Summary
Overview
American Civil Liberties Union.
American Civil Liberties Union Washington, D.C. Office Records
14.70 feet (35 Archival boxes)
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers received and generated by the staff of the Washington, D.C. Office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during the 1950s and 1960s. The ACLU is a leading defender of civil liberties in the United States. Founded in 1920, it has been the recipient of sharp criticism for its willingness to defend unpopular causes and has participated in a majority of the landmark cases to come before the Supreme Court in the twentieth century. The Washington Office's primary responsibility is to monitor legislative issues. In the 1950s the office worked against abuses caused by McCarthyism, including loyalty oath requirements, powers of legislative investigating committees, and censorship of free speech and expression. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the office focused on civil rights issues and the defense of alternative means of self expression. The Washington Office was also deeply involved with defending the civil liberties of those associated with the federal government and its agencies.
Description
Description
Material in the two series includes correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, reports, legal briefs and pleadings, testimony, press releases, publications, and magazine and newspaper clippings. Series 1, Irving Ferman Records, contains more administrative documents than does Series 2, Lawrence Speiser Records, which consists largely of case files. Speiser's records also contain files that pre-date his position as director of the Washington, D.C. Office.
Both series contain similar headings and subheadings. For example, in each series the censorship heading has subheadings for “Books” (which includes books, magazines, journals and newspapers), “Radio/TV” (including licensing as well as programming restrictions), and “Post Office,” while in each series the “Federal Agencies” heading is subdivided by executive office department, and the “Court Proceedings” headings document due process issues and are broken down by case name.
Throughout both series there is correspondence to and from members of Congress and their staffs and with various federal agencies.
Collection Creator
History
The Washington, D.C. Office of the ACLU was established in 1938 by the National Office, based in New York City. It was staffed by part-time help until Irving Ferman became the first director in 1952. He served in this position until 1959. His primary role was as a liaison for the procurement of information about the government. Ferman was assisted, for part of the time, by W. S. Perryman. During 1959 much of the activity of the office was administered by Rowland Watts, ACLU staff attorney, assisted by staffer Penelope L. Wright. In 1960 Lawrence Speiser became the director and continued in this position through 1970. Prior to his arrival in Washington he had been a staff counsel for the Northern California affiliate. Unlike Ferman, Speiser was an active participant in the cases which the ACLU took on. This is evidenced by the large amount of case file material present in this collection for the period of his directorship. Speiser was assisted by Victoria Popkin in the late 1960s.
Major issues that the Washington Office dealt with during the 1950s and 1960s included loyalty and security concerns, especially of those involved with the government; rights of conscientious objectors and protesters; freedom of expression; freedom of movement; rights within the court system; and civil rights. The Washington Office remains a vital part of the ACLU. Its activities have expanded to include the Capital Punishment Project, Privacy and Technology Project, Reproductive Freedom Project, and Center for National Security Studies/National Security Litigation Project.
In 1977 upon release of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's files on the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, it was discovered that Ferman, along with staff counsel Herbert Monte Levy and Morris Ernst, were possibly furnishing the FBI with information on the activities of the ACLU and the political leanings of members of the Board of Directors. Ferman and Levy defended their actions as simply following a policy of cooperation with the FBI which had been established by the Board. Unfortunately this collection does not contain much information to shed light on the situation except for some cordial letters exchanged between Ferman and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and other FBI officials.
Collection History
Acquisition
These records were generated by the staff of the Washington, D.C. Office of the ACLU in 1974. They were transferred to the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, with small additions in subsequent years.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Tom Rosko in Spring 1995. Finding aid written by Tom Rosko in Spring 1995.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Curator of the Public Policy Papers. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
American Civil Liberties Union Washington, D.C. Office Records; 1948-1970, Public Policy Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Contents and Arrangement
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
These series represent the work of the two directors of the Washington, D.C. Office in the 1950s and 1960s. They are arranged alphabetically by subject or format, and items are generally arranged chronologically within folders. For the most part the subject headings represent civil liberties issues, however the Ferman Series contains a large “Correspondence” heading which encompasses general correspondence, and both series contain a “Miscellaneous” heading.
Irving Ferman Records, 1948-1959
Lawrence Speiser Records, 1951-1970
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