IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES

IOWA CITY, IOWA

 

 

DEMOCRATIC ACTIVIST WOMEN’S
NETWORK, DISTRICT 1

 

RECORDS, 1981-1998

1.25 linear feet and audiovisual materials

 

 

 

 

 

 

»QUANTITY:»

ACQUISITION:

The records» (donor no. 704) were donated by Beverly Hannon in 2000.

ACCESS:

The »papers are open for research.

AUDIOVISUAL:

Four audiocassettes shelved in audiocassette collection [AC877-AC880].

COPYRIGHT:

»Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa. 

PHOTOGRAPHS:

In Box 3.

PROCESSED BY:

Emily Broeckling, 2003 [DAWN.doc]Your name, year».

 

 

»History

            After the November election in 1992, a group of politically concerned women met in Boone, Iowa to discuss the status of women in elected positions in the state of Iowa.  This group concluded that, although women constituted fifty-two percent of the population in Iowa, eighty-two percent of Iowa state senators and eighty-four percent of Iowa state representatives were men.  Furthermore, at the time, Iowa had never had a female governor, Speaker of the House, majority leader in the Senate or House, or Congressperson.  A related concern was the Republican dominance of Iowa politics and its perceived impact on equal representation.

 

            The Democratic Activist Women’s Network (DAWN) was created for the purpose of recruiting, educating, supporting and helping to elect Democratic women to public office in Iowa at the local and state levels.  The organization was modeled after EMILY’s List, establishing networks for candidate selection and endorsement through the provision of financial and moral support.  In particular, DAWN actively recruits candidates to run for office and funnels member donations to them, as well as providing campaign volunteers, advice, and woman-specific campaign training.  Candidates endorsed since the organization’s inception include Elaine Baxter, Bonnie Campbell, Minnette Dodorer, Sandra Glenn, Patty Judge, Robbie Fye Leach, Anne Pederson, Linda Santi, and Kathy Walter.

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            DAWN is structured to correspond to the five Iowa Congressional districts, with local chapters in each district.  In 1993, former Iowa Senator Beverly Hannon became chair of the newly created District 1 chapter.  In 1996, Hannon resigned her position and membership, due to disagreements among members over candidate positions on abortion and reproductive rights.  DAWN continues to recruit and endorse Democratic women candidates today.

 

 

Scope and Content Note

 

            Begin text here:The DAWN» District 1 records date from 1981» to 1998 and measure 1.25» linear feet.  The »records »are arranged in »four series: Administrative records, Candidates, Publicity, and Photographs.

 

            The Administrative records series comprises official documents of DAWN District 1 and dates from 1986-1998.  This series includes DAWN brochures, organizational by-laws, professional contacts, correspondence, donor records, financial information, mailing lists, meeting agendas and minutes, member lists, phone messages and notes, documents relating to the organization’s structure and legal status, and volunteer information.

 

            The Candidates series contains information about the candidates selected by DAWN and dates from 1989-1997.  This series includes the candidate application packet, campaign brochures featuring DAWN-endorsed candidates, records of the candidate recommendation committee, documents from the Center for the American Woman and Politics (CAWP) Forum for women legislators, district maps, and information regarding women in elected positions.

 

            The Publicity series encompasses public relations, the media, and community events and dates from 1981-1997.  This series includes documents from the annual meeting, advertisements for community events, literature from a media workshop, DAWN newsletters, newspaper clippings, a directory of members of the Professional Women’s Network, and records from the statewide town meeting.  The newspaper clippings have been subdivided according to topic: clippings relating to abortion, clippings about DAWN-endorsed candidates, miscellaneous clippings, and clippings of prospective DAWN members and candidates.

 

            The Photographs series includes snapshots of DAWN District 1 members from 1992-1993 at district meetings.»

 

 

 

Related Collections

           

            The Jo Ann Zimmerman papers and Beverly Hannon papers contain DAWN records.

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Box no.           Description

 

Box 1

                        Administrative Records

                              Brochures, 1993-1995

                              By-laws, 1993-1994

                              Contacts, 1988-1994 and undated

                              Correspondence

                                    1986-1993

                                    1994

                                    1995-1996

                                    Undated

                              Donations, 1994

                              Finances, 1993-1996

                              Mailing lists, 1992-1994 and undated

                              Meeting agendas, 1993-1996

Box 2

                              Meeting minutes, 1993-1995

                              Members, 1993-1996

                              Miscellaneous, 1991-1996 and undated

                              Notes

                                    1990-1998

                                    Undated

                              Organizational structure and legal status, 1993-1994

                              Volunteers, 1993 and undated

 

                        Candidates

                              Application packet, 1994

                              Campaign literature, 1990, 1993-1994 and 1997

                              Candidate recommendation committee, 1993-1994 and 1996

                              Center for the American Woman and Politics, 1990-1991

                              District maps, 1991 and 1993

                              Women in elected positions

                                    1989-1996 and undated

                                    KSUI radio interview of Minnette Doderer and Suzanne Schenken

                                          by Lois Cox, 1995 [shelved in audiocassette collection AC877]

                                    Joycelyn Elders news report [shelved in audiocassette collection

                                          AC879], 1989

Box 3

                        Publicity

                              Annual meeting, 1993-1995

                              Events, 1992-1997

                              Media workshop, 1981, 1986, 1992 and undated

                              Newsletters

                                    DAWN News, 1993-1996

                                    Other newsletters, 1984-1996

                              Newspaper clippings

                                    Abortion

                                          1990-1996

                                    Candidates, 1992-1996 and undated

                                    Miscellaneous

                                          1988-1993

                                          1994-1996 and undated

                                    Prospects

                                          1990-1993

                                          1994-1996 and undated

                              Professional women’s network, 1993

                              Statewide town meeting, 1993

                              Workshop: abortion legislation in the 1990s [shelved in audiocassette

                                    collection AC878], undated

 

                        Photographs, 1992-1993