American Civil Liberties Union of Washington

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization dedicated to the protection of constitutional rights and liberties in the United States. It was founded in 1920 by a group of civil libertarians. The ACLU operates by providing legal counsel in cases involving civil liberties. It has been active in cases relating to academic freedom, separation of church and state, the right to privacy, due process of law, freedom of speech, other freedoms guaranteed in the process of law. Established in 1935 as Seattle ACLU, becoming Washington state chapter in Seattle, Washington, in the 1960s.

Dr. Gottfried was a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington ACLU.

The ACLU national office handled many Japanese-American Evacuation cases, 1942-1945.

Coalition on Government Spying, project of the ACLU, National Lawyers Guild and the American Friends Service Committee. The Coalition requested FBI and other investigatory files under the Freedom of Information Act to determine the extent and nature of such investigations of the Seattle media (especially the Seattle Sun) and Seattle Chicano leaders. In fall 1979 the coalition won a suit against the Seattle Police Department to obtain Seattle police intelligence files. It campaigned successfully for a Seattle ordinance to regulate the collection, use, and dissemination of police intelligence records; this was enacted by the City Council, 7.2.79 and was the first in the nation. From April 1981 to July 1981 the Coalition, with part-time staff, monitored implementation of the law. ACLU has retained most important files relating to the coalition.

From the guide to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington records, circa 1942-1996, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)