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Osmond K. Fraenkel Diaries

This collection contains typed extracts taken from his diary that pertain to his work with the ACLU. These excerpts, arranged chronologically, consist primarily of his notes on ACLU meetings, monthly luncheons, conferences, and court cases. Fraenkel details the conversations and opinions of Roger Baldwin, Arthur Garfield Hays, Patrick Malin, and others.All excerpts are dated and contain both factual information and editorial comments by Fraenkel. Some entries are retrospective, though most were recorded shortly after events occurred. Also included in this collection is a chronological appendix of the court cases Fraenkel handled or worked on for the ACLU. The appendix details the outcomes of each case and Fraenkel's opinion of its significance. Issues Fraenkel was involved with include post office censorship; civil liberties during World War II, including Japanese-American relocation; anti-communism, sedition, loyalty and security issues during the McCarthy era; due process; and religious freedom. Two noteworthy events in which he participated include U.S. v. Miller, a case which went to the U.S. Supreme Court and involved freedom of expression and the burning of draft cards, and the Bertrand Russell controversy, in which Russell was dismissed from his professor's position because of ideas expressed in his publications.