The Cavalier daily :: Friday, March 22, 1968 :: University of Virginia Library

There was little in the early
life of Roger Nash Baldwin to suggest
that he was to become the
man to lead this country's fight
for the defense of the fundamental
rights of Americans. Growing up
in the comfort of upper middle
class Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts,
Baldwin busied himself
with studies, music, and birdwatching.
While at Harvard he purposely
avoided politics, termed
radicals as "nutty," and chose to
remain as inconspicuous as possible.

After his graduation he traveled
through Europe and returned with
a positive conviction that enforced
the one passionate belief with
which he had grown up: equal
rights for Negroes. Not long after
he returned Baldwin came into
contact with many future associates
of American Civil Liberties Union.
Meetings were held and discussions
followed on the lack of freedom
of the American.

In 1912 Baldwin entered the
arena of civil liberties. Although
at the time St. Louis was a generally
liberal and free city, one of
Baldwin's friends, Margaret Sanger
found it impossible to rent
a hall for a lecture on birth
control. Baldwin was shocked by
this censorship and offered to lead
a public protest meeting. The result
was a meeting which received
widespread and favorable publicity.
It was also the stage on which
Baldwin began his career as a civil
libertarian.

During World War One, a group
named the American Union
Against Militarism was founded
by a group of outraged citizens
who made public their feelings on
the "savagery and the suppression
with which the world was made
safe for democracy." By the time
Roger Baldwin joined the AUAM,
he had strayed far from the
comfort and conformity of Wellesley
Hills. By now he was totally
devoted to a life of, in his words,
"sticking my neck out."

For several years friction began
to build between Baldwin and his
supporters and the managing board
of the AUAM. Finally on October
1, 1917, Baldwin established
the National Civil Liberties
Bureau.

Slowly the AUAM began to dissolve
as its members made their
way towards Baldwin's new organization.
With the war still going
on, the founder of the Bureau set
down three major areas for its
operation: the defense of conscientious
objectors and pacifists, who
were being persecuted by the
government and the military,
defense of those unfairly prosecuted
under the Espionage Act,
and defense of postal censorship
of opposition publications. The
NCLB set out to battle not only
the invasion of basic rights but
the "calculated violation of law by
government itself."

But rather than accumulating
a mass of opposition as Baldwin
expected, certain arms of the
government professed a willingness
to entertain the views of the
NCLB. The War Department commended
Baldwin for his efforts
and said they would seriously consider
his proposals for a new draft
law. Baldwin met with Gen. Enoch
H. Crowder and a compromise was
worked out which stated that objectors
to the war must find work
in the service of America if they
were to refuse military duty.

The NCLB made its first appearance
in court over a question
of opposition publications. Max
Eastman's "Masses," which denounced
the motivation of the
war and the propaganda supporting
it, was one of many publications
excluded from the mails. The
NCLB called in four lawyers, one
of whom was Clarence Darrow and
the case was soon in court. The
case was quickly won, not only
establishing a precedent in mailing
policies, but also furthering
the import and reputation of the
NCLB.

Several years later when Baldwin
registered for the draft he listed
himself as an absolutist objector.
His case was brought to trial by
the Justice Department, and pleading
guilty, he was sent to jail. Upon
his release the NCLB wanted to
reinstate him as director, but
Baldwin stated he would not return
to civil-liberties work unless
the NCLB revised its orientation.
He held that the Bureau should
be more concerned with the cause
of freedom of expression in the
industrial struggle. A break
between Baldwin and the NCLB
ensued and the one-time director
decided to put his efforts toward
other ideas. In January, 1920,
The American Civil Liberties
Union came formally into being
as an unincorporated association.
In its fundamental principles, the
ACLU differed little from the
NCLB, except that the emphasis
was more on quiet negotiations and
litigation.

Almost before the ACLU had
settled itself into its new offices
it had its hands full with queries
on cases to be defended. And
since its establishment it has represented
thousands of cases in
which Americans have held that
their rights had been violated and
their lives infringed upon.

Next Some the ACLU
taken.