52nd Annual Barondess/Lincoln Award
THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF NEW YORK PRESENTS THE 52ND ANNUAL
BARONDESS/LINCOLN AWARD TO JAMES OAKES FOR HIS BOOK, “FREEDOM NATIONAL”
On February 12, 2014, Lincoln’s Birthday, The Civil War Round Table of New York, celebrating its 63rd year of continuous operations, presented the prestigious BARONDESS/LINCOLN AWARD to James Oakes for his Lincoln-Prize winning book, Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in The United States 1861-1865. The 2013 BARONDESS/LINCOLN AWARD was presented at the Round Table’s 577st meeting by Martin A. Smith, Civil War Round Table of New York President; and William Finlayson and Cindy Hochman, Barondess/Lincoln Award Committee Members. The BARONDESS/LINCOLN AWARD was first presented in 1962. Dr. Barondess was a life-long Lincoln Scholar and a distinguished charter and founding member of the club, along with Bruce Catton, Allan Nevins and Fletcher Pratt, and this award is presented in his memory. The award, in the form of a bust of Lincoln, is given annually “to any person or institution for any contribution to the greater appreciation of the life and works of Abraham Lincoln.” Previous distinguished winners have included Tony Kushner, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harold Holzer, Craig Symonds, Stephen Oates, Gabor Boritt, William Gienapp, William C. Davis, Gary Wills, William Safire, Gore Vidal, and Sam Waterston, just to name a few. In bestowing this year’s award, Round Table President Martin Smith praised Oakes’s award-winning book as “riveting, fast-paced and provocative” where the author, “seamlessly distills the complex military, legal and legislative concepts into accessible and page-turning prose.” Smith continued, “Dr. Oakes poses questions about this great country and its Constitution, especially as they pertain to what constitutes freedom and who shall be free—both back then and now.“
ABOUT THE RECIPIENT
James Oakes is currently a Distinguished Professor of History and Graduate School Humanities Professor at The City University of New York Graduate Center. He is a two-time Lincoln Prize Winner for his most recent book, Freedom National: The Destruction Of Slavery In The United States 1861-1865 and for The Radical And The Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, And The Triumph Of Antislavery Politics. Eric Foner, also a Lincoln-Prize and Barondess/Lincoln Award winner, called Freedom National, “a remarkable book that offers the best account ever written on the complex historical process known as emancipation.” Dr. Oakes was born in The Bronx and received his B.A. from Baruch College and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he taught at Princeton and Northwestern Universities. He lives with his wife and son on the Upper Westside of Manhattan.
ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF NEW YORK
Founded in 1951, The Civil War Round Table of New York meets on the second Wednesday of every month from September to June. Round Table members assist each other with research, discuss preservation strategy for endangered battlefields, and listen to distinguished speakers talk about a particular aspect of the American Civil War. Future speakers this year include Jake Boritt, James McPherson, Allen Guelzo and James Hessler. For the 2013-14 “Sesquicentennial” Season, the Round Table meets at the 3 West Club, 3 West 51st Street in Manhattan. For more information about the Civil War Round Table of New York and a schedule of upcoming meetings and special events, please go to our website at www.cwrtnyc.org [1]. If you prefer, contact The Civil War Round Table of New York at our mailing address: 139-33 250th Street, Rosedale, New York 11422. Or, call 718-341-9811 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..photo 1: (From Left to Right: Dr. James Oakes, Barondess/Lincoln Award Winner 2013 and Martin A. Smith President)
photo 2:(From Left to Right: Martin A. Smith, Civil War Round Table of New York President; Dr. James Oakes, Barondess/Lincoln Award Winner 2013;
Cindy Hochman and William Finlayson, Barondess/Lincoln Award Committee Members)
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