Let me make one thing perfectly clear. While Roger Baldwin, the founder of the ACLU, had strong Communist ties and even declared it as his ultimate goal, he was never actually a member of the Communist party.
Unfortunately, the same can not be said about those who joined him to form the organization. His first Board of Directors were Elizabeth Gurly Flynn and William Z. Foster, both of whom would later head the Communist Party in America.
Baldwin was very open about his goals, unlike many of today's ACLU leaders. They try to rewrite Baldwin's history as a simple "flirtation" with Communism that only lasted a brief period.
However, Roger grew up in a family of radicals and socialists, and at the ripe age of fifty he said, "I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the State itself as an instrument for violence and compulsion. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal."
He made his first trip to Russia in 1923. After returning, in his book Liberty Under the Soviets, Roger admitted that their government had instituted "complete censorship of all means of communications and the complete supression of any organized opposition to the dictatorship or its program."
So, did this supposed champion of civil liberties condemn these actions? Not at all!
He said, "Repression in Western democracies are violations of proffessed constitutional liberties and I condemn them as such. Repressions in Soviet Russia are weapons of struggle in a transition period to Socialsim."
In 1934, Baldwin wrote in the Soviet Russia Today,"When that power of the working class is once achieved, as it has been only in the Soviet Union, I am for maintaining it by any means whatever."
The ACLU reflected this attitude. Of the ACLU Board members elected during its first sixty years, almost eighty percent had Communist affiliations. Ninety percent of its cases involved defending Communists.
As a result, it was labeled a "Communist-Front", and came under the investigation of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
On August 20, 1939 Roger was betrayed by his greatest hero, Josef Stalin. Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler.
In 1940, the ACLU felt a need to distance itself from the Communist Party, at least in public perception. In what is known as the 1940 Resolution, the ACLU Board declared it "inappropriate for any person to serve on the governing committees of the Union or its Staff, who is a member of any political organization which supports totalitarian dictatorship in any country, or who by his public declarations indicates his support of such a principle."Source
This was very unfortunate for Elizabeth Gurly Flynn, who was a member of the Communist Party at the time of the 1940 Resolution.
It would be nice if this were the end of the story, however by the mid-1960's the ACLU no longer felt the need to seperate itself from Communism. So, in 1967, the board voted to effectively rescind the 1940 Resolution and welcomed communists back into the Union. They later rescinded Flynn's purge, and elevated her to "hero" status.
They came under investigation again and were debated in Congress in 1961.Source
Despite all the the denials to the contrary, the evidence is overwhelming that the ACLU is still working toward the end goal of Communism.
William Kunstler, as a member of the National Advisory Counsel stated, "I am a double agent, working within the system to bring down the system."
Just study it's policies and case history and it is obvious they still seek Communist and socialist goals.
Unfortunatley, many Americans are still fooled, and hold the members of this organization as heros. In 1981, Jimmy Carter awarded Roger Baldwin the Medal of Freedom-the nation's highest civilian honor.Source
Unfortunately, the same can not be said about those who joined him to form the organization. His first Board of Directors were Elizabeth Gurly Flynn and William Z. Foster, both of whom would later head the Communist Party in America.
Baldwin was very open about his goals, unlike many of today's ACLU leaders. They try to rewrite Baldwin's history as a simple "flirtation" with Communism that only lasted a brief period.
However, Roger grew up in a family of radicals and socialists, and at the ripe age of fifty he said, "I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the State itself as an instrument for violence and compulsion. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal."
He made his first trip to Russia in 1923. After returning, in his book Liberty Under the Soviets, Roger admitted that their government had instituted "complete censorship of all means of communications and the complete supression of any organized opposition to the dictatorship or its program."
So, did this supposed champion of civil liberties condemn these actions? Not at all!
He said, "Repression in Western democracies are violations of proffessed constitutional liberties and I condemn them as such. Repressions in Soviet Russia are weapons of struggle in a transition period to Socialsim."
In 1934, Baldwin wrote in the Soviet Russia Today,"When that power of the working class is once achieved, as it has been only in the Soviet Union, I am for maintaining it by any means whatever."
The ACLU reflected this attitude. Of the ACLU Board members elected during its first sixty years, almost eighty percent had Communist affiliations. Ninety percent of its cases involved defending Communists.
As a result, it was labeled a "Communist-Front", and came under the investigation of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
On August 20, 1939 Roger was betrayed by his greatest hero, Josef Stalin. Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler.
In 1940, the ACLU felt a need to distance itself from the Communist Party, at least in public perception. In what is known as the 1940 Resolution, the ACLU Board declared it "inappropriate for any person to serve on the governing committees of the Union or its Staff, who is a member of any political organization which supports totalitarian dictatorship in any country, or who by his public declarations indicates his support of such a principle."Source
This was very unfortunate for Elizabeth Gurly Flynn, who was a member of the Communist Party at the time of the 1940 Resolution.
It would be nice if this were the end of the story, however by the mid-1960's the ACLU no longer felt the need to seperate itself from Communism. So, in 1967, the board voted to effectively rescind the 1940 Resolution and welcomed communists back into the Union. They later rescinded Flynn's purge, and elevated her to "hero" status.
They came under investigation again and were debated in Congress in 1961.Source
Despite all the the denials to the contrary, the evidence is overwhelming that the ACLU is still working toward the end goal of Communism.
William Kunstler, as a member of the National Advisory Counsel stated, "I am a double agent, working within the system to bring down the system."
Just study it's policies and case history and it is obvious they still seek Communist and socialist goals.
Unfortunatley, many Americans are still fooled, and hold the members of this organization as heros. In 1981, Jimmy Carter awarded Roger Baldwin the Medal of Freedom-the nation's highest civilian honor.Source