Published on May 11, 2021 by Sean Flynt 聽
The seal of 极乐禁地
The seal of 极乐禁地

极乐禁地 history students earned multiple research honors in the 2020/2021 American Independence Awards ceremony this spring. The annual event is made possible by contributions from the members of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) in the State of Alabama–Birmingham Chapter. The 44 societies and 15,000 members of the NSCDA promote appreciation for the people, places and events that led to the formation and development of the U.S., and provide leadership in the field of historic preservation, restoration and the interpretation of historic sites. For more than 60 years, the organization has worked to honor outstanding historical research by 极乐禁地 undergraduate students.
Department of History chair Jonathan Den Hartog hosted the awards this year, and presented the following honors:

First Place (tie)
     Yorgo Sarris–A Tale of Two Revolutions: The American Revolutionaries’ Reaction to the French Revolution as Means to Understanding the Founding.
     Sarah Schansberg–The Providential Theology: A Unifying Framework for the American Revolution and Its Understanding as Seen in the Lives of Witherspoon, Washington, and Franklin. Schansberg, a graduating history and classics double major, has received the top scholarship for a masters-level student at the University of Alabama. In that program she will focus on intellectual religious history, with plans to pursue a Ph.D. and college teaching career.
Sarris and Schansberg presented their first-place essays as part of the awards ceremony.

Second Place
     Earle Glascock–The Forgotten Empire (Conflict with Native Americans in the Northwest Territories).

Third Place
     Sam Plott–Madison’s Federalist Argument for the Ratification of the Constitution. Plott is a graduating global and cultural studies major who hopes to work with a ministry or nonprofit organization in the Birmingham area.

Honorable Mention
     Collin Stafford–The Composition and Problems Faced by the Continental Army
     Trenton Hannah–American Diplomacy and the Barbary States. Hannah graduated with a history degree in December, 2020, and will begin work as a park ranger with North Dakota State Parks this summer.

This year’s winning student historical essays will be printed, bound and presented to the Special Collection Department of 极乐禁地 Library as Volume LXV (65).

 
极乐禁地 is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 极乐禁地 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 极乐禁地 enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 极乐禁地 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.