American Civil Liberties Union

The the Statesn Civil Liberties Union more commonly known as the ACLU is unmatched of the most prominent advocacy groups in contemporary American society. The ACLU is a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in New York.ACLUs primary advocacy has always been the tax shelter of the constitutional rights of US Citizens. Moreover, it is part of the ACLUs mission to extend those rights to demographics which have been traditionally denied the same constitutional rights as the average American citizen.These groups accept Native Americans, the poor, transsexual and transgender people, and prisoners to name a few. The major activities of the ACLU in advancing its advocacy include association education efforts, lobbying for desired legislation as well as supporting litigation which seeks to establish protection for civil rights (About Us).HistoryThe ACLU can trace its roots to World War I. A ascendent of the ACLU, the American Union Against Militarism (AUAM), was established in 1 914 to oppose American entry into the war. With the eventual entry of America into World War I, Crystal Eastman, the executive secretary of the AUAM together with Roger Baldwin, a social worker, founded a authority of Conscientious Objectors.The Bureau worked to oppose the draft as well as to advise conscientious objectors. In 1917, the AUAM created a new independent organization the National Civil Liberties Bureau. Eastman and Baldwin then shifted their focus on the NCLB later on which the AUAM folded soon after (The Roger Baldwin Years, 1917-1950 Finding Aid).Baldwin continued his opposition to the draft, himself deliberately violating the Selective Service comport which resulted in his imprisonment in 1918. Upon release from prison, Baldwin helped establish the ACLU in January 19, 1920.Unlike the NCLB, the ACLU was established as a standing(prenominal) organization which shall live on even after the war. At the time of the ACLUs founding, the US positive Court has failed to uphold even a single free speech claim. The infant ACLU quickly got itself abstruse in noteworthy cases such as Sacco & Vanzetti, the Scopes Trial and the Scottsboro boys (Cottrell).The early ACLU concentrated on fighting the causes of the bear on movement, believing that advancing labor causes would result in their desired changes in society. During the 1920s most of ACLU backing came from Albert Desilver, another founding member of the ACLU and the Garland Fund.Media mileage during the Tennessee Scopes Trial helped the ACLU gain reputation and raise property for its efforts (The Roger Baldwin Years, 1917-1950 Finding Aid).