The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, advocates individual rights by litigating, legislating and educating the public in a broad array of issues affecting individual freedom.
It claims to be the guardian of American liberty. Founded in the 1920's, the ACLU has been active in litigating cases involving the Bill of Rights and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. ACLU members work daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties that they claim are guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S. They try to conserve Americans original civil values as stated in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The Mission of the ACLU
The purpose of the ACLU is to preserve:
- First Amendment rights of the Constitution - Freedoms of speech, association, assembly, the press, and religion.
- A right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment, regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
- A right to due process - fair treatment by the government, whenever the loss of liberty or property is at stake.
- A right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted governmental intrusion into personal and private affairs.
History of the ACLU
Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver and others formed the ACLU in 1920. Activists were sent to jail during World War I, for distributing anti-war literature. The U.S. Supreme Court did not uphold a single free speech claim then.
State-sanctioned violence against African Americans was the common practice that was acceptable in American society. Women won the right to vote in August of the same year. Constitutional rights for lesbians and gays, bisexual and trans-gender people in those days were unthinkable.
The Continuing Legacy
The ACLU continues to tackle the most controversial or complicated issues confronting Americans— racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and censorship. The ACLU's mission remains realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all and expanding the reach of its guarantees to new areas.
The ACLU says it works to extend rights to segments of the U.S. population that have been denied their rights in the past - Native Americans, African Americans, women, gays, lesbians, the mentally ill, prisoners, the disabled and the poor.
The ACLU is a non-profit, non-partisan organization supported by dues and contributions from private foundations and individuals, and claims it receives no government funding.
References:
American Civil Liberties Union: "About the ACLU"
Volkomer, Walter E. American Government, Tenth Edition. 2004. Page 120.
Daniel Cunningham - Daniel Cunningham graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in 2006 with an Associate in Arts degree in Individual Studies. His ...
Join the Conversation