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| This page provides links to the digitized essays written by the students who won first, second, and third place for the Thomas Jefferson Essay Competition at Elon University. Details about the competition and Philip Carret are below. The original booklets that the essays were published in have been cataloged and can be found in the Circulating Collection and Belk Archives. |  |
About the essay competition:
Philip L. Carret, a long time New York investor, visited Elon College in October of 1996 at the invitation of Mark Albertson, Registrar and Assistant to the Provost. In 1997, Mr. Carret endowed an annual essay competition designed to have students reflect the ideals and principles embodied in Thomas Jefferson's life and career. "Thomas Jefferson, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, is the greatest statesman this country has ever produced," Carret said as he established the contest.
 | About Mr. Carret: Mr. Carret started the Pioneer Mutual Fund in 1924 and served as its leader for 55 years. He also founded Carret and Company, a money management firm in 1964. We regret the passing of Mr. Carret on May 28, 1998 in his 101st year and remember his generosity in establishing the competition. The Elon community continues to be grateful for his wisdom in shaping it so that each new generation of Elon students will be invited to consider the values of a central founder of our nation. |
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
1997- Jefferson's thoughts on today's America
Mattern, Joe
Individual liberty as a fulfillment of Jefferson's vision for America
Pace, Melissa
Partial fulfillment: the vision of Thomas Jefferson
Scobey, Tiffany A.
Jefferson's Republic: the current story
1998 - Thomas Jefferson's generation of American leaders compared to those of today
Mattern, Joseph
Not form, but function: how leaders in the age of Jefferson differ from those of today
Bumgarner, Lisa Catherine
Jeffersonian masculinity in twentieth century America
Clagg, Joshua
American leaders: generations apart
1999 - Thomas Jefferson and the 1803 Louisiana Purchase
Callaway, Daniel
Thomas Jefferson and the new empire
Cieslak, Katherine
Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase: triumph and tragedy in western expansion
Schaffer, Anne
Changes in latitudes, changes in longitudes
2000 - Thomas Jefferson and the influence of the Enlightenment
Newbold, Stephanie P.
The influential legacy of Thomas Jefferson
Callaway, Daniel T.
Thomas Jefferson: minister of enlightenment
Petrini, Andrea R.
The Enlightenment of Thomas Jefferson
2001 - Thomas Jefferson's presidency from the perspective of a nineteenth century United States citizen
Newbold, Stephanie P.
Mapping an American landscape: Jefferson's challenge
Manglitz, Kristin Anne
"We are all federalists. We are all republicans." An evaluation of Thomas Jefferson's presidency
Bostian, Carey L.
Thomas Jefferson's impact on America and the survival of the republican state through the Louisiana Purchase
Strunsky, Carrie A.
Respected and ridiculed: Jefferson in the eyes of his contemporaries
2002 - The views of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on the role of government in Americans' lives
Marlier, Michael
Connections and contradictions in democratic ideology: juxtaposing Jefferson and Adams
Scott, Elizabeth
Recent history: applying the ideologies of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams to post-September 11 America
Holmberg, Andrew
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams: defining the role of government
2003 - Thomas Jefferson's views on religion
Lankford, Kristen S.
A fight for freedom: Thomas Jefferson's belief in religious freedoms for all
Bostian, Carey L.
Jefferson: advocate for religious freedom and separation of church and state in America
Duffy, William E.
Examining religion in war time: Jefferson's approach
Parsons, John David
The intersection between Jefferson and religion
2004 - Jefferson's emphasis on the West as America's future
Dugre, Neal Thomas
Brokering a republican dream: Thomas Jefferson and the American West
Bostian, Carey Lee
Survival of the republican state through westward expansion
Schools, Hayley
Empire of liberty: Jefferson's adamant and difficult conquest of the West
2005 - Thomas Jefferson and the press
Henderson, Ian
Thomas Jefferson's vision for a fair and educative press
Keough, Jessica Catherine
Thomas Jefferson: public advocate and private prosecutor of the freedom of the press
Lauritzen, Zachary Raymond
Jefferson's consistency
2006 - European influences on Jefferson's ideas about American identity
Dugre, Neal Thomas
An identity of contrast: defining America in the age of Jefferson
Henderson, Ian William
Jefferson's greatest challenge and success: defining an American identity
Keough, Jessica Catherine
Thomas Jefferson and John Locke: America's co-founders
2007 - American ideas about race and ethnicity during the Jeffersonian era
Holtje, Kirsten Jane
Race and Indian policy in the Jeffersonian era
Usher, Zachary Warren
Holding the wolf by the ears: the negotiated balance between justice and national preservation
Delaney, Kevin William
All men are created equal, or are they? How changes in the racial perception of Native Americans shaped policy
McMackin, John
Jefferson and race: American ideals and American reality
2008 - The role of women in Jeffersonian America
Eleuteri, Lauren Marie
Patriots in the kitchen: The role of Republican motherhood in Jeffersonian America
Hubert-Allen, Olivia Marie
Battle lines of the home
Malkovsky, Lauren Jeanne
Women in Jeffersonian America: what rights did they have?
2009 - Does commerce contribute to the happiness of mankind?
Hubert-Allen, Olivia Marie
The Pursuit of Happiness: Thomas Jefferson’s Understanding of Liberty and Empire in Early American Economic Development
Stout, Jenna Danielle
Hamilton’s Country: Economics & Politics in Jeffersonian America
2010 - a contest was not held in 2010.
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