Editing American Civil Liberties Union (section)

====Free speech era====
[[File:Norman Thomas 1937.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Norman Thomas]] was one of the early leaders of the ACLU.]]

During the 1920s, the ACLU's primary focus was on freedom of speech in general and speech within the labor movement particularly.<ref>Walker, p. 55</ref> Because most of the ACLU's efforts were associated with the labor movement, the ACLU itself came under heavy attack from conservative groups, such as the [[American Legion]], the [[National Civic Federation]], and Industrial Defense Association and the Allied Patriotic Societies.<ref>Walker, p. 57.</ref> ACLU leadership was divided on how to challenge civil rights violations. One faction, including Baldwin, [[Arthur Garfield Hays]], and [[Norman Thomas]], believed that direct, militant action was the best path.<ref name="Walker_b">Walker, p. 52.</ref> Another group, including [[Walter Nelles]] and [[Walter Pollak]], felt that lawsuits taken to the Supreme Court were the best way to achieve change.<ref name=W53>Walker, p. 53.</ref>
In addition to labor, the ACLU also led efforts in non-labor arenas, for example, promoting free speech in public schools.<ref>Walker, p, 58.</ref> The ACLU was banned from speaking in New York public schools in 1921.<ref>Walker, p. 59.</ref> The ACLU, working with the [[NAACP]], also supported racial discrimination cases.<ref name="Walker, p. 60"/> The ACLU defended free speech regardless of espoused opinions. For example, the reactionary, anti-Catholic, anti-black [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) was a frequent target of ACLU efforts, but the ACLU defended the KKK's right to hold meetings in 1923.<ref>Walker, p. 61.</ref> There were some civil rights that the ACLU did not make an effort to defend in the 1920s, including censorship of the arts, [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|government search and seizure]] issues, [[Privacy laws of the United States|right to privacy]], or [[wiretapping]].<ref>Walker, p. 68.</ref>

Government officials routinely hounded the [[Communist Party USA]], leading it to be the primary client of the ACLU.<ref name=W63>Walker, p. 63.</ref> At the same time, the Communists were very aggressive in their tactics, often engaging in illegal conduct such as denying their party membership under oath. This led to frequent conflicts between the Communists and ACLU.<ref name=W63/> Communist leaders sometimes attacked the ACLU, particularly when the ACLU defended the free speech rights of conservatives, whereas Communists tried to disrupt speeches by critics of the USSR.<ref name=W63/> This uneasy relationship between the two groups continued for decades.<ref name=W63/>