Undergraduate Fellow Thomas Emens ‘25 has received the Donald B. Marron Award for Best Historical Analysis, from the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), for his research paper, “Lincoln and Congress: Preserving the American Experiment and Lessons for Modernity.” Emens completed the paper as a 2024-25 CSPC Presidential Fellow. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize and publication in this year’s CSPC Fellows Review in August.

The Donald B. Marron Award for Best Historical Analysis recognizes exceptional historical analysis papers related to the U.S. Presidency or Congress. The award is presented annually to Fellows who have demonstrated superior scholarship and a unique interpretation of historical events.

Dr. Allen C. Guelzo, Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar and Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, was Emens' advisor for the paper. Emens' interest in and research on Lincoln and Congress began in Dr. Guelzo's class, POL 331: Abraham Lincoln Politics: Concepts, Conflict, and Context, though Emens began writing the paper when he became a CSPC Fellow.