American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. nonprofit organization that uses litigation, advocacy, and public education to defend civil liberties and constitutional rights.

ACLU v. National Security Agency: A 2006 lawsuit challenging the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance of international communications. It exemplifies the ACLU's use of litigation to contest government surveillance.
Roger Nash Baldwin: An American social activist who co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union and led it for decades. Baldwin organized the ACLU from its 1920 founding and shaped its early agenda.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution: The constitutional amendment protecting freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition in the United States. Its guarantees anchor much of the ACLU's work on expression and association.
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: A federal division that enforces civil-rights laws and litigates on behalf of the United States. Unlike the ACLU, it is a government office with authority to enforce federal law.
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California v. County of Los Angeles: A 2011 U.S. Supreme Court case concerning government retention of GPS data from a suspect's vehicle. The litigation helped bring privacy and location tracking before the Supreme Court.
Roe v. Wade: A 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing a constitutional right to abortion that was later overturned. The ACLU supported the plaintiffs in this landmark abortion-rights case.
National Civil Liberties Bureau: A U.S. organization founded in 1917 to defend conscientious objectors and civil liberties during World War I. The ACLU emerged from this bureau after wartime repression intensified.
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: The constitutional amendment that defines citizenship and restricts state governments' infringement of rights and equal protection. Its due-process and equal-protection clauses extend many constitutional protections against state action.
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: A nonprofit legal organization focused on racial justice and equal opportunity through litigation and advocacy. It shares litigation methods with the ACLU but concentrates more narrowly on racial justice.
National Security Agency: A U.S. intelligence agency responsible for signals intelligence and cybersecurity. ACLU challenges to NSA surveillance have helped define debates over privacy and national security.

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