LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ST. PAUL:

The St. Paul League of Women Voters was organized in November 1919, a few days after the Minnesota League was formed in Minneapolis. Cornelia Lusk and Jane Burr were the first two presidents. The St. Paul League followed the procedures and policies of the state organization by pledging to increase citizen participation in the political process through education on the issues, and to encourage participation in the political process through precinct caucuses, voter registration, and providing information on candidates for political office.

The board of directors was the governing body of the League and, to facilitate their programs, the league membership participated in smaller groups called units, which were study groups devoted to various topics of interest to St. Paul and Ramsey County residents. According to the minutes, the original name of the organization was the Ramsey County League of Women Voters. After September 1947, the present name was adopted.

Return to top

The St. Paul League's administrative records contain minutes; financial records including monthly reports, budget information, and information on funding drives; and membership records including lists and directories, reports, surveys, and polls.

The rest of the collection consists primarily of records documenting the League's programmatic activities in St. Paul and Ramsey County including planning and agendas; political activities, relating particularly to citizen participation in city and county elections; candidate questionnaires; voter registration drives; and related files.

Also included are a series of files on St. Paul and Ramsey County political issues including records of the campaign for a new city charter, housing matters, and a proposed Ramsey County Board of Health. There is also a series of files on issues not directly related to St. Paul or Ramsey County, which include materials on the Child Watch program, equal rights amendment, gay rights, state judicial system (questionnaires), and environmental programs.

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Access Restrictions:

The zip file directory is in copyright in this collection and not available online, but can be accessed upon request for use in the Gale Family Library reading room. Please consult reference staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. League of Women Voters of St. Paul Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 12,868; 14,852; 16,074; 16,621; 17,905

Location of Master Files

Digital masters of the audio material are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

The original audio reels were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into WAV files.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, June 1994; Shelby Edwards, December 2010; David B. Peterson, April 2012; Leif Kopietz, December 2022.

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Digital audio transferred from the master audio reels by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (November, 2019).

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Catalog ID number: 990017317380104294

Return to top

The administrative files include historical background materials and records pertaining to anniversary celebrations of the League, minutes of the board of directors, annual reports and programs of annual meetings, and reports from the St. Paul League to the Minnesota and National League of Women Voters office. They also include correspondence of League presidents, with information on routine League business such as conventions, committee meetings, and activities relating to St. Paul and Ramsey County.

Financial records include treasurer's reports, budget information, and records documenting financial drives. Membership information files include lists and directories, polls, surveys and information on committee operations.

There are files on the Council of Metropolitan Area Leagues, which include organizational studies, unit materials, and minutes of Unit 29. There are also files with information on office procedures, job descriptions and general correspondence files.

Return to top

Outreach files contain correspondence and copies of League publications and League newsletters. A section on public relations contains information on advertising by the League, news releases, and newspaper clippings documenting aspects of the League's activities.

Return to top

These files contain program-related records designated as "Action Files," "Program," and "Special Projects". Included, among other materials, are forms containing interviews with legislative candidates, program agendas and procedures, lobbying information, consensus reports on abortion, information on the Coordinating and Referral Center for Children, and a file about the visits of groups of German women to St. Paul.

Records concerning the League's participation in political activities contain information on voter registration drives; literature and other records on elections for mayor, city council, school board, and Ramsey County commissioners; precinct caucus data; information on a campaign to establish an independent St. Paul School Board; candidate questionnaires for school board and Ramsey County commissioners; an election judges survey; and an election returns project.

Return to top

These files contain information concerning St. Paul and Ramsey County political and governmental issues. Topics include, but are not limited to, campaigns, proposals, and environmental protections.

Issue files unrelated to St. Paul or Ramsey County include information on national programs; Native American issues; state judicial system questionnaires; and environmental issues. Also included is a section of briefs related to issues identified by the League.

Location

Internet

Sound recordings:

Symposium on home rule - local consent, undated. 1 master audio file (1 hour, 3 minutes): WAV (321 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (47.5 MB).

Includes speakers Senator Paul Thuet, Professor Orville Peterson, and Vern Johnson.

Digital audio

The role of the county in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, November 17, 1964. 1 master audio file (1 hour, 24 minutes): WAV (425 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (53.3 MB).

Includes moderator Ralph T. Keyes and panelists Mr. Cafferty, Washington County Commissioner, Mr. Johnson, Anoka County attorney, and Mr. Cowle, Purchasing Director of Hennepin County and Director of Budgets.

Digital audio

Return to top

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

Return to top

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:

Abortion -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Laws and legislation.

Child welfare -- Minnesota.

Cities and towns -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Law and legislation.

City council members -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Civil rights -- Minnesota.

County council members -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

County government -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Elections -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Elections -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Environmental policy -- Minnesota.

Gay liberation movement -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Public health -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Housing -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Indians of North America.

Local elections -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Local government -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County.

Local government -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Metropolitan areas -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Political participation -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Politics, Practical -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Primaries -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

School board members -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Schools -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Water quality -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Women in community organization -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Women -- Political activity -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Women -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Societies and clubs.

Women's rights -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Equal rights amendments -- Minnesota.

Organizations:

Children's Defense Fund -- Minnesota.

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

Minnesota. Legislature. House of Representatives.

Ramsey County League of Women Voters.

Places:

Ramsey County (Minn.).

Saint Paul Metropolitan Area (Minn.).

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Charters.

Document Types:

Questionnaires.

Interviews.

Photographs.

Sound recordings.

Files (digital files).

Occupations:

Judges.

Mayors.

Return to top