Undergraduate Fellow Ben Woodard '25 has been awarded the Stephen Whelan ‘68 Senior Thesis Prize for Excellence in Constitutional Law and Political Thought for his thesis: "Nature National, Slavery Sectional: Southern Judges’ Choice for Freedom in Antebellum Legal and Political Culture.” Ben’s thesis advisor was Peter Wirzbicki, Associate Professor of History.

The Stephen Whelan '68 Senior Thesis Prize for Excellence in Constitutional Law and Political Thought is an endowed University prize awarded by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. It is awarded to a senior whose thesis in the area of constitutional law or political thought is judged to be of superlative quality.

Adam Thomas, Assistant Director of the James Madison Program, noted, “Ben’s thesis is a fascinating work of intellectual and constitutional history that traces the use of natural law by Southern judges, in the years before the infamous decision in Dred Scott, to rule in favor of emancipation for slaves that had resided in free states. It is an outstanding work of scholarship that clarifies a unique and fraught moment in American legal history and richly deserving of recognition.”

Congratulations, Ben, on a job well-done!