Founded on December 18, 1964, it calls itself the oldest ongoing conservative lobbying organization in the U.S.[2] The ACU is concerned with issues such as personal liberty or freedom, and traditional values, which they define as foundations of conservatism.

[8] The ACU annually rates politicians according to how they vote on key issues, providing a numerical indicator of how much the lawmakers agreed with conservative ideals.

CPAC 2017 featured President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Governors Matt Bevin (R-KY), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Doug Ducey (R-AZ), and Scott Walker (R-WI) and executive branch officials (EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos).

[11][12][13] The ACU Foundation's purpose is to educate the public on conservative principles and currently has five "policy centers" which focus on different political areas.

The CCJR focuses on two main policy areas: preventing civil asset forfeiture and increasing mental health facilities within the criminal justice system.

The CCJR works with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Prison Fellow Ministries in the Right on Crime campaign, and offers a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference each year.

[16] As conservative activist M. Stanton Evans predicted, "Historians may well record the decade of the 1960s as the era in which conservatism, as a viable political force, finally came into its own.

[18] During this era, conservative groups focused less on direct action and more on long term planning and sought to gain positions in public office.

[18] The ACU was founded in December 1964 in response to the predominance of liberalism in America as evidenced by the defeat of Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign.

[30] They also escorted Nicaraguan refugees around Capitol Hill in order to persuade undecided politicians to support Reagan's contra aid request.

Cardenas was succeeded by the ninth and current chairman, Matt Schlapp, who has previously served as George W. Bush's political director.

[39] In 2009, the ACU offered FedEx requested and solicited payment of fees totaling $3.4 million for e-mail and other services for "an aggressive grass-roots campaign" to stop a legislative provision being considered by the U.S.

"[40] Two weeks later, Keene and leaders of five other conservative organizations issued a letter saying that FedEx was mischaracterizing the legislative situation and was unfairly trying to tap into public resentment against federal bailouts to attack its competition.

[44] Diana Hubbard Carr, the ACU's former administrative director and ex-wife of David Keene, pleaded guilty in June 2011 to embezzling between $120,000 and $400,000 from 2006 to 2009, during her time as bookkeeper for the group.