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33 New Eng. L. Rev. 425 (1998-1999)
Inside the ACLU: Activism and Anti-Communism in the Late 1960s

handle is hein.journals/newlr33 and id is 435 raw text is: Inside the ACLU: Activism and Anti-Communism in the Late 1960s Allen Rostron' I. INTRODUCTION 425 II. THE ACLU 429 A. Anti-Communism 429 B. Traditionalism 434 C. Activism 438 III. RECONSIDERATION OF THE 1940 RESOLUTION 441 IV. VIETNAM 450 A. Conscription 451 B. The Legality of the Vietnam War 454 C. Civil Disobedience and Dr. Spock 458 V. CONFLICT AND COMPROMISE 467 VI. CONCLUSION 473 I. INTRODUCTION The American Civil Liberties Union is an organization that has never known peace. In its nearly eighty years of existence, the Union has drawn fire from all segments of the political spectrum. It has come into conflict on some occasion with virtually every part of American society-govern- ment, business, education, religion. Some of the ACLU's fiercest battles have occurred within the organiza- tion itself. The Union has suffered two remarkable internal conflicts in its history, the first of which arose over the issue of communism. In 1940, the ACLU's board of directors yielded to rising anti-communist sentiment and adopted a resolution barring communists and other supporters of to- talitarian doctrines from office in the Union.' All but one of the commu- * B.A., University of Virgina, 1991; J.D. Yale Law School, 1994. The Author wishes to thank Professors Charles W. McCurdy and G. Edward White for their comments and evaluation of an earlier version of this Article. 1. Resolution Adopted by the Board of Directors and National Committee of ACLU at Annual Meeting of National Committee at Town Hall (Feb. 5, 1940), microformed on American Civil Liberties Union: Records and Publications 1917-1975, Reel 8 (Micro- filming Corp. of America) [hereinafter 1940 Resolution].

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