The ACLU is the nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.
In other words, we spend a lot of time talking about constitutional rights – and with good reason.
When the ACLU was founded in 1920, the individual freedoms enumerated in the Constitution had never been fully tested in the courts, making them largely meaningless for ordinary people. Since then, principles of individual freedom, protection against arbitrary government action, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and press, due process of law, equal protection, and privacy have become codified in our laws and their protections widely enforced.
But the work of defending freedom never ends, and in our vibrant and passionate society, difficult struggles over individual rights and liberties aren’t likely to disappear anytime soon.
Brush up on your constitutional knowledge.
We might not always agree on every issue, but one thing is certain: The constitutional rights of all South Dakotans are paramount. The ACLU is committed to ensuring that every word in the Constitution extends to everyone living in our state – we hope you are, too.
Add this to your bag for easy reference.
Scroll down to read more about the United States Constitution in deeper detail.