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American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Organizational Matters Series
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The ACLU is the preeminent civil liberties organization in the United States. The ACLU describes itself as "our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country." Since its inception in 1920, the ACLU has played a part in nearly every significant American social or political issue in the 20th century. This includes important work in the areas of civil rights, children and women's rights, freedom of speech (and all First Amendment questions), and due process, among many others.
For a more detailed history of the ACLU, please see the history in the finding aid for the processed portion of the ACLU Records.
The Organizational Matters series documents the administration of the ACLU National Office and their interactions with the regional offices, affiliates, outside organizations, and the general public. The records include committee meeting minutes and mailings, staff files, and department records. The majority of the records are the files of Executive Director Ira Glasser and the records of the Legal Department.
Historical sketch based on In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU by Samuel Walker. See also Samuel Walker's The American Civil Liberties Union: An Annotated Bibliography.
American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 1, The Roger Baldwin Years is available on microfilm.
Public records of the ACLU from 1917 to 1989, from American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, have been microfilmed by the Microfilming Corporation of America (MCA) and University Microfilms International (UMI). These records include minutes of the board of directors, mailings to the board of directors, biennial conference papers, policy guides, the national legal docket, organization manuals, constitution and bylaws, legal briefs, and publications.
Materials are transferred from the ACLU annually.
This finding aid describes a portion of the American Civil Liberties Union Records held at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library. For an overview of the entire collection, instructions on searching the collection and requesting materials, and other information, please see the Guide to the American Civil Liberties Union Records.
This collection was processed by Adriane Hanson in 2010-2012 with the assistance of Special Collections Assistant David Gillespie and student assistants Alec Egan, Brandon Joseph, Jamie LaMontagne, and Emma Watt. Finding aid written by Adriane Hanson in February 2012.
Personnel records and development records were separated from this series during processing.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Adriane Hanson
- Finding Aid Date
- 2012
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.
- Access Restrictions
-
Any restrictions in this collection are noted in the inventory. If no restrictions are listed, materials are available for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from the Mudd Library to move forward with their use.
Collection Inventory
The Organizational Matters series documents the administration of the ACLU National Office and its interactions with the regional offices, affiliates, outside organizations, and the general public. The records include committee meeting minutes and mailings, staff files, and department records. The majority of the records are the files of Executive Director Ira Glasser and the records of the Legal Department. Please see the subseries descriptions for additional information about the contents of each subseries.
This series is a continuation of ACLU Records, Subgroup 2: Organizational Matters Series, 1930-1995.
Divided into seven subseries: Affiliates, Board Committees, Chronological Files, Departments, Officers' Files, Policies, and Miscellaneous.
Physical Description494 boxes
The Affiliates subseries is composed of memos sent by the ACLU National Office to the affiliates, which handle cases, laws, and advocacy at the state or local level. Approximately half of the memos address the complete range of civil liberties issues which the ACLU is concerned with and report on ACLU activities, instances of civil rights violations, pending cases and legislation, and changes in ACLU policies. The other memos are regarding the administration of the ACLU and include announcements of job openings, staff changes, staff publications and presentations, and provide information on ACLU's finances and fund-raising strategies.
This subseries is a continuation of ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Subseries 1J: Affiliates, 1941-1990. In Subgroup 3, see also Subseries 1C: Chronological Files for mailings to affiliates and Subseries 5A: Mountain States Regional Office for files of western affiliates.
Divided into two sections: Affiliate Mailings and E-Lists.
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The Board Committees subseries contains files on two committees, the Church/State Committee and the Nominating Committee. The Church/State Committee records document ACLU's advocacy work on the enforcement of the separation of church and state. The records include meeting minutes and committee mailings, publications, advocacy letters, court documents, and files on particular violations which largely involve public schools. The Nominating Committee records document the annual ACLU board elections from 1996 to 2000 and include the election procedures, information on the candidates, and the election results.
This subseries is a continuation of ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Subseries 1C: Board Committees, 1941-1990. In Subgroup 2, see also Subseries 3A.6: Freedom of Belief, Expression, and Association: Church and State, 1947-1986 and in Subgroup 3, see also Subseries 1C: Chronological Files for other committee records.
Divided into two sections: Church/State Committee and Nominating Committee.
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The majority of the Chronological Files subseries is minutes and mailings of ACLU committees, notably the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Foundation Board, and to a lesser extent the Public Education Committee. Other committees include special committees on a variety of civil rights issues, such as due process and other aspects of the criminal justice system, juvenile rights, privacy, and the separation of church and state. The remainder of the subseries is composed of mailings to affiliates, ACLU press releases and publications, and files on the Biennial Conference.
This subseries is largely a continuation of both ACLU Records, Subgroup 2: Subseries 1B: Board of Directors, 1940-1990 and ACLU Records, Subgroup 2: Subseries 1C: Board Committees, 1941-1990. In Subgroup 3, see also Subseries 1A: Affiliates for affiliate mailings, Subseries 1B: Board Committees for the records of the Church/State Committee and Nominating Committee, and Subseries 1G: Miscellaneous for Board of Directors and Foundation Board meeting minutes.
The boxes are arranged chronologically.
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The Departments subseries includes records of the Legal Department, Membership Department, and Public Education Office. The Legal Department records make up the majority of the subseries and are largely composed of subject files, which include published materials, court documents, and conference materials collected by ACLU staff, as well as ACLU correspondence, memos, and notes. Well-documented subjects include affirmative action, discrimination, drug testing, fair housing, free speech, insurance cases, school desegregation, and voter registration. The records also include case files on active and potential cases and document the administration of the department, such as attorney fees, fundraising, General Counsel meetings, and their interactions with ACLU affiliates.
The Membership Department records are composed of copies of mailings sent to ACLU members from 1986 to 1991, including new membership packages and appeal letters for both financial assistance and advocacy assistance for particular issues or projects. The Public Education Office records contain files on various ACLU activities, cases, and policies. Also included are the files of two of the Directors of Public Education: Colleen O'Connor (1987-1990), which are largely concerned with requests for ACLU publications, and Loren Siegel (1990-2001), which are focused on criminal justice policies.
This subseries is a continuation of ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Subseries 1E.8: Departments: Legal, 1937-1980, ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Subseries 1E.9: Membership, 1951-1971, and ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Subseries 1E.10: Public Information and Education Office, 1966-1988. In Subgroup 3, see also Subseries 1E: Officers' Files for files of several Legal Directors and Staff Counsels and Subseries 1C: Chronological Files for meeting minutes of the Public Education Committee.
Divided into three sections: Legal Department, Membership Department, and Public Education Office.
Physical Description104 boxes
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