Awards

The New York Young Republican Club has bestowed the following awards:

The Herbert Brownell Jr. Award goes to a Club alumnus or Associate Member that best embodies the spirit of Herbert Brownell Jr. (1904-1996). Brownell served as a member of the New York Assembly for five years, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, manager of Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s Presidential Campaign, and United States Attorney General under President Eisenhower for seven years. His example of service to both country and party has served as a standard to which we all aspire. Fittingly, this award winner must demonstrate a lifetime of achievement and dedication to both nation and party.

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The Frederic René Coudert Jr. Award goes to an individual that best embodies the conservative spirit of Frederic René Coudert Jr. (1898-1972). Coudert was a member of the New York State Senate from 1939 to 1946, sitting in the 162nd, 163rd, 164th, and 165th New York State Legislatures. Between 1940 and 1942, he helped lead the Rapp-Coudert Committee, which sought to identify the extent of communist influence in the public education system of the state of New York. Its inquiries lead to the dismissal of more than 40 instructors and staff members at the City College of New York. He was elected as a Republican to the 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, and 85th United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1959. Coudert was an outspoken conservative and endorsed William F. Buckley’s 1965 Conservative campaign for the New York City mayoralty over liberal Republican Congressman and fellow New York Young Republican Club alumnus John Lindsay. 

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The Thomas E. Dewey Award is bestowed upon an individual whose exemplary service in government best embodies the spirit and dedication to the Republican Party. Thomas E. Dewey (1902-1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician. Dewey served as the Chairman of the New York Young Republican Club’s Board of Governors from 1931 to 1932. He served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. In 1944, he won the Republican Party’s nomination for president but lost the election to incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt in the closest of Roosevelt’s four presidential elections. He again served as the Republican presidential nominee in 1948 but lost to Harry S. Truman in one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history. Dewey played a large role in winning the Republican presidential nomination for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and also helped Eisenhower win the presidential election that year. He was instrumental in the selection of Richard M. Nixon as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956. As a New York City prosecutor and District Attorney in the 1930s and early 1940s, Dewey relentlessly sought to curb the power of the American mafia and of organized crime in general. Most famously, he successfully prosecuted Mafioso kingpin Charles “Lucky” Luciano on charges of forced prostitution in 1936. Luciano was given a 30- to 50-year prison sentence. Dewey also prosecuted and convicted Waxey Gordon, another prominent New York City gangster and bootlegger, on charges of tax evasion. Dewey almost succeeded in apprehending Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz as well, but Schultz was murdered in 1935 in a hit ordered by The Commission itself; he had disobeyed The Commission’s order forbidding him from making an attempt on Dewey’s life.

The Allen W. Dulles Award goes to an individual who embodies the virulent anti-Marxist spirit of Allen W. Dulles (1893-1969). Dulles was the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and its longest-serving director to date. In the 1948 Presidential election, Dulles served as an advisor to former Club Chairman and Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey. He championed the Eisenhower Administration’s New Look strategy, and, as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, he established global intelligence networks to identify and counter communist efforts. In addition, he oversaw the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état, and the Lockheed U-2 aircraft program.

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The John Foster Dulles Award goes to an individual that best embodies the anti-Communist spirit of John Foster Dulles (1888-1959). Dulles served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world, believing it was “Godless terrorism.” Club alumnus, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed Dulles to the United States Senate to replace Democratic incumbent Robert F. Wagner, who had resigned due to ill health. Dulles served from July 7 to November 8, 1949. He lost the 1949 special election to finish the term to Democratic nominee Herbert H. Lehman.

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The John Marshall Harlan II Award is presented to a member of the community at large who goes to great lengths to assist the Club in fulfilling its mission. John Marshall Harlan II (1899-1971) was a former member of the Club and an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. Harlan is often characterized as a member of the conservative wing of the Warren Court. He advocated a limited role for the judiciary, remarking that the Supreme Court should not be considered “a general haven for reform movements.” In general, Harlan adhered more closely to precedent and was more reluctant to overturn legislation than many of his colleagues on the Court. He strongly disagreed with the doctrine of incorporation, which held that the provisions of the federal Bill of Rights applied to the state governments. At the same time, he advocated a broad interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, arguing that it protected a wide range of rights not expressly mentioned in the United States Constitution. Harlan is sometimes called the “great dissenter” of the Warren Court and has been described as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices of the twentieth century.

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Since 1962 the Stanley M. Isaacs Award has been presented to a non-board Club member who has made the most important contributions to the Club in the last year in the opinion of the Board of Governors. Stanley M. Isaacs (1882-1962), who served as Manhattan Borough President from 1938-1941, and Minority Leader of the City Council at the time of his death, made a lifetime commitment to supporting the Club and its endeavors. It is this legacy of service to the Club that future award recipients shall be measured against.

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Since 1947 the Philip J. McCook Award (Previously known as the Civic Service Award, the War Memorial Award, and the New York Young Republican Club Award) has been given to a person in the community at large that best embodies the spirit and mission of the New York Young Republican Club, who exemplifies the fundamental ideals of Republicanism, such as liberty and individual responsibility, and who has demonstrated a dedication and service to both the Republican Party and society. Philip J. McCook (1873-1963) was one of the Club’s original 32 founders and its first president, serving from 1911 to 1914. In 1919, he was elected to the Supreme Court in New York. In 1930 he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to preside over the Ewald Healy job-buying inquiry, which eventually led to the famed Seabury investigation and a public airing of the corruption in Tammany politics in the Democratic party in New York City. Judge McCook came from a family with a reputation for bravery in combat. A family often called the “fighting McCooks.” His family had 15 men wearing Union Army uniforms during the Civil War, and Judge McCook had the unusual distinction of having served in the U.S. Army in three wars. He was an infantry corporal in the Spanish-American War, an infantry major in World War I, and a colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in World War II. He was wounded during World War I at the Meuse and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

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The Richard M. Nixon Award is given to a citizen who exemplifies the fundamental ideals of Americanism. Richard M. Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974 and thereby obtaining the highest political rank of any New York Young Republican Club alumnus. Earlier in his political career, Nixon served as a Representative and Senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nixon’s five years in the White House saw the reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam Conflict, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the first manned Moon landings, and the ratification of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Between his service as Vice President and President, Nixon moved to New York City, where he joined the New York Young Republican Club. The Club supported Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign; it created and sold collectible silver and bronze coins featuring profiles of his and Spiro T. Agnew’s faces to raise funds used to support his campaign. Nixon went on to appoint Club members to positions in the federal government, including Kenneth B. Keating as United States Ambassador to Israel, Russell E. Train as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Rita E. Hauser as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The Club awarded Richard M. Nixon its Philip J. McCook Award in 1960.

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The Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Award is presented to a Republican candidate who has displayed the highest leadership qualities and character within the Republican Party in prior or current election cycles. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887-1944) was an American government, business, and military leader. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Roosevelt is known for his World War II service, including the direction of troops at Utah Beach during the Normandy landings. For his service at Normandy, Roosevelt received the Medal of Honor. He was the first non-founding Club member to be elected to higher office as a member of the New York State Assembly (Nassau County, 2nd D.) in 1920. In the 1924 New York State election, Roosevelt was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York. In addition, he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1921–1924), Governor of Puerto Rico (1929–1932), and Governor-General of the Philippines (1932–1933).

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The Nelson A. Rockefeller Award is presented to a member of the community at large who, in the spirit of the former Club member, New York Governor, and the United States Vice President, goes to great lengths to assist the New York Young Republican Club in fulfilling its mission. Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908-1979) served as Governor of New York State from 1959 to 1973 and Vice President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Throughout his distinguished career, “Rocky”, as Club members affectionately referred to him, aided the Club in innumerable ways. Only a person of such generosity may fittingly receive this award.

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