Administrative/Biographical History
The League of Women Voters was organized as the successor to the National American Woman Suffrage Association when women won the right to vote in 1920. As a national nonpartisan organization, it promotes political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. Though nonpartisan, the organization selects national, state, and local issues to study each year, and it takes a stand if there is a consensus among members. The Oberlin chapter was very active from the early 1920s through the mid-1970s, when it folded due to lack of new membership.
Sources Consulted
Roland M. Baumann, editor, Guide to the Women’s History Sources in the Oberlin College Archives (Oberlin: Oberlin College, 1990).
Author: Roland M. Baumann Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationRecords include minutes of general meetings and board meetings, 1924-1950; an annual report, 1945-46; bulletins, 1944-1960, 1969-1972; correspondence, 1955-1959; printed matter, 1956-1970; newspaper clipping, 1941, 1952, and 1947-1965; and three scrapbooks, 1949-1961. Folders of information from various committees cover the following topics: “Citizen’s View of 1952,” a program sponsored by NBC Radio; “Life Magazine”; the League of Women Voters, 1952-53; finance drives, 1953-1972; floridation, 1951-1954; the Freedom Agenda (attacked by House Un-American Activities Committee), 1955; housing/zoning/planning, c. 1959; Oberlin ordinances, 1957; “Know Your Town,” c. 1947-1952; libraries, c. 1938-1947; Lorain County, 1937-1955; membership, 1949-1958; solid waste, 1971-72; taxes, c. 1957-1974; and water pollution, 1968-1970.
Sources Consulted
Roland M. Baumann, editor, Guide to the Women’s History Sources in the Oberlin College Archives (Oberlin: Oberlin College, 1990).
INVENTORY
Series I. Annual Reports, 1945-46, 2004-05
Box 1
Annual Reports, 1945-46, 2004-05 (2f)
Series II. By-Laws, 1993-2004, n.d.
Box 1 (cont.)
By-Laws, 1993-2004, n.d. (2f)
Series III. Correspondence, 1955-59, 1969-70, 2002-06, n.d.
Box 1 (cont.)
Correspondence, 1955-59, 1969-70, 2002-06, n.d. (2f)
Series IV. Membership & Name Lists, 1949-58, 1964-71, 1983-86, 1998-2006, n.d.
Box 1 (cont.)
Membership Lists, 1949-58 (2f)
Name Lists, Other Groups in Oberlin, 1964-71, n.d.
State Level Membership Lists and Financial, 1983-86
Local Membership Lists, 1998-2006, n.d.
Series V. Minutes, 1924-50, 1970, 1994-2006
Box 2
Minutes, 1924-50, 1970, 1994-2006 (7f)
Series VI. Newsletters & Bulletins, 1944-73, 1994, 2000-06
Box 3
Bulletins, 1944-60, 1969-72 (3f)
Newsletters & Bulletins, 2000-06
Series VII. Printed Matter & Clipplings, c. 1941, 1946-2006
Box 3 (cont.)
Printed Matter Regarding the History of LWV, 1946-63
Clippings Regarding the History of LWV, 1947-48
Miscellaneous Printed Matter, 1956-70
Series VII. Printed Matter & Clippings, c. 1941, 1946-2006 (cont.)
Box 3 (cont.)
Clippings, c. 1941, 1958-60, 1963-65, n.d. (3f)
Box 4
Miscellaneous Printed Matter, 1950-2005 (6f)
Clippings, 1998, 2001-05
Series VIII. Scrapbooks, 1949-61
Oversize – Box 8
Scrapbooks (3), 1949-61
Series IX. Subject Files, c. 1937-2006
Box 5
75th Anniversary, 1995
Citizen’s View of ‘52
City Finance, 1955-56
Dutch Elm Disease, n.d.
Environmental Concerns, 1998-2000, n.d.
E-Voting, 2003-04
Finance Drive, 1953-72
Fluoridation, 1951-54
Freedom Agenda, c. 1955
Housing-Zoning-Planning, c. 1959
Income Tax, c. 1957-70
Box 6
Know Your Town, c. 1947-52
Libraries, c. 1937-47
Lorain County, c. 1937-55
Lorain County Regional Airport, 2000-06
Lorain County Survey, 1941
Program – Annual Dinner, 1970
Solid Waste, 1971-72 (2f)
Taxes, c. 1957-74 (2f)
Voter Information, 1973-74, 1994, 2000, 2004
Water Pollution, 1968-70
Series X. Photographs, 2003-04, n.d.
Box 7
Photographs, 2003-04, n.d.
Series XI. Miscellany, 1970-74
Box 7 (cont.)
Miscellany, 1970-74
