What Is the Origin of the ACLU?
From the time it formed in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, has played a notable role in championing and raising awareness for various types of human rights and civil liberties.
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The Formation of the ACLU
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The ACLU was founded by Roger Nash Baldwin, Crystal Easterman and Walter Neales. The founders were previously members of the National Civil Liberties Bureau, or NCLB, which was the predecessor civil liberties advocacy organization created as a result of anti-World War I sentiment.
Conflict Preceding the ACLU's Formation
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A prevailing sense of fear and division marked the period after World War I. Many European immigrants were divided by loyalties to their home countries and those countries' respective roles during WWI. These immigrants were primarily lower-class workers who were also concerned with fair treatment and compensation in the workplace. The actions of the U.S. government during this period were primarily motivated by fear of radical ideas such as communism and socialism and officials considered the spread of radical ideas and protests a national threat. This period of fear that communism and socialist ideology would spread is often referred to as the Red Scare.
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The ACLU's Purpose
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The ACLU originally formed to protect Americans accused of holding communist or socialist sentiment from being arrested or deported during the injunction on what some conservatives referred to at the time as radicals or left-wing anarchists. These events were known as the Palmer Raids, which were led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and carried out by the U.S. Department of Justice in the winter of 1919-1920. At the time of the ACLU's formation, the organization also began to advocate worker unions' rights to convene and organize.
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