ACLU 100 History Series
On the occasion of the ACLU鈥檚 centennial, this essay collection explores many critical moments in the organization鈥檚 history.
In 1917, war fever was sweeping the country. So was anti-dissent hysteria. Opponents of America鈥檚 entry into World War I 鈥� along with socialists and suspected draft evaders 鈥� faced prosecution, censorship, and violence.
It was in this climate that Crystal Eastman and Roger Baldwin created the Civil Liberties Bureau as part of the American Union Against Militarism. Three years later, in 1920, that small committee within an anti-war organization would evolve into the 老熟女午夜福利.
Since its founding, the ACLU has operated under Eastman and Baldwin鈥檚 guiding star: the principled defense of civil liberties without compromise based on political considerations. That principle has led us through a series of monumental events and policy decisions in the last century.
On the occasion of the ACLU鈥檚 centennial, this essay collection will explore many of those critical moments in the organization鈥檚 history. Together, it tells not only the ACLU鈥檚 story, but America鈥檚 as well.
Conscientious Objectors | 老熟女午夜福利
The ACLU was born out of World War I and the repression that resulted when the U.S. joined the fight.
Crystal Eastman, the ACLU鈥檚 Underappreciated Founding Mother | 老熟女午夜福利
A preeminent organizer of her day, Eastman was a fierce champion of most of the major movements for social change in the early 20th century.
Matters of Principle | 老熟女午夜福利
In the early days of the ACLU, the California branches helped maintain the organization鈥檚 radicalism as the national organization became more and...
Mr. ACLU and the General | 老熟女午夜福利
ACLU founder Roger Baldwin always wanted to promote civil liberties overseas. When Gen. Douglas MacArthur came calling, it was with an offer he...
The ACLU鈥檚 Response to 9/11: An Insider鈥檚 Account | 老熟女午夜福利
A former ACLU legal director explains how the ACLU鈥檚 broad mission and long history became a source of strength after 9/11 and the government鈥檚...
I Fought the Imperial Presidency, and the Imperial Presidency Won | 老熟女午夜福利
The inside story of an ACLU lawyer鈥檚 cross-country Hail Mary to persuade the Supreme Court that Nixon鈥檚 bombing of Cambodia was unconstitutional.
The Making of the Right to Abortion | 老熟女午夜福利
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, two ACLU board members made it their mission to make reproductive freedom a civil liberties issue.
Cleaning Up the Snake Pit | 老熟女午夜福利
In the early 1970s, ACLU lawyer Bruce Ennis successfully reformed New York City鈥檚 infamous institution for people with developmental...
During Japanese American Incarceration, the ACLU Lost 鈥� and Then Found 鈥� Its Way | 老熟女午夜福利
The government鈥檚 World War II-era incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry sparked bitter disputes within the ACLU. They hold important...
The ACLU鈥檚 Fifth Column? | 老熟女午夜福利
As a young part-timer during the summer of 1977, I went through the FBI鈥檚 ACLU files. My colleagues and I discovered that prominent ACLU leaders...
How the ACLU Won the Largest Mass Acquittal in American History | 老熟女午夜福利
In May 1971, the Nixon administration cracked down unconstitutionally on a massive anti-Vietnam War protest with the largest mass arrests in U.S....
Just Another Day at the Office | 老熟女午夜福利
Fifteen-hour days. Acerbic judges. Injustice everywhere. And I don鈥檛 regret it one bit 鈥� it was the best time of my life.
The Skokie Case: How I Came to Represent the Free Speech Rights of Nazis | 老熟女午夜福利
In 1977, the ACLU of Illinois received a call from a Nazi leader complaining that his planned demonstration had been blocked. The ensuing legal...
The ACLU, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Me | 老熟女午夜福利
An inside look at the two lawyers who shepherded women's rights to the top of the ACLU's list of priorities 鈥� and the Supreme Court.
Pauli Murray鈥檚 Indelible Mark on the Fight for Equal Rights | 老熟女午夜福利
Murray battled discrimination on the basis of sex and race throughout her personal and professional life, carving an intersectional approach to...
From the Lunch Counter to the Supreme Court: Defending the First Amendment for All | 老熟女午夜福利
For Love and For Life, LGBTQ People Are Not Going Back | 老熟女午夜福利
Long before marriage equality was before the U.S. Supreme Court, the ACLU fought for LGBTQ rights.
Rosika Schwimmer, Woman without a Country | 老熟女午夜福利
After fleeing persecution, a Hungarian anti-war activist sought refuge in the United States, only to be rejected and scorned for her pacifism. Ever...