Guide Note

The group collectively known as the "ACLU" is actually two joined organizations. The "American Civil Liberties Union" is a Washington lobbying group that encourages legislation which protects individual rights, while the ACLU Foundation is a non-profit that aids citizens whose civil liberties may be violated and spreads the group's message in the media. In some cases, even if the ACLU Foundation does not participate in a legal defense, they will submit an opinion in the form of an amicus curiae brief.

Fast Facts

1. Works through litigation, legislation, and community education
2. Founded in 1920 by Crystal Eastman and Roger Baldwin

Major Positions

1. Decriminalization of most drugs
2. Separation of Church and State
3. Full, unimpeded freedom of speech
4. Equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
5. Affirmative action
6. Abortion rights
7. End of capital punishment

The ACLU started life as a group called the National Civil Liberties Bureau, which opposed U.S. involvement in the First World War and defended conscientious objectors. Other early projects included fighting for the rights of unions to meet and organize, and protecting immigrants from the threat of deportation.

Though the ACLU is non-partisan and frequently takes on both the Democratic and Republican Parties, it is often associated with the far left side of the American political spectrum. George H. W. Bush accused his opponent in the 1998 election, Democrat Michael Dukakis, of being a "card-carrying member of the ACLU." The group has been harshly criticized for defending the rights of individuals such as sex offenders, the Westboro Baptist Church (which protests at the funerals of military veterans) and hate group members.