The Citizens Committee for Constitutional Liberties was established to work for the repeal of the McCarran Act and other legislation authorizing surveillance of political activities. Records include files of executive secretary Miriam Friedlander, including correspondence with Committee members, other civil liberties organizations, and members of Congress, and drafts of publications, press releases, and speeches. Correspondents include Lee H. Ball, Carl Braden, Gus Hall, Linus Pauling, Norman Thomas, and Willis Uphaus.
The Citizens Committee for Constitutional Liberties collection documents the activities of the organization. The records have been divided into four series: Office Business, Governmental, Photographs, and Printed Material.
Files from CCCL's office have been placed into the Office Business series dating from 1962-1963. These include office correspondence, financial information, as well as speeches given at CCCL rallies by members of the organization or its supporters: Dr. Willard Uphaus, Moe Fishman, Paul Ross, Benjamin Davis, and others.
The Governmental series, 1960-1973, contains materials pertaining to CCCL's involvement with government agencies charged in some way with the enforcement of the McCarran Act. Included are letters exchanged with congressman and senators, including letters from former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. This series also contains testimony given by the organization before the Subversive Activities Control Board, information on the McCarran Act, the Smith Act, and the Emergency Detention Act, and acts, bills, and propositions related to the CCCL's causes.
The Photograph series includes photographs of supposed detention camps for foreign-born citizens.
The Printed Material series has magazines and newspaper clippings relevant to the organization and its causes. Also included in this series are Congressional Records excerpts, pamphlets published by the CCCL, scrapbooks, and political cartoons.