The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a left-of-center activism organization focused on issues related to civil liberties founded in 1920. During its history, the ACLU has aligned with the ideological left, becoming a “hub of liberal activism.” 3 4 Since its inception, the ACLU has fought for judicial mandates favoring labor unions; 5 expanding rights of accused defendants; 7 defended the pedophilia advocacy group North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) 20 The ACLU conducted militant “direct actions” to defend against violations of civil liberties. 21
The original national committee of the ACLU included labor union leaders and left-of-center activists including chairman Harry Ward of the Union Theological Seminary, William Z. Foster from the American Federation of Labor (AFL), future Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, 22 social activist Jane Addams, author Helen Keller, attorney Arthur Garfield Hayes, and socialist politician Norman Thomas. 4
Historian Samuel Walker wrote that the ACLU’s “greatest impact on American life” was its role in convincing the U.S. Supreme Court to “constitutionalize” countless controversial policies. 3 Similarly, one historian estimates that the ACLU has participated in 80 percent of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most controversial cases since 1925. 4
In The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union, William A. Donohue writes, “quite simply, the ACLU has a politics, and that politics is liberalism” and “the voice of the ACLU has been the voice of liberalism.” Donohue concludes that every action the ACLU has taken from its lobbying efforts to its policy decisions reflect value priorities, that are “the quintessential embodiment of American liberalism.” 24
Organizational Structure
The ACLU’s “work is coordinated by a national office in New York, aided by a legislative office in Washington that lobbies Congress.” 27 and was heavily criticized as a potential “front” for communist influence during Cold War-era investigations of Soviet influence. 28
In 1931, the U.S. Supreme Court, siding with the ACLU, ruled that a Communist Party member had the constitutional right to salute a communist flag. 29
In 1943 a report of the California Senate Fact-Finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities stated: 30
The American Civil Liberties Union may be definitely classed as a Communist front or ‘transmission belt’ organization. At least 90% of its efforts are expended on behalf of Communists who come into conflict with the law. 30
Organized Labor
Since its inception the ACLU supported organizing labor unions, beginning with efforts to promote unions in the 1920s. 5 Similarly, in 1939, the ACLU fought and won a lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed labor unions the ability to organize. 7 In 1963 the ACLU supported a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the poor had a constitutionally guaranteed right to legal counsel. 33
The ACLU has argued that “virtual child pornography” that does not involve real children should not be prohibited. 3 In the 1980s, the ACLU supported the elimination of tax exemptions for churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. 22 More recently, the ACLU complained when first Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions proposed ways for federal agencies to accommodate religious observance and practice. 51
Immigration
The ACLU seeks to expand the rights of illegal immigrants and brings lawsuits meant to make enforcement of immigration laws and border protections more difficult. 85 The ACLU received criticism after its support of Heard, with one left-of-center law professor writing “The ACLU now seems largely unable or unwilling to uphold its core values.” 86 In a statement, the ACLU said “We do not write op-eds or offer ambassadorships in exchange for donations. Period.” 87
In 2022, The Atlantic published an article entitled “The ACLU Has Lost Its Way” primarily focused on the ACLU’s role in the Heard-Depp case. The article claimed, “it might be possible to overlook the bizarre involvement of the ACLU. But the civil-rights organization’s cringeworthy role deserves closer scrutiny because of its centrality to the case, and because it exemplifies the degree to which the ACLU has lost its way in recent years.” 0){
let parent=divs[divs.length-1].parentNode;
let footer=divs[divs.length-1];
delete divs[divs.length-1];
for (let i=2; i