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US History
The American CIvil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was founded in 1920, is a
public-interest law firm defending rights, such as freedom of speech, protected under
the Constitution (T456). They have hired trial lawyers and defense lawyers for
decades for those they believe are innocent under the constitution. The National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was founded in
1909, was originally the Niagara Movement (which was founded in 1905) (T311). It was
created to promote full racial equality for people of color (T966). It has been a strong
presence in the African American community since its founding over 100 years ago.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in 1913, and was created to stop the
defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all (1). It is
now a human relations and civil rights agency, working to protect the civil rights of all.
The ACLU was formed in 1920 response to the Palmer Raids, started by Attorney
General Mitchell Palmer during the Red Scare of communism, to protect those being
victimized by the unlawful raids forced on the so-called radicals (2). SInce then, the
ACLU has formed into a group of 500,000 members and an accumulated group of
thousands of attorneys that work to protect the constitutional rights that each person
has. The organization was formed with a statement of purpose which said all thought
nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights
organization, and has worked for over a century to ensure that all all citizens have
equal opportunity and constitutional rights (4). The organization, which was formed to
secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to
the United States Constitution, is still in action today to do just that (4). The NAACP
including the practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois (5). The
ADL was formed to defend the Jewish community from discrimination (6). The
organization has since then expanded to protect against all kinds of discrimination, not
only anti-semitism.
The ACLU has been in many court cases, specifically supreme court cases, and
has has a decently successful run. In 1925, the ACLU was apart of its first supreme
court case, Gitlow v. New York (7). It dealt with a person accused of making a call
about overthrowing the government. In 1941, Edwards v. California gave poor people
the right to travel from one state to another (7). In 1963, Gideon v. Wainwright officially
declared that the 14th amendment legally gave counsel in criminal cases to those who
cant afford their own (7). In 1974, U.S. v. Nixon helped get tapes about Nixon's
corruption handed over to the court (7). The NAACP has also fought in its fair share of
court cases in its lengthy existence. Their most important court case was Brown v.
Board of Education. This case in 1954 officially declared the separate but equal idea
unconstitutional, and officially segregated public schools (8). In 1944, Smith v. Allwright
was another big court case for the NAACP. It was a big step towards granting full
citizens rights to African Americans, especially with voting (9). In 1987, McClesky v.
Kemp dealt with the death penalty in Georgia. It was ruled that the clear racial
discrimination of the Georgia death penalty was not enough to turn over the ruling (10).
In 1971, Griggs v. Duke Power Co. addressed employee discrimination (11). It ruled it
wrong, and said that companies must look at employees for their ability to complete the
job at hand. The ADL has also battled in many court cases over the years. In 2015,
refusing to issue a birth certificate to those whos parents to not have the proper
documents for United States citizenship (12). In 2015, Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Craig
dealt with a bakery who refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding, stating it was against
their beliefs (13). In 2014, Brenner v. Armstrong challenged Floridas laws on marriage
licensing (14). In 2013, Griego v. Toulouse also dealt with marriage licenses, this time in
New Mexico, attempting to legalize them for loving, committed same sex couples (15).
All of these organizations (ACLU, NAACP, and ADL) have been involved in both
Bill OReilly, one of FOX news reporters, is opposed to all three organizations.
Although he has apologized to two of them, he still has very strong negative feelings on
the ACLU. He has labeled them a terrorist group and has said that he highly
disapproves of their hatred of no-fly lists and the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.O.I.T. Act (16).
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