies, Jason Stacy, PhD, professor, Bryan Jack, PhD, associate professor, and Buddy Paulett, PhD, associate professor.
“The committee unanimously agreed that Patrick’s thesis was an exceptional piece of scholarship,” said Alexander. “It is gratifying for Patrick and the department to have that assessment validated externally, and we imagine this is just a preview of more excellent work to come.”
“I would like to thank my chairperson, Dr. Erik Alexander, and my committee,” said Ayres. “They gave many great critiques and suggestions that I incorporated into my final project. Additionally, I would like to thank my family for their tremendous moral support.”
Ayres’ research involved many trips to the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center, along with other research institutions. While collecting sources for his thesis, he also visited history museums in Columbia, a trip made possible through funding from the department.
“One of the joys of history is searching though archives and finding often overlooked letters and documents,” noted Ayres. “Likewise, SIUE helped with many opportunities to examine documents, newspapers and letters that I may not have had access to otherwise.”
In addition to receiving the Atherton Prize, Ayres’ thesis was awarded the Graduate School’s Outstanding Thesis Award, which recognizes and rewards a graduate student whose thesis has been identified by the School as outstanding among all those submitted during the previous academic year.
Ayres graduated from SIUE with his bachelor’s in history in 2016 and his master’s in history earlier this year. This fall, he enrolled as the newest member of the department’s cooperative historical studies PhD program with SIU-Carbondale.
“The graduate program is a great testament to the SIU faculty,” Ayres said. “The PhD is a wonder, also. By linking SIU Carbondale and SIUE in the PhD program, a great network is available for students.”
“The program has many of the finest professors in the state and region,” Ayres added. “It is my hope to continue working with the faculty here and at SIUC to produce the best work that I possibly can.”