Contents and Arrangement Collection View
Description:

The U.S. Military Series is largely composed of Fuller's personal correspondence with friends and family, notably his wife Georgia, discussing his experiences in the military and their daily lives. The series also includes his diaries from this period, memoranda Fuller wrote to headquarters about the merits of fellow servicemen for promotions, military business correspondence, papers that Fuller translated into English for the military, informational memoranda on military procedures and tactics, and negatives of pictures Fuller took of war devastated eastern Europe. Also included is correspondence related to Fuller searching for employment after he was discharged from the military and papers related to his company, Bodkin Research & Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Original order of materials has been maintained. The order is approximately chronological.

Description:

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) series documents the period when Fuller worked for the ACLU and includes materials related to his professional and personal life. Papers related to his work at the ACLU include correspondence about membership and the publication of Civil Liberties, papers on the development of a 20 question opinion survey on civil liberties, and mailings of related organizations. The personal materials include correspondence with friends and family, typically Christmas cards or invitations for visits, newspaper clippings on current events (notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy), personal financial records, and papers about his church, Grace Church. Also included is correspondence and schedules related to Fuller's service as an Amy reserve officer.

Original order of materials has been maintained. The order is approximately chronological.

Scope and Contents

Fuller's papers document his service in the U.S. military and his work for the ACLU and include his personal and professional correspondence, memoranda, and diaries.

Collection Creator Biography:

Fuller, Jeffrey

Jeffrey Fuller (1917-1970) worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1948-1966 and also served in the U.S. Army during World War II. At the ACLU, Fuller was responsible for membership development and fundraising and also edited their monthly newsletter Civil Liberties.

Jeffrey Eastman Fuller was born on March 19, 1917 to Walter Fuller and Crystal Eastman, a cofounder of the ACLU. Fuller graduated from Harvard University in 1938 with an A.B. degree in Slavic Languages, History and Literature, and also studied radio and television production at New York University from 1940 to 1941. Following graduation, Fuller was self-employed as a music dealer specialized in collector-item records and also worked as a guide at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, as assistant radio editor at the New York Post from 1939 to 1940, and as the Public Relations Assistant for the Norris-LaGuardia Independent Citizens Committee for Roosevelt and Wallace in October and November 1940.

In January 1941, Fuller joined the U.S. Army, serving in an MP Battalion and at Infantry Regimental Headquarters. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in October 1942 and served as Aide de Camp to Major General D.H. Connolly, the commanding general at the Persian Gulf Command, traveling extensively with the general and translating Russian and French for him. He served in this capacity until May 1943, when he became the Russian Liaison Officer and Civilian Personnel Officer in Kazvin, Iran, where he worked daily with the Russian command. Fuller returned to the United States in October 1944 for additional training, studying the theory and practice of military government and Japanese language, history and culture at the School of Military Government in Charlottesville, Virginia and the Civil Affairs Training School at the University of Chicago. However, his next post continued to utilize his expertise in Russian. From May 1945 to March 1946, Fuller was an OSS field operative, serving in the Research and Analysis Branch of the U.S.S.R. Division in Washington, Berlin, and Central Europe. Fuller was discharged from the Army in June 1946 with the rank of Major, but continued to serve as a Major in the reserve, where he specialized in psychological warfare. Fuller and Michael Bodkin founded the Bodkin Research & Manufacturing Co., Inc. in July 1946, with Fuller as vice-president and general partner. The company produced organic plant food and failed in February 1948.

Fuller joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) staff in 1948 as the Membership Director, responsible for fundraising and membership promotion and maintenance. The majority of his work was conducted through the mail and involved the preparation of letters, leaflets and other promotional material, and he also served as the general financial secretary of the organization. While at the ACLU, he developed an integrated membership system to distribute contributions between the national organization and the member's affiliate, organized new affiliates, and oversaw the Indian Civil Rights Committee. During his tenure, the ACLU grew from 9,000 combined national and affiliate members with 7 affiliates to 48,000 combined members with 27 affiliates. Fuller left the ACLU in 1959 to serve as the manager of the fundraising department of a direct mail firm. However, Fuller continued as editor of Civil Liberties, the ACLU's monthly publication, a post he held from 1951 to 1966. Civil Liberties was a 4-6 page monthly publication that reported on the ACLU's activities and accomplishments and on current civil liberties issues. Fuller was succeeded as editor by Claire Cooper in 1966. Fuller passed away in 1970.

Acquisition:

Gift of Cordelia Fuller in October 2008 [ML.2008.2023].

Appraisal

Fuller's high school and college papers, personal correspondence from 1930-1940, and personal tax records from 1949 to 1969 have been separated from this collection.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Adriane Hanson in 2009. Finding aid written by Adriane Hanson in June 2009.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Jeffrey E. Fuller Papers; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/j6731383w
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-6
Related Materials

The Mudd Manuscript Library holds several other collections related to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), including the records of the ACLU (including a run of Civil Liberties, Boxes 2086-2088) and the ACLU Washington, D.C. Office, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Fund for the Republic, the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, and the PEN American Center Records (at Firestone Library), and the papers of Roger N. Baldwin, Osmond K. Fraenkel, Arthur Garfield Hays, and the Peggy Lamson Collection on Roger Baldwin. The Mudd Manuscript Library also holds numerous collections related to World War II, which can be found by searching the Princeton University Library Finding Aids website for "World War, 1939-1945" and related terms.

Bibliography

The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical note: "Application for Federal Employment" and "Resume"; Jeffrey E. Fuller Papers, Box 3, Folder Correspondence, 1948; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library. "Application for Federal Employment," October 1950 and "Personal History Statement," September 1950; Jeffrey E. Fuller Papers, Box 3, Folder Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), etc.; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library. "Fifteen Years" by Jeffrey E. Fuller. Civil Liberties, July 1966.

Subject Terms:
Civil rights -- United States.
Civil rights workers -- United States.
World War, 1939-1945.
Genre Terms:
Correspondence
Diaries.
Memorandums.
Names:
American civil liberties union
United States. Army
United States. Office of Strategic Services