David McCullough at Trinity School in Manhattan, October 15, 2019
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is now accepting submissions for the 2024 David McCullough Essay Prizes. The contest has been recently overhauled, and will recognize fourteen outstanding high school student research and interpretive essays with cash prizes of up to $5,000. This contest is named in memory of David McCullough (1933–2022)—a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and Gilder Lehrman Life Trustee—and honors his career telling America’s stories and examining its histories. Learn more about his life and legacy here.
High school students attending schools in our Affiliate School Program are eligible and encouraged to participate. (Email education@gilderlehrman.org if you are not sure whether your school is an Affiliate School.) They are invited to submit an original essay, written independently or for a 2023–2024 class, that has been revised, expanded, and adapted to conform with the new McCullough Prize specifications. The two essay categories are as follows:
Research Essay: Students are invited to submit a research essay incorporating primary and secondary sources on a topic in American history from 1491 to 2001.
Interpretive Essay: Students are invited to submit an interpretive essay focusing on close reading and analysis of one primary source from American history, 1491 to 2001, in the Gilder Lehrman Collection of more than 85,000 historical documents.
More requirements for both essay categories can be found in these updated David McCullough Essay Prizes 2024 Rubrics.
All participants will receive a certificate of participation suitable for framing. Prize winners in each of our two categories—research essays and a new interpretive essay category—will receive cash awards as follows:
- 1st Prize: $5,000 (plus a $500 prize awarded to the school)
- 2nd Prize: $1,500 (plus a $500 prize awarded to the school)
- Five 3rd Prizes: $500 each
To be considered for the David McCullough Essay Prizes, students, or their teachers or parents, can submit the student entry by 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, June 28, 2024. A panel of Gilder Lehrman master teachers will choose the pool of finalists, from which a jury of eminent historians will choose the winners. Essays will be evaluated for their historical rigor, the clarity and correctness of their style, their use of evidence, and their qualities of empathy and imagination. Winners will be notified and announced no later than Friday, September 13, 2024.
General Requirements
Font and Page Style: Papers should be submitted in 12-point, Times New Roman font with one-inch margins at the top, bottom, and sides. Essays should be free of teacher commentary or other notes.
Organization: Top essays have an introduction, body, and conclusion and a clearly stated, well-developed thesis statement with supportive historical evidence.
Essay Topics: Essays can be on any topic related to American history from 1491 to 2001. Essays in the interpretative category must feature a primary source (letter, broadside, art, political cartoon, speech, etc.) from the Gilder Lehrman Collection.
Past Winners
Read the winning essays submitted by previous years’ contestants.
2023 Contest Winners 2022 Contest Winners 2021 Contest Winners 2020 Contest Winners
Follow in the steps of these Past Winners and submit your entry today!