The Wisconsin Civil Liberties Union (WCLU), an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was founded in the spring of 1953 as a direct response to the abuse of civil liberties and McCarthyism. At the initiative of Morris H. Rubin, editor of The Progressive, and member of the national board of the ACLU, the WCLU was established as an outgrowth of an attempt to recall Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. Shortly thereafter, local chapters were organized throughout the state. State-wide activities are coordinated from the central office in Milwaukee, by the executive director in conjunction with the board of directors.
As early as the 1930s there is evidence of ACLU activity in Wisconsin. State and local committees were established, but their activities seemed limited to corresponding with members of Congress concerning national issues, when prompted by the ACLU national office. By the 1940s, the Wisconsin state chapter of the ACLU had been dissolved, although the Madison area chapter continued on for a time. Frank A. Ross, son of University of Wisconsin Professor E.A. Ross (then chairman of the ACLU national board and active in Wisconsin civil liberties work), was “correspondent” of the ACLU in the state, a contact which was used when no operating local affiliate existed.
Since its rebirth in 1953, the WCLU has been involved in the promotion and maintenance of civil liberties, including freedom of worship, speech, and assembly. As a non-partisan organization, the WCLU usually pursues its course independently, using all legal avenues. Most of the civil liberties litigation undertaken by the WCLU, generally via the filing of amicus curiae legal briefs, is financed through the Wisconsin Civil Liberties Union Foundation.
