Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was one of the founders of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU). He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950. Many of the ACLU's original landmark cases took place under his direction, including the Scopes Trial, the Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial, and its challenge to the ban on

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's '' Ulysses''. Baldwin was a well-known

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

and author.

Life and work

Early years

Baldwin was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, the son of Lucy Cushing (Nash) and Frank Fenno Baldwin. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; afterwards, he moved to St. Louis on the advice of Louis D. Brandeis. There he taught sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, worked as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and became chief

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

of the St. Louis Juvenile Court. He also co-wrote ''Juvenile Courts and Probation'' with Bernard Flexner at this time; this book became very influential in its era, and was, in part, the foundation of Baldwin's national reputation.

Career

Baldwin was a member of the American Union Against Militarism (AUAM), which opposed American involvement in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the passage of the Selective Service Act of 1917, Baldwin called for the AUAM to create a legal division to protect the rights of

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

s. On July 1, 1917, the AUAM created the Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB), headed by Baldwin. The CLB separated from the AUAM on October 1, 1917, renaming itself the National Civil Liberties Bureau, with Baldwin as director. In 1920, NCLB was renamed the American Civil Liberties Union, with Baldwin continuing as the ACLU's first executive director. In the meantime, on 30 October 1918, as a conscientious objector himself, refusing even to register for the draft, undergo medical examination, or accept any

alternative service Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious ...

such as farming, was sentenced at the Federal Court in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to a year in a penitentiary. As director of ACLU, Baldwin was integral to the shape of the association's early character; it was under Baldwin's leadership that the ACLU undertook some of its most famous cases, including the Scopes Trial, the Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial, and its challenge to the ban on

's '' Ulysses''. Baldwin retired from the ACLU leadership in 1950. He remained active in politics for the rest of his life; for example, he co-founded the International League for the Rights of Man, which is now known as the International League for Human Rights. In St. Louis, Baldwin had been greatly influenced by the radical social movement of the

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

. He joined the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

. Roger Baldwin oversaw, documented and supplied funding for a large number of defense cases for I.W.W. members and investigations throughout the United States. A fully accessible archive of his correspondence with I.W.W branches, investigators and attorneys has been published by Princeton's Mudd Manuscript Library. In 1927, he had visited the Soviet Union and wrote a book, ''Liberty Under the Soviets''. Later, however, as more and more information came out about

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's regime in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Baldwin became more and more disillusioned with communism and in 1953 called it "A NEW SLAVERY" (capitalized in the original). He condemned "the inhuman communist police state tyranny, forced labor."Robert C. Cottrel
"Roger Baldwin: Founder, American Civil Liberties Union 1884–1981
. ''Notable American Unitarians''. In the 1940s, Baldwin led the campaign to purge the ACLU of Communist Party members. In 1947, General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

invited him to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to foster the growth of civil liberties in that country. In Japan, he founded the

Japan Civil Liberties Union The is a Japanese non-profit organization founded in 1947. Roger Nash Baldwin of the ACLU played an important role in its founding. The JCLU aims to protect human rights, and bases its operation on international human rights standards, princi ...

, and the Japanese government awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun. In 1948, Germany and Austria invited him for similar purposes. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1951.

Later years

In 1968, Washington University awarded Baldwin an honorary doctorate of Laws degree. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

awarded Baldwin the Medal of Freedom on January 16, 1981.

Death and legacy

A resident of Oakland, New Jersey, Baldwin died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

on August 26, 1981, at The Valley Hospital in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

. He is the subject of John G. Avildsen's 1982 documentary '' Traveling Hopefully''.

References

Works

Books and pamphlets

''Juvenile Courts and Probation.''
With Bernard Flexner. New York: The Century Company, 1914.
''Liberty Under the Soviets.''
New York: Vanguard Press, 1928. * ''Civil Liberties and Industrial Conflict.'' With Clarence B. Randall. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1938. * ''The Rights of Man are Worth Defending.'' With Pauli Murray. New York: League For Adult Education, 1942. * ''Democracy in Trade Unions: A Survey, with a Program of Action.'' New York, American Civil Liberties Union, 1943. * ''Human Rights: World Declaration and American Practice'' New York, Public Affairs Committee, 1950.
''A New Slavery: Forced Labor: The Communist Betrayal of Human Rights.''
New York, Oceana Publications, 1953.

Articles

"Freedom in the USA and the USSR,"
New York: ''Soviet Russia Today,'' 1934. * "Liberalism and the United Front," in Irving Talmadge (ed.), ''Whose revolution? A Study of the Future Course of Liberalism in the United States,'' edited by Irving Talmadge New York: Howell, Soskin, 1941. * "The Making of a Reformer: The Roger Baldwin Story: A Prejudiced Account by Himself," in Woody Klein, ''Liberties Lost: The Endangered Legacy of the ACLU.'' Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006.

Books edited

* Peter Kropotkin,
Revolutionary Pamphlets: A Collection of Writings
'' New York: Vanguard Press, 1927.

External links

Roger Nash Baldwin Papers: Finding Aid
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. * Robert C. Cottrell
"Roger Nash Baldwin, Unitarian."
Harvard Square Library.
Roger Baldwin, ACLU Founder at 93 Years Old
A Film b
Tom Chamberlin

Post-War World Council Records
fro
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Roger Nash 1884 births 1981 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American civil rights activists American anti-war activists American anti-communists American conscientious objectors American pacifists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American Civil Liberties Union people Harvard University alumni Industrial Workers of the World members People from Mahwah, New Jersey People from Oakland, New Jersey People from Wellesley, Massachusetts Probation and parole officers Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Washington University in St. Louis faculty Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients