Roger Nash Baldwin Biography

Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was an American pacifist, civil‑rights lawyer, and one of the founding figures of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied law at Columbia and Harvard before turning to activism during World War I, opposing U.S. entry and helping form the American Union Against Militarism. In 1931 he co‑founded the ACLU and served as its first executive secretary, guiding the organization to defend free speech, religious liberty, and due process for dissenters, labor organizers, and minorities. Baldwin’s lifelong commitment to non‑violence and constitutional rights made him a central architect of modern American civil‑liberties advocacy, influencing later human‑rights movements worldwide.