1952 September 8

ACLU Opens Washington, D.C., Lobbying Office

 

The ACLU announced on this day that it was opening a Washington, D.C. office, with a full-time staff member, to lobby Congress on civil liberties issues.

The ACLU had maintained an off-and-on presence in Washington, often with part-time staff, for many years since its founding on January 19, 1920. The ACLU Washington Legislative Office has been in continuous existence since this day, and has steadily grown from one staff person to dozens by the 1980s.

ACLU affiliates in all the 50 states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, lobby their legislatures on civil liberties issues, and many affiliates have full-time paid lobbyists.

Learn more about the ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

Learn about current ACLU legislative activities in Congress: https://www.aclu.org/legiupdate

Learn more about ACLU history: Samuel Walker, In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU (1990)

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