A major crisis gripped the ACLU in 1968 when a debate erupted over whether to defend Benjamin Spock and the Boston Five against federal charges that they encouraged draftees to avoid the draft . The ACLU board was deeply split over whether to defend the activists ; half the board harbored anti-war sentiments , and felt that the ACLU should lend its resources to the cause of the Boston Five . The other half of the board believed that civil liberties were not at stake , and the ACLU would be taking a political stance . Behind the debate was the longstanding ACLU tradition that it was politically impartial , and provided legal advice without regard to the political views of the defendants . The board finally agreed to a compromise solution that permitted the ACLU to defend the anti-war activists , without endorsing the activist 's political views . Some critics of the ACLU suggest that the ACLU became a partisan political organization following the Spock case . After the Kent State shootings in 1970 , ACLU leaders took another step towards politics by passing a resolution condemning the Vietnam War . The resolution was based in a variety of legal arguments , including civil liberties violations and a claim that the war was illegal
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
American Civil Liberties Union