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Constitution Day Address


Does freedom have to be the price of safety in post-9/11 America? No, says Tom Ridge, although the line between privacy and security can sometimes appear blurred.

Ridge spoke about constitutional rights during the 2009 Winfield C. Cook Constitution Day Address at Dickinson College.

It's a topic that Ridge knows intimately. A former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. representative, Ridge was appointed by President George W. Bush as the first secretary of the Office of Homeland Security in 2003. He served in that post until 2005.

Now in its 14th year, the Constitution Day Address was endowed by a former Dickinson trustee to celebrate the U.S. Constitution and to commemorate Dickinson's connection to it. The college was named for John Dickinson, one of the 39 signers of the Constitution.

The event was sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. Previous speakers include Kenneth Starr, the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, Nadine Strossen, Mary Jo White and Geoffrey Stone.


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  • Tom Ridge delivers the 2009 Constitution Day Address. A decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Ridge served as U.S. congressman for six terms and as governor of Pennsylvania for four terms before heading the Office of Homeland Security in 2003. 
    Constitution Day
  • Andrew Guy '12, student project manager of the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, introduces Judge John E. Jones III '77. 
    Andrew Guy '12
  •  Judge John E. Jones III, an alumnus of Dickinson's class of 1977, introduces Tom Ridge.
    John Jones III '77
  • Ridge addresses the audience at Dickinson. A graduate of Harvard College and Dickinson School of Law, he is currently the president and CEO of Ridge Global, an international strategic advisory firm. 
    Tom Ridge
  • The audience filled approximately half of the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium. This spacious venue can seat approximately half of the entire college community. 
    Constitution Day
  • Ridge speaks with Dickinson students after the address.  
    Constitution Day
Tom Ridge delivers the 2009 Constitution Day Address. A decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Ridge served as U.S. congressman for six terms and as governor of Pennsylvania for four terms before heading the Office of Homeland Security in 2003.  Prev ImageNext Image