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American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Project Files 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 Project Files series contains the records of twelve of the ACLU's projects, which each addressed an area of civil liberties violations. Project records typically consist of case files, research files, and project publicity and correspondence. The best documented projects are the Children's Rights Project and Women's Rights Project, and to a lesser extent the Arts Censorship Project, Capital Punishment Project, and Reproductive Freedom Project.
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 Brandon Joseph and Emma Watt. Finding aid written by Adriane Hanson in March 2012.
Boxes 2743 and 2907 were treated by American Freeze Dry, Inc. for mold.
Personnel records, confidential legal records, and mold damaged records were separated from this series during processing.
Organization
Subject
- Arts -- Censorship
- Capital punishment -- Moral ethical aspects -- United States
- Children -- Institutional care -- Law legislation
- Children's rights -- United States
- Civil rights -- United States
- Civil rights -- United States -- Cases
- Discrimination -- United States
- Reproductive rights
- Sex discrimination against women -- Law legislation -- United States
- Women's rights -- United States
- 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 Records Commission and the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.
- Access Restrictions
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All material in the ACLU Subgroup 3, Series 2 must be reviewed for legal restrictions prior to research use. Please submit requests for material at least 10 business days before visiting the library to allow time for this review. An archivist will respond within 10 business days to let you know whether it is available for research use. Individuals may make up to 15 requests per month.
- 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 Project Files series contains the records of twelve of the ACLU's projects, which each addressed an area of civil liberties violations. Project records typically consist of case files, research files, and project publicity and correspondence. The best documented projects are the Children's Rights Project and Women's Rights Project, and to a lesser extent the Arts Censorship Project, Capital Punishment Project, and Reproductive Freedom Project. Please see the subseries descriptions for additional information about the contents of each subseries.
This series is a continuation of ACLU Records: Subgroup 2, Project Files, 1964-1979. In Subgroup 2, see also Series 3: Subject Files, 1921-1990 for materials on the subjects covered by the projects.
Divided into twelve subseries, arranged alphabetically by project.
Physical Description571 boxes
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
The Access to Justice Project subseries contains records of their housing civil court monitoring program, surveys from legal aid groups regarding the effects of budget cuts on their services, and publications about the justice system and how to navigate it. The subseries also includes project publicity materials, forms used for the project, and a subject file on cases related to housing and tenants.
In Subgroup 2, see also Subseries 3B: Due Process of Law, 1938-1987 .
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The Arts Censorship Project series is largely composed of case files, resource files, and publicity about the project. In the cases, the ACLU frequently combated the censoring of artistic expression and the media, removing art from exhibits for being offensive, and censoring pornography through obscenity laws. The resource files, which are copies of publications, include significant material on copyright, music censorship, nudity, pornography, privacy, religion, schools, speech, state laws, and television. Project newsletters and newspaper clippings make up the publicity files. The remaining materials document the administration of the project and include correspondence, sample forms, research memos, and financial records.
In Subgroup 2, see also Series 3A.5: Freedom of Belief, Expression, Association: Censorship, 1939-1989 .
The boxes are arranged alphabetically by subject or document type.
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These records are open.
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These records contain work product information. They will open in 2023.
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The Capital Punishment Project subseries documents the ACLU's opposition to the death penalty and includes files on state legislation, clemency policies, and subject files on the wide range of issues involved, such as research and statistics on the application of the death penalty, death penalty cases, organizations with similar goals, the court system, and capital punishment internationally. The records also document the administration of the project, including the files of director Henry Schwarzschild, files from affiliate involvement with the project, project publicity, correspondence, and publications.
In Subgroup 2, see also Series 3B.1: Due Process of Law: Miscellaneous, 1955-1972 .
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