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The State Historical Society of Missouri awarded the 2023 Lewis E. Atherton Award for outstanding doctoral dissertation to Patrick Ayres, PhD, for his dissertation, “The Conservative Heart of the Nation: Political Conservatism in the Civil War Era West." Ayres completed his bachelor’s in history at SIUE in 2016 and master’s in history in 2019. Remarkably, this is not the first time Ayres has received an Atherton Award. His master’s thesis, “Embattled Conservatism: Hamilton Gamble and Conservatism in Civil War Missouri,” earned him an Atherton Prize for outstanding thesis on a Missouri history of biography topic.

Ayres describes his dissertation as an attempt to deconstruct the traditional, extreme binary attitudes of North vs. South in the residents along the Ohio and Missouri Rivers. He contends that they saw themselves as sectional moderators based on economics and demographics.

“They hoped to achieve this by portraying slavery as a political question that could be solved through peaceful means and already existing political institutions,” Ayres described. “I ultimately conclude the interpretation of the term ‘conservative’ lost the political contest of being ‘the conservative’ or moderate political stance as supporters and opponents of slavery contested the political middle. Eventually, the Republican Party would claim to be a conservative or moderate organization that had little patience for the extension of slavery as the sectional crisis deepened and a political compromise on the fate of slavery seemed remote.”

Ayres graduated from the Department of History’s cooperative historical studies PhD program with Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2023. He is proud of dedicating his higher education scholarship in Southern Illinois.
“The graduate program is a great testament to the SIU faculty,” Ayres said. “By linking SIU Carbondale and SIUE in the PhD program, a great network is available for students.”

By using materials and content obtained from his master’s thesis, Ayres was able to write his Atherton winning dissertation during Covid restrictions.

“With my master’s thesis being completed before COVID, I was able to physically go to archives like the Hamilton Gamble papers at the Missouri History Museum,” said Ayres. “By being able to go, I was able to obtain materials that for a variety of reasons never appeared in my thesis, but I used in my dissertation.”

Ayres was inspired by the poignancy of issues raised during the Civil War and how they are essentially the same discussions in the contemporary era.

“I found a lot of the same issues people today are still debating, like the role of government in the economy, who is or isn’t a citizen, the role of the party out of power during national crises, to be particularly poignant in America’s most defining moment,” Ayres said. “This combined with the unique history of Missouri’s and the lower Midwest’s divided loyalty made these debates feel all the more relevant.”

Reflecting on being the second person in the history of the prize to win both the thesis and the dissertation awards, Ayres was surprised and grateful he was announced as the recipient. He credits Erik Alexander, PhD, associate professor of history at SIUE and dissertation chairperson, with his support and instrumental guidance.

“I intend to use the prize as a way to further publicize my work and make stronger connections in the field. Attending the State Historical Society of Missouri’s conference to obtain the award broadened my horizons and showed me how extensive the field is— not just among professional historians, but everyday people.”

Ayres has since taught US History at SIUE and hopes to maintain a presence at the University. According to the State Historical Society of Missouri, prizes are awarded to an outstanding doctoral dissertation and master's thesis on Missouri history or biography. Recipients must contribute to the understanding of Missouri history through means of original methodology, clarity and effective use of sources. The award is named in honor of scholar Lewis E. Atherton, a University of Missouri trustee and president of the State Historical Society. To view a complete list of previous winners, visit the State Historical Society of Missouri website.

PHOTO: Patrick Ayres, PhD and Jerry Weinberg, PhD, dean of the Graduate School