No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

Four additional cartons of loose materials from the pre-1947 period, American Civil Liberties Union Records, The Roger Baldwin Years, 1917-1947, were indexed as Appendices 1-4. Appendices 1-3 were filmed for the microform collection (Reels 280-288) and correspond to Boxes 1-9 of this collection. Appendix 4 had previously been filmed as Volumes 1-7 of the 1946 correspondence (Reel 238) and corresponds to Boxes 9-12. These materials document the Baldwin years of the ACLU and are part of this later run of records in form only.

Physical Description

12 boxes

No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

The Board of Directors subseries (14.8 linear feet) contains mailings from the National Office to the Board, minutes of Board meetings, and correspondence with individual Board members arranged chronologically. From 1975 to 1983, ACLU Associate Director Alan Reitman's pre-Board meeting letter to the president of the Board can be found occasionally. These letters explain the agenda in greater detail to assist the president in facilitating the meeting.

The minutes of the ACLU Board of Directors record in great detail the organizational debates and decisions relating to policies, procedures, and operations of the national office and the state affiliates. Board and National Committee nominations and election results are recorded also. In general, the Board met monthly between 1947 and 1964; starting in 1965, the Board met biweekly except in July and August; in 1967, the Board approved a schedule for monthly Board meetings with two all-day plenary meetings annually. The schedule changed again in 1969 to a bimonthly basis. In the 1970 to 1990 period, the Board meetings were usually held in February, April, June, and October. The rationale for fewer Board meetings was that with fewer meetings annually, there could be more representation on the Board from the membership in diverse geographical regions and more Board members from the state affiliates. The minutes are fairly complete for the 1948 to 1990 period, with the exception of 1964.

The mailings include a variety of materials sent by the National office in New York to the Board of Directors. Included in the mailings are ACLU activity reports, agendas, reports of the standing committees, policy and position statements, memoranda, circular letters and other correspondence, and magazine and newspaper articles. Also included are lists, rosters, ballots, press releases, legal briefs, outlines, biennial conference programs, board resolutions, charts, and printed remarks. The mailings contain proposed revisions to the constitution and by-laws, membership statistics, and budget and financial records as well. The mailings are extensive for the period covered with the exception of the years 1955, 1959-1960, 1965, and 1980, where there are very few or no mailings.

The Board members files include correspondence between members of the Board of Directors with the national office staff and/or Roger Baldwin. The material covers substantive issues such as constitutional revisions, policy statements, and amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs. Resignations from the Board, requests for leaves of absence, and board resolutions passed upon the death of Board members are also included. The Board members files are complete for the 1947 to 1975 period, except for the years 1969-1971. There is no material included for the period 1975-1990.

Much of this material is available on microfilm through UMI, and printed guides to the film are available. (See Microfilm section above.)

Physical Description

34 boxes

No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

Norman Dorsen was the ACLU president from 1976 to 1990, though prior to his presidency, he had been extremely active within the ACLU, serving as a board member and also as general counsel from 1969-1976. Additionally, Dorsen was on the New York University Law School faculty and director of the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at New York University.

This subseries (11.7 linear feet) is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder and consists primarily of administrative materials. The ACLU's mission to protect civil rights and raise public interest in civil liberties through particular cases, committees, and membership--and Foundation-sponsored projects are the primary subjects of Dorsen's correspondence, with both internal and external controversies documented.

There are several large and notable subject areas in this subseries: committee work played a significant role in Dorsen's presidential position as most committees reported to him on their activities; membership files reflect the importance of membership to the survival and livelihood of the ACLU and Dorsen's response to members' concerns; the Legal Department files contain decisions about whether to support a case, debates concerning briefs, and staffing conflicts within the department. Often, there are notes from Dorsen giving praise or specific criticism concerning legal issues and briefs.

Other noteworthy subjects documented include: the relationship between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the ACLU and the special committee established to investigate the relationship between these two organizations; the purchase and renovation of a building in 1979; and a written account of the ACLU's call for President's Nixon's impeachment.

Physical Description

27 boxes

No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

This subseries (0.84 linear feet) concerns the discussion and reaction of the board, ACLU members, and individuals to the ouster of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the Communist Party, from the Board of Directors in 1940. The Board passed a resolution that prohibited anyone who supported totalitarian regimes from holding official positions within the ACLU. The resolution created heated debate within the ACLU as some claimed the ACLU was infringing on Flynn's freedom of speech by endorsing the resolution. The resolution was rescinded in 1968 and she won posthumous reinstatement to the board in 1976. The records consist of minutes, memoranda, correspondence and printed materials. See also the Policies subseries for additional materials on this controversy and the pre-1947 microfilmed records.

Physical Description

2 boxes

No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

The Board Committee files (42 linear feet) contain minutes, correspondence, and occasionally committee rosters. The Board Committees themselves fall into two categories: Standing Committees and Special Committees. Standing committees meet regularly to discuss broad topics in civil liberties (Academic Freedom Committee, Church and State Committee, etc.), while special committees are created to deal with some specific incident related to a civil liberties concern or the workings of the board or committee themselves. The records are arranged chronologically with standing committees in alphabetical order within each year followed by the special committees. The researcher should note that committee names often change, and that committees are created or disbanded over time.

The minutes of the ACLU board committees record the organizational decisions relating to policies, procedures, and operations of each individual committee. The files contain correspondence between board committee members, as well as miscellaneous material concerning the board committees, including memoranda, pamphlets, background material on members. For a complete listing of all the committees please consult the folder listing. The Board of Directors files also provide information on Board Committees.

Physical Description

102 boxes