National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (U.S.) records, 1951-1985

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

Selected items cataloged; remainder arranged. The collection is arranged in five series.

• Series I: Cataloged Correspondence
• Series II: Alphabetical Subject File
• Subseries II.1
• Subseries II.2
• Series III: Correspondence
• Series IV: Case Files
• Subseries IV.1: A-Z
• Subseries IV.2: House Un-American Activities Committee / House Committee on Un-American Activities
• Subseries IV.3: Indian Point Suit
• Addition 2018

Description

Summary

Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, subject files, case files and printed materials. Both incoming and outgoing correspondence is included. The correspondence is primarily addressed to Clark Foreman, Edith Tiger, Leonard Boudin, and Victor Rabinowitz. The subject files include records of the "Bill of Rights Journal" published by the NECLC along with dinners and the annual Tom Paine Award presentations. Recipients in the past have been Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Shirley Chisolm, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Tom Smothers, Pete Hamill, and NECLC officers Edith Tiger, Leonard Boudin, and Clark Foreman

The case files consist of records on Alger Hiss, the draft, various war suits (Viet Nam), House Un-American Activities Committee, and Indian Point/Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Among the cataloged correspondence are Rockwell Kent, Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, John and Robert Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bertrand Russell, and W. E. B. DuBois.

• Series I: Cataloged Correspondence

• Series II: Alphabetical Subject File

• Series III: Correspondence

• Series IV: Case Files

• Addition 2018

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 2-178. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (U.S.) Records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Ownership and Custodial History

Gift of Corliss Lamont, 1969-1980.

Gift of NECLC, 1989.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Series 1: Source of acquisition--Lamont, Corliss. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--04/23/69. Accession number--M-69-04-23.

Series 2: Source of acquisition--NECLC. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--02/08/89. Accession number--M-89-02-08.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Series 1 Processed 06/27/89.

Series 2 Processed GO 06/27/89.

Revision Description

2009-03-25 File created.

2011-03-08 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

The NECLC was formed in 1951 by more than 150 persons for the purpose of mobilizing public opinion in support of the traditional American constitutional guarantees of civil liberties and of aiding victims of abridgement of these liberties in politics, education and the professions. The Committee has concerned itself with civil rights, academic freedom and denials of passports and the right to travel.