You’ve probably seen their name in a thousand headlines. Whether it’s a high-profile Supreme Court case or a local protest, the American Civil Liberties Union is basically everywhere. But if you try to pin down exactly who founded the ACLU, the answer is a lot messier than a single name on a birth certificate. It wasn't just one person in a dusty office. It was a chaotic, brilliant, and often clashing group of radicals, lawyers, and social workers who were honestly terrified that American democracy was collapsing in the wake of World War I.
It started in 1920.
The world was reeling. The "Red Scare" wasn't just a buzzword; it was a period of genuine paranoia where the government was kicking down doors and deporting people for their political beliefs. In this atmosphere of panic, Roger Nash Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, and Albert DeSilver stepped up. They didn't just want a club; they wanted a shield.
The Man Who Couldn't Stay Out of Trouble
Roger Nash Baldwin is the name you’ll hear most. He’s the undisputed heavyweight champion of the ACLU’s early years. Baldwin wasn’t your typical suit-and-tie executive. He was a Harvard grad, sure, but he was also an atmospheric radical who spent time in prison as a conscientious objector during the war. Imagine that. The guy who founded the premier legal defense organization in the country was a convicted felon before he even got the doors open.
He didn't care.
Baldwin’s vision was simple: if the Bill of Rights doesn't apply to the people we hate the most, it doesn't apply to anyone. He served as the executive director for thirty years. Think about that for a second. Thirty years of steering a ship through the Great Depression, another World War, and the start of the Cold War. He was the glue. But he didn't do it alone, even if history books sometimes act like he did.
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Crystal Eastman: The Erased Founder
If Baldwin was the glue, Crystal Eastman was the spark. Honestly, it’s a bit of a tragedy that her name isn't as famous as his. Eastman was a powerhouse—a lawyer, a journalist, and a suffragist. Before the ACLU was officially the ACLU, there was the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB). Eastman was a co-founder of that precursor.
She was bold.
She understood that civil liberties weren't just about the right to speak; they were about the right to live without being crushed by the state. Unfortunately, she was often sidelined by the men in the movement. She eventually moved to England, and her massive contribution to who founded the ACLU was largely overshadowed for decades. We’re only now really giving her the credit she deserves for being the intellectual engine of the early movement.
The Palmer Raids: The "Why" Behind the Founding
You can't understand the founding without understanding the Palmer Raids. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer was on a warpath. He authorized mass arrests of "subversives" without warrants. We're talking thousands of people dragged out of their homes. This wasn't some theoretical debate about law. It was a crisis.
The NCLB (Baldwin and Eastman's group) saw this and realized they needed something more permanent. Something with teeth. On January 19, 1920, they reorganized into the ACLU. They weren't trying to be popular. In fact, most of the country probably thought they were crazy—or worse, traitors.
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A Room Full of Contrasts
The early board of directors looked like a "who’s who" of people who would normally never agree on anything. You had Jane Addams, the legendary social worker from Hull House. You had Norman Thomas, who ran for President as a Socialist multiple times. Then you had Helen Keller.
Yes, that Helen Keller.
People forget she was a fierce political activist. She was a founding member because she understood that being marginalized meant you needed the law to protect you more than anyone else. It’s wild to think about these people in a room together. They weren't a monolith. They argued. They had different priorities. But they all shared this one specific fear: that the US government was becoming exactly what it claimed to be fighting against.
Why the Identity of the Founders Matters Today
When we ask who founded the ACLU, we're really asking about the DNA of the organization. Because it was founded by a mix of socialists, pacifists, and mainstream lawyers, the ACLU has always had a bit of an identity crisis—and that’s actually its greatest strength.
- Non-partisanship (mostly): They’ve defended the KKK’s right to march and the NAACP’s right to organize. That "defend everyone" mentality comes directly from Baldwin’s insistence that the principle matters more than the person.
- Legal Aggression: They don't just lobby; they sue. This comes from the early lawyers like Albert DeSilver, who provided the legal backbone and the funding to make the organization a legitimate threat in court.
- Public Education: They knew they couldn't just win in court; they had to win in the minds of the public.
There’s a common misconception that the ACLU was founded by the government or some wealthy philanthropist trying to look good. Nope. It was a scrappy, underfunded group of people who were mostly viewed as "public enemies" by the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover actually spent decades trying to take Baldwin down.
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The Scopes Monkey Trial and the Leap to Fame
The organization was only five years old when it took on the Scopes "Monkey" Trial in 1925. This was the turning point. By defending John Scopes for teaching evolution in Tennessee, the ACLU went from a niche group of radicals to a household name. They hired Clarence Darrow, the most famous lawyer in the country.
It was a circus.
But it proved that the ACLU was willing to jump into the middle of the "Culture Wars" of the 1920s to defend the freedom of thought. Without the foundational groundwork laid by Baldwin and Eastman, there’s no way they would have had the infrastructure to handle a case that big so early on.
Realities and Nuances
Look, the ACLU isn't perfect. Even the founders had blind spots. For a long time, they were slow to take on certain racial justice issues, often deferring to the NAACP. There were internal fights over whether to support the rights of communists during the Cold War. Baldwin himself actually pushed to purge communists from the ACLU board in 1940—a move that remains one of the most controversial moments in the group's history.
It shows that the founders weren't saints. They were people trying to figure out where the line was in a world that was constantly moving it.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Citizen
Understanding the history of who founded the ACLU isn't just a history lesson. It gives you a roadmap for how to think about rights today.
- Check the Primary Sources: If you're curious about a specific case, go to the ACLU’s own archives or the Library of Congress. Don’t rely on a 30-second clip from a news pundit.
- Look for the "Third Way": The founders showed that you don't have to agree with a person to defend their rights. Ask yourself: "Would I support this right if my political enemy was the one using it?"
- Local Matters: The ACLU started as a small group in New York. Most civil liberties battles today happen at the school board or city council level. You don't need a Harvard degree to show up and speak.
- Support the "Unpopular": The founders were hated. If you only support rights for people you like, you’re not supporting civil liberties; you’re supporting a fan club.
The ACLU started because a few people decided that "the law" shouldn't just be a tool for the powerful. Whether you love them or hate them, the fact that we even have a standard for civil liberties in this country is largely thanks to that weird, eclectic group of people who met in a cramped office in 1920. They didn't have a master plan. They just had a lot of guts and a copy of the Constitution.