American Civil Liberties Union Reel List 1
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For information on this or any other UMI research collections product, please contact: LT·M-1 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor. Michigan 48106-1346 1-800-521-0600 TABLE OF CONTENTS "Eternal Vigilance in the Defense of Liberty:" A Guide to the Papers of the American Civil Liberties Union Description of the Arrangement of the Collection vii American Civil Liberties Union Reel List 1 Name and Topic Index to the Reel List (excluding briefs) 71 Topical Index to the Briefs 77 Table of Plaintiffs and Defendants 83 ''Eternal Vigilance in the Defense of Liberty:'' A Guide to the Papers of the AmericanCivil Liberties Union by Samuel Walker University of Nebraska at Omaha INTRODUCTION In addition, there are forty-nine staffed affiliate offices or na tional chapters in every state of the union. Each affiliate is a The papers of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) separately chartered organization with its own Board of Di are the single most important collection of materials available rectors. Affiliates are bound by the policies adopted by the relating to the history of individual rights in American his national Board of Directors. tory. Since its founding in 1920, the ACLU has been devoted to the non-partisan defense of individual liberties under the THE HISTORY OF THE ACLU Bill of Rights. The organization has not only championed the principle of freedom of speech but has been involved in over The ACLU was founded in January 1920. It was an outgrowth 80 percent of the landmark Supreme Court cases related to of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) which was es civil liberties since the 1920s. The ACLU defines its role as a tablished in 1917 to defend the rights of conscientious objec watchdog in the defense of individual rights, believing that tors and to defend the free speech rights of opponents of Ameri "eternal vigilance" is necessary to preserve and extend civil can involvement in World War I. Roger Baldwin, who had liberties. The papers of the ACLU are a rich and invaluable served as founder and co-Secretary of the NCLB with Crystal source of material on the growth of individual rights, includ Eastman, became the Director of the ACLU and served in ing not just legal briefs in important court cases but the de that capacity for thirty years. bates within the ACLU that shaped the policies leading to those cases. The ACLU defined its program as the non-partisan defense of civil liberties. In its early years it concentrated on the defense THE ACLU AS AN ORGANIZATION of the rights of labor union organizers and radical political leaders. Because of its defense of the rights of Communists, The ACLU is a private non-partisan organization devoted to the ACLU was attacked by self-styled patriots as "un-Ameri the defense of civil liberties. It receives no government funds can." Liberals, meanwhile, attacked it for defending the rights and does not engage in any political activity, such as support of the Ku Klux Klan and Henry Ford, who was a notorious ing or opposing candidates for public office. In the mid-l 980s anti-semite. the ACLU had about 275,000 members. It is supported by membership dues, special contributions by members and sup In the repressive environment of the 1920s, the ACLU was a porters, and foundation grants for special civil liberties projects. lonely advocate of civil liberties and won very few battles. It scored its first significant gains in the court of public opinion The program of the ACLU consists of litigation, public edu in the famous Scopes case of 1925, where it opposed a Ten cation, and lobbying on behalf of civil liberties. The ACLU nessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution. The ACLU defends civil liberties in four major areas: First Amendment also won its first important victory in the U.S. Supreme Court freedoms; due process of law; equal protection; and privacy. in the 1925 case of Gitlow v. New York, where the Court ac The official policies of the organization are decided by the cepted the ACLU's argument that the Fourteenth Amendment national Board of Directors (see Series I) and are found in the incorporated the free speech clause of the First Amendment ACLU Policy Guide (see Series III). and made it binding on the states. The ACLU maintains a national office in New York City, a In the 1930s and 1940s the ACLU program expanded to in legislative office in Washington, DC, and regional offices in clude a broader program on behalf of civil rights, the rights of Atlanta and Denver. The ACLU also maintains a series of Native Americans, and a more aggressive fight against gov special projects devoted to specific civil liberties issues, such ernment censorship of the arts. Beginning in 1937, as the as prisoners' rights, reproductive rights, and children's rights. Supreme Court became more sympathetic to civil liberties, iii the ACLU won an increasing number of victories in the Court to these materials see Samuel Walker, The American Civil and played a major role in the shaping of constitutional law. Liberties Union: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Gar land, 1992). The ACLU underwent a major expansion of membership and programs in the 1960s. Membership grew from 50,000 in 1960 As a national organization, the ACLU has a complex federal to about 250,000 in 1974. It also established staffed affiliates structure. In addition to the national office in New York City, in virtually every state. The organization's definition of civil there are affiliates or chapters in every state. Each affiliate is a liberties expanded significantly, adding to its program such separately chartered organization with its own Board of Di new issues as prisoner's rights, the rights of the mentally ill, rectors. ACLU affiliates are governed by the policies adopted the rights of women, and reproductive rights. by the national Board of Directors. Affiliates may differ from national ACLU policy in certain limited circumstances. They In the 1988 presidential election campaign, the ACLU be may adopt policies where no national ACLU policy exists. came a major issue when Republican candidate George Bush Also, an affiliate may adopt a policy that conflicts with na attacked his Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis for being tional policy , but may act on that policy only within the geo a ''card-carrying member" of the ACLU. This attack on the graphic confines of the affiliate. In cases before the U.S. Su ACLU was similar to other attacks on the organization since preme Court, only the policy of the national Board of Direc its founding in 1920. Because of its defense of the rights of tors may be presented as the position of the ACLU. Communists and other political radicals, it has long been ac cused of being "un-American." Since the late 1940s, the ACLU Researchers interested in pursuing certain issues in greater has been attacked as "anti-religious'· because of its vigorous depth should consult the records of particular ACLU affili fight for the separation of church and state. Its opposition to ates. The records of some, but not all, ACLU affiliates have censorship, including censorship of sexually explicit mate been deposited with state historical societies or university ar rial, has generated criticisms that it supports immorality. chives. Materials related to recent issues are often still housed in the affiliate office. For a guide to ACLU affiliate records as HOW TO USE THE PAPERS OF THE ACLU of 1992, see Samuel Walker, The American Civil Liberties Union: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Garland, The Papers of the American Civil Liberties Union are divided 1992). into several major sections. Series II includes material on the ACLU Biennial Conference. Series I includes the Minutes of the Board of Directors of the The Biennial Conference was created in the 1950s as a ve ACLU. The Board of Directors is the official governing body hicle for giving the lay membership of the ACLU a voice in of the organization, with the power to decide official policy. policy making. Under the current ACLU Constitution and By Policies that are adopted are collected in the ACLU Policy Laws (see Series ill), each Biennial Conference may propose Guide (Series III). The Minutes, however, provide valuable formal policies for the ACLU. Any Binding Resolution adopted background on the debates underlying these policies, includ by the Biennial becomes official policy unless it is rejected by ing amendments to proposed policies and proposed policies the Board of Directors within eighteen months. If a Binding that are rejected. The Minutes also provide valuable material Resolution is rejected, it is then submitted to a referendum, on organization matters, including membership, finances, and with the boards of directors of the ACLU affiliates voting un the structure of the organization itself.