2009 Freedom Award Presented to Senate Historian Emeritus Richard A. Baker, Ph.D., and the Honorable George McGovern

Society President Ron Sarasin poses with presenters Frank Mankiewicz and Norman Ornstein;

Freedom Award recipients Senator George McGovern and Senate Historian Emeritus Richard

 A. Baker; and Society Chairman E. Thomas Coleman (left to right, above).

For additional photographs from the event, click here.

On October 7, 2009, the U. S. Capitol Historical Society presented its annual Freedom Award to Senate Historian Emeritus Richard A. Baker, Ph.D. and the Honorable George McGovern.  The ceremony was recorded by C-Span’s cameras and the video can be viewed on the C-Span website.

The Board of Trustees of the U. S. Capitol Historical Society annually recognizes individuals and organizations that have advanced greater public understanding and appreciation for freedom as represented by the U. S. Capitol and Congress. The Society initiated its Freedom Award on September 17, 1993, the eve of the 200^th anniversary of the laying of the U.S. Capitol cornerstone by George Washington in 1793. It is named for the statue that graces the Capitol’s dome.

Political scholar and USCHS trustee Norman Ornstein introduced Dr. Baker, who spoke eloquently about the work of the Senate Historical Office that he directed for more than thirty years.  Click here for the text of his prepared remarks.

Senator McGovern was introduced by Frank Mankiewicz, Senator McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign manager and former press secretary to Robert Kennedy.  Senator McGovern spoke of his deep appreciation for history and discussed his recent book on Abraham Lincoln, concluding with some thoughts on how the study of history can inform current policy decisions.

About the Recipients:

Richard A. Baker directed the U.S. Senate Historical Office from its creation in 1975. An advocate of openness in government, he drafted the Senate’s first rules for access to its records at the National Archives, helped expand the agency’s Center for Legislative Archives and guided creation of the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress, among other achievements. In honor of his retirement on September 1, 2009 the Senate unanimously designated Richard Baker as its first Historian Emeritus.

George McGovern spent 22 years in the U.S. Congress during which he was instrumental in creating programs to alleviate hunger, including Food for Peace, the school lunch program and food stamps. After his participation in the 1972 presidential election as the Democratic nominee, he continued his leadership in the battle against world hunger as Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome (1998), the first United Nations Global Ambassador on World Hunger (2001), and the recipient with his colleague U.S. Senator Robert Dole of the 2008 World Food Prize. Frank Mankiewicz, McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign manager and former press secretary to Robert Kennedy, will introduce Senator McGovern.

Previous recipients of the Freedom Award include former Senator Howard Baker Jr., presented by Senator Robert Byrd, in 2008 and former House Speaker Tom Foley, presented by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in 2007.

List of Freedom Award Recipients  

Additional Photographs of 2009 Award Ceremony