LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MINNEAPOLIS (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.):

The League of Women Voters of Minneapolis was organized in 1922 as the Fifth District League of Women Voters, in conformity with other local Minnesota leagues organized by congressional district. Its name was changed to the present form in 1947. Its governing structure was modeled closely after those of the national and state leagues, and it pursued on a local level the fundamental mission of the national organization: the political education and motivation of the newly enfranchised women voters.

The Minneapolis league was organized into a number (30-55) of small "discussion units," each of them representing a ward or neighborhood area, and ranging in size from ten to twenty-five members. These groups, after 1921, tended to meet monthly to carry on the basic educational program of the Minneapolis league.

This sketch was taken from historical data filed at the beginning of box 1. Of particular note is a 52-page manuscript (1951) by John Tsuderos on the administrative structure of the Minneapolis league during its first twenty-five years. This narrative was a case study extracted from his larger PhD dissertation.

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Administrative files

The administration records are fairly complete, except for the board of directors' minutes, which cover only the years 1962-1967. However, the minutes are detailed and also include other records including minutes of committee meetings, membership information, lists of directors, and minutes of one annual meeting (1964). Annual reports (1967-1987) and annual meeting files (1922-1986) are present, along with smaller increments of records on goals and planning, personnel, committees, and the Hennepin County Council of the LWV (minutes 1947-1966). A number of records detail such league activities as foreign visitors to Minneapolis, League Day programs, tours, seminars, and workshops, all illustrating the scope and variety of activities promoted by the league.

Extensive financial records contain information on the league's drives to raise money (1960-1981), sales of a league calendar, benefit performances at the Guthrie and Cricket theaters, tax information, and budget data. They also include trial balances, treasurer's reports and statements, records of receipts and disbursements (1919-1968, 18 volumes), cash books (1951-1970), and contributor lists (1953-1964).

Following are files containing data on membership, publications, and public relations. Included are membership lists and directories, catalogs of league publications, copies of Minneapolis league publications, mailing lists, information on the league's promotional work through the media, speakers' bureau information, news releases, and newspaper clippings.

Program files

Program materials constitute the major portion of the collection. There are a few files with information on program planning and recommendations for national, state, and Minneapolis activities. There are many unit study briefing kits (1969-1986) consisting of printed materials, memoranda, and similar materials on a wide variety of topics including state and city governmental policies, civil rights, education, housing, Indians, juveniles, law enforcement, parks, politics, and many other subjects.

Similar in subject matter are the program subject files, which include correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, interview transcripts, and similar materials, and which are divided into domestic issue and foreign affair issue components. Educational policies receive the largest documentation and include files on collective bargaining and tenure for teachers, school aid programs, and the Minneapolis Public Schools, including school administration, alternative education, special education, and studies and surveys of school issues.

Other extensive program files relate to Hennepin County matters including courts, hospitals, public welfare, and tax structures; to housing, mainly low income housing; to city planning, including urban renewal and zoning, model city and pilot city programs, and neighborhood issues; and to water resources containing consensus reports from various league units and miscellaneous records.

Program files on foreign affairs issues contain information on post-World War II relief programs, foreign aid, immigration policies, and the United Nations.

Special project files

Observer reports. Detailed reports made by league observers who attended many committee, commission, and city council meetings. They reveal information on a variety of topics including city planning, environmental issues, health, housing, human relations, libraries, and parks. Also included are some minutes and financial reports relating to individual subjects.

Minneapolis City Charter studies. Details on the many attempts to amend and revise the charter with regard to rent control, bonding limits, appointment of a city manager, size of city council, city finances, and police and fire department issues. Of particular interest are two folders of information on the Charter Improvement Volunteer Information Committee and the Joint Committee for Charter Review.

Political activities. Extensive files on the Election Returns Project (1965-1985), a league project to collect and tabulate election returns, first for Minneapolis and later for Hennepin County. The files include correspondence with the media, instructions to volunteers, cost information, lists of candidates, and a few election night tallies.

Other political files contain information on campaign spending and finance, candidate meetings arranged by the league, constitutional revision, election judge training programs, precinct caucuses, reapportionment, and voter registration.

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These papers are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. League of Women Voters of Minneapolis (Minneapolis, Minn.). League Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4194; 13,247; 13,615; 14,895

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn Johnson, July 1994

Catalog ID number: 990017317450104294

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Records of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and other local leagues are also in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Child welfare -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Children -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

City planning -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

County government -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Educational law and legislation -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Election districts -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Elections -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Environmental policy -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Housing -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Indians of North America -- Minnesota -- Social conditions.

International relations.

Libraries -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Local elections -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Local elections -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Metropolitan areas -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Municipal government -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Parks -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Parks -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Political participation -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Politics, Practical -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

School board members -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Urban renewal -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Water quality -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Women -- Political activity -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Women -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Societies and clubs.

Women in community organization -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

World War, 1939-1945.

Zoning laws -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Persons:

Chalmers, L., author.

Tsuderos, John E., author.

Organizations:

Council of Metropolitan Area Leagues of Women Voters (Minn.)

Fifth District League of Women Voters (Minn.)

Hennepin County Leagues of Women Voters.

League of Women Voters (U.S.)

League of Women Voters of Minnesota.

Minneapolis Public Library.

Minneapolis Public Schools.

United Nations.

Places:

Hennepin County (Minn.)

Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Charter.

Minneapolis Metropolitan Area (Minn.)

Document Types:

Interviews.

Tax returns.

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