Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Overview of the Collection
| Repository: | Plainfield Public Library, Local History Department, 800 Park Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060 |
| Creator: | League of Women Voters of Plainfield |
| Title: | Records of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield |
| Dates: | 1920 - 2012 [bulk dates 1952-1973] |
| Quantity: | 3 linear feet of records |
| Abstract: | The Records of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield document the creation and history of the Plainfield League from 1920 to 1981. The collection includes administrative materials, financial documents, annual reports, minute books, publications, newsletters, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. The bulk of the material dates from 1952 to 1973. |
| Language: | The records are in English. |
Historical Information
The League of Women Voters is a grassroots, “non-partisan organization whose purpose is to encourage the informed and active participation of all citizens in government and politics." The national (http://www.lwv.org) and state (http://www.lwvnj.org) Leagues were established in 1920, when women were finally granted the right to vote in the United States through the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. The League functions on local, county, state and national levels of government. One of its major programs is Voter Service, which provides information regarding candidates and their platforms to the membership. On the local level, the League engages in a variety of programs related to city government. Some important local issues in the past, for example, have been the quality of the public schools, the effectiveness of the city charter, and a study of the city’s budget.
The League of Women Voters of Plainfield is one of the oldest active leagues in the United States. After a mass meeting on May 10, 1920 to form a Plainfield League, the first meeting of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield and North Plainfield took place on May 14, 1920 (three months to the day after the formation of the National League of Women Voters, and a mere one month after formation of the New Jersey league). It was originally open only to women. By September of 1920, over 3,000 women in Plainfield registered to vote after attending a citizenship school over the summer. Dues were only 20¢ a year for a regular membership. There were departments for: Child Welfare, Social Hygiene, Women in Industry, Legislation, Citizenship, and Fair Price. There were standing committees for: publicity, finance, speakers, entertainment, and enrollment. North Plainfield formed its own League in September 1953.
Today, the Plainfield League continues to educate and inform by providing local residents, both men and women, with factual, nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues. The League distributes this information through voter's guides, candidate forums, town meetings or debates. The Plainfield League also encourages registration and engages in voting drives.
Source: 1973-74 membership booklet, Box 1 folder 45
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Additional Historical
The predecessor of the League of Women Voters was the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJSA). The NJSA was founded in 1867 at a meeting in Vineland, NJ. It was attended by Lucy Stone, her husband Henry Blackwell, Lucretia and James Mott of Philadelphia, reformer Robert Dale Owen, dress reformer Susan Pecker Fowler, and John Gage of Vineland, brother-in-law of reformer and journalist, Frances Dana Gage.
According to the founding convention records, “all adult citizens of the State shall be eligible and of which the object shall be to use all honorable means to secure to woman the same political rights which are now enjoyed by white men.” On April 23, 1920, the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, a non-partisan organization devoted to informed citizenship, which still exists today. The NJSA record group consists of a War Relief Enrollment Form.
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Charter Members, 1920
Mary Charles, first president
Julia Buckley Cox
Marie Murray Joost
Esther Egerton
Edythe P. Parsons
May Blaine Lipscomb
Louise S Corbusier
Elizabeth D. White
[Elinor] M[eleiels]
Edith P. Bond
Ida H. Riley
Anne Luery
Edna M. Brown
Sarah Elvira Sutphen
Hilda Mary Knott
Florence Bailey Lawrence
Lucy J. Weiss
Elizabeth Taylor
Edith C. Burnett
Delphina B O’Donnell
Elizabeth M. Kenney
Louise H. Abbe
Emilie B. Cowperthwaite
Dr. Clara De Krans
[Ida] Jones
Marie E VanSyckel
Mary A. Bailey
Estelle B Crane
Katrina G. S. Pierce
Claire W. RobinsonSource: Minutes Book 1, general minutes, pages 11-12, 1920.
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Scope and Contents
The Records of the League include a variety of historical material spanning from 1920 to 1981, with the bulk of records dating between 1952 to1973. The documents offer a glimpse into the creation of the League from its beginning in 1920, up to the 1980s. There is a list of the charter members, dated May 1920, that includes the signatures of the initial 29 members (noted above). Record types include: annual reports, newsletters, annual dinner & event programs, constitution and by-laws, financial records, correspondence, minutes (bound and unbound), sample ballots, informational reports, membership questionnaires and statistics, and newspaper clippings. Related ephemera include two small voting tags. There is a stretch of the League’s newsletter, “The Plainfield Voter,” that runs, with gaps, from April 1962 to January 1981. Other publications focus on the town of Plainfield and the city’s school system. Materials are typed and handwritten, in both original and photocopied formats.
The League of Women Voters of Plainfield celebrated its 80th birthday in 2001, and is still in operation today.
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Arrangement
The Records of the League are arranged into four series:
Series 1: Annual reports Series 2: Minute books Series 3: Subject Files Subseries A: Education Subseries B: History & PPL Vertical files materials Subseries C: Housing Subseries D: Regional Planning Subseries E: Voter Service Series 4: Publications Subseries A: General publications Subseries B: “The Plainfield Voter” newsletters
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Restrictions on Access
The "Records of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield" are available for research.
Access is restricted to materials prepared by the Local History department staff. All materials must be viewed in the Plainfield Room and may not be removed to another area of the library without permission of the Library Director or designee. Materials must be handled carefully and kept in order. Materials must not be leaned upon, altered, folded, ripped, or traced upon. Marks may not be added or erased from materials. Materials must be returned directly to Local History department staff and inspected before the researcher leaves the Plainfield Room.
Restrictions on Use
One photocopy may be made (by Plainfield Public Library staff) of each document for the purpose of research; official Local History departmental reproduction fees may apply. Permission to publish must be obtained by the Plainfield Public Library Board of Trustees as delegated to the Library Director. Permission to publish does not constitute a copyright clearance. The researcher is responsible for further copyright restrictions. The Plainfield Public Library is not responsible for the misuse of copyrighted material.
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Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
People:
Sanger, Margaret Higgins (1879-1966)
Organizations:
League of Women Voters of Plainfield
Places:
Plainfield (N.J.)
Subjects:
Feminism - United States - History
Plainfield, NJ - Clubs and organizations
Plainfield, NJ - History
Politics and government - Local
School desegregation
Women’s studies
Women - Suffrage
Voting
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Related Items
Photograph C21192, League of Women Voters, 1929.
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Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
This collection consists of paper documents and ephemera, which do not require any additional technology for access.
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Identification of item; Date (if noted); "The Records of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield", Box and Folder Number; Local History Department, Plainfield Public Library, Plainfield, New Jersey.
Preferred Citation for Finding Aid
Author. "Title of Finding Aid." Location. Date <URL>
For example:
Hull, Sarah. “A Finding Aid for the Records of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield [1920-1981].” The Plainfield Public Library. 22 June 2009 <http://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/Departments/LH/FindingAids/LWV.html>
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by Mrs. Rose Slomin, Plainfield League President from 1972-1974, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Sarah Hull in June 2009. The finding aid was written by Sarah Hull in June 2009. Finding aid content follows the guidelines suggested by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
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Series Description of the Collection
Series 1: Annual Reports [1941--1978]
Return to the Table of Contents Series 2: Minute books [1920--1941]
Return to the Table of Contents Series 3: Subject Files & Addenda [1951--1973]
Return to the Table of Contents Series 4: Publications [1965--1981]
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Series Description