IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF
METROPOLITAN DES MOINES
RECORDS, 1936-1995
8.25 linear feet and
audiovisual material
|
ACQUISITION: |
The records
(donor no. 338) were donated by the
League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Des Moines. |
|
ACCESS: |
The records
are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
ARTIFACTS: |
In box 8. |
|
AUDIOVISUAL: |
Three audiocassettes
(AC353-AC355) shelved in the audiocassette collection. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In boxes 16, 18 and 22-24. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Kristen Rassbach and
Randel W. Lackore, 1996. |
History
The League of Women Voters of
Metropolitan Des Moines was founded as the Des Moines League of Women Voters in
1920, shortly after the League of Women Voters of Iowa was created. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan
organization which provides community education and public awareness on
political issues. One of the main
tenets of the organization is nonpartisanship, but in 1944 the Des Moines
league endorsed the Republican Party and subsequently lost its charter. Later in the year the organization was
rechartered by a core group of former league members from the area and several
other interested women.
Scope and
Content Note
The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Des Moines records date
from 1936 to 1995 and measure 8.25 linear feet. The records
are arranged in six series: Administrative
records, Community involvement, History, Programs, Publications, and
Photographs.
The Community involvement
series (1950-1995) contains information about the three main programs which the
league provides for the community: the
Observers, the Speakers Bureau, and Voters Services. The Observers are members of the league who attend local and
regional government meetings and give nonpartisan reports of what has happened
there. They are a source of information
for those in the community who do not have the time to attend the meetings
themselves. The Speakers Bureau
provides the community with knowledgeable lecturers on topics from the
environment to how our local, state, and national government works. The Voters Services program provides
information to the community on how to vote, who can vote, and when to vote and
gives nonpartisan profiles of the candidates and the issues.
The Programs series
(1947-1993) contains the political topic study guides and consensus forms used
by the league during unit discussions and consensus building. The league studies subjects of local, state,
national and international scope. Among
the issues studied by the league and acted upon locally were the
council-manager form of city government, home rule for local and county
government, reapportionment of legislative districts of the Iowa General
Assembly, desegregation and integration of Des Moines public schools, and the
need for affordable housing in the community.
Related
Collections
The League of Women Voters of Iowa records
Box no. Description
Box 1
Administrative records
Annual Meeting minutes
1952-1975 [24 folders]
1978-1991 [14 folders]
1993
Annual reports
1949/50-1951/52 [3 folders]
1954/55-1955/56 [2 folders]
1957/58-1958/59 [2 folders]
Box 2
1959/60-1970/71 [12 folders]
1975/1976
1978/79-1979/80 [2 folders]
1981/82-1985/86 [5 folders]
1990/1991
Undated
Board meeting minutes
1951-1952 [2 folders]
Box 3
1953-1970 [18 folders]
1973-1979 [7 folders]
Box 4
1983-1991 [9 folders]
Bylaws
Final versions, 1952-1990
Recommended changes,
1975-1992 and undated
Committees
Citizens' Action Committee
on County Building, 1974
Nominating committee,
1959-1960
Unit Action Committee, 1982,
1985 and undated
Correspondence
General
1948-1949
1950s
Box 5
1960s
1970s
1980s, 1990, 1994
Official League
correspondence
1953-1980
Catt, Carrie Chapman, with the
Iowa Suffrage Memorial Commission, 1936, 1939
Financial reports
1947
1950
1956-1966 [11 folders]
1970
Box 6
1975
1977
1979-1981 [3 folders]
Membership
Brochure, undated
General information, undated
Lists, 1976-1989 [scattered]
League directory (officers
and workshop chairmen), 1961-1987 and undated
Local league directory,
1965-1989 [scattered]
Policy and procedure
Board policy, 1960,
1984-1987
Board policy changes,
1975-1982 and undated
Board procedures, 1985-1988
Board orientation, 1983
Citizens Information
Services (CIS) projects and procedures, 1979, 1989
Consensus-forming process,
1979, 1984-1985 and undated
League policies and
positions, 1972-1989 and undated
Local league handbooks,
1966, 1969
Position descriptions, 1979,
1983, 1984 and undated
Unit leadership, 1970
Unit organization, 1979
Public relations
General, 1977
Correspondence, 1974-1983
Box 7
Pamphlets, undated
Press releases
1956-1962 [7 folders]
1964-1970 [7 folders]
1975
1977-1986 [9 folders]
Summary, 1974
Community involvement
Observers
General, 1974-1976, 1982,
1985
Guides, 1974, 1984 and
undated
Packets, 1981
Program information,
1975-1976 and undated
Speakers Bureau
General information,
1955-1978
Speeches
Additional information,
1963, 1987-1988
Handouts, 1974 and undated
Outlines, 1957, 1961 and
undated
Box 8
Sample speeches, 1958-1978
and undated
Speaking aids, 1959 and
undated
Speaking engagements,
1959-1964
Voters Services
Artifacts
Necklace and buttons,
undated
Candidate profiles
1957-1962 [6 folders]
1973
Undated
Democracy handbook, 1958
Des Moines Annual
Citizenship School, 1941
Election report, 1974
General information
1950
1952
1955-1963 [9 folders]
Box 9
1968
1970
1972
1974-1976 [3 folders]
1978-1982 [5 folders]
1984-1985 [2 folders]
1988-1989 [2 folders]
Undated [also oversize:
shelved in map case: drawer 4]
Instructions for local
coordinators, 1982
Press releases
1957
1961
1963-1969 [7 folders]
1972
1980-1983 [4 folders]
Undated
Box 10
Program study, 1956, 1968,
1970 and undated
Tax paying guides
1963
1967
Voters guides, 1971-1995
History
Awards
Certificates of
Appreciation, 1953, 1979 and undated
Governor's Volunteer Award,
1995
International Women's year
certificate, 1975
Lane Bryant Award, 1950
League of Women Voters of
Metro Des Moines Month, undated
Outstanding Performance in
Support of National Non-partisan Register and Vote Campaign of 1952, 1953
[oversize; shelved in map case: drawer 4]
Cartoons, 1962 and undated
[also oversize; shelved in map case: drawer 4]
General League history
Questions and answers, 1952
Fiftieth Anniversary, 1969
Local government history,
1959 and undated
Local league history
Accomplishments, 1964, 1966
and undated
Handwritten history, 1974
History committee reports,
1975
Program record, 1956
"This is Our
Life," 1956
Timeline (1922-1985), 1985
Newspaper clippings
1965-1990
Press books
1979-1980
1980-1981
1983-1984
1987-1988
Box 11
Scrapbooks
1942 and undated [oversize:
disbound and shelved in map case: drawer 4]
1949-1951
1953-1956 [oversize: in box 22]
1956-1958
Box 12
1958-1967
1967-1969
Box 13
1969-1972
1972-1973
Box 14
1973-1975
1975-1977
1981-1983 [oversize: in box 23]
Box 15
City Manager Campaign
[disbound], 1948-1949
Correspondence
Editorials
Letters to newspapers
Newspaper clippings
January to April 15, 1949
April 16 to May 2, 1949
Opposition propaganda and
advertising
Operation Ballot Box, 1952
[oversize: in box 24]
Campaign to preserve the
council manager government in Des Moines, 1959
Programs
Planning, 1958-1990
City/Local
Broadlawns Medical Center,
1984, 1990
Central city redevelopment,
1974-1991 and undated
Box 16
"Cities: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow"
audiovisual presentation
Audiocassettes #1-3 [1980]
[shelved in audiocassette collection:
AC353-AC355]
Photographic slides, 1980
Des Moines Municipal
Airport, 1980, 1987 and undated
Education
Desegregation and
integration of the Des Moines schools, 1966-1989 and undated
"Employment in the Des
Moines Area: An Overview," 1979
Government
Boards and commissions,
1969-1991
Council-Manager form,
1947-1979
Finance, 1953, 1976-1984
Home rule, 1966, 1975
Metropolitan form, 1973-1976
Ombudsman, 1971
Police, fire protection and
emergency medical services, 1980
Precinct polling places,
1970
Public recreation, 1955
Box 17
Taxation
"Beyond the Property
Tax," 1987-1990
Tax base sharing, 1985
County government
Charter commission,
1981-1993
Government structure,
function and form, 1971-1983 and undated
Home rule, 1976
Polk County Jail, 1978-1991
State
Courts
Adult correctional system,
1984-1985
Juvenile justice system,
1974-1979
Unified court, 1972
Election laws and
procedures, 1970
Executive branch, 1960
Legislature, 1971-1986
Reapportionment, 1964,
1976-1991
Revisions to the Iowa State
Constitution, 1962-1968, 1979-1980
Shaff plan, 1963 [state
constitution amendment on apportionment]
Tax system, 1972-1983
National
Agriculture, 1987-1988
"Campaign
Spending: The Great American Treasure
Hunt," 1973
Electoral college reform,
1968
"Examining the
Presidency," 1975, 1980
Federal finance, 1985-1986,
1990
Human resources
Day care/Children at risk,
1981, 1990
Equality of opportunity,
1966-1986
Box 18
Health care, 1982, 1992
Housing needs
General
1949, 1961-1968
1971-1978
Photographic slides, 1975
Presentation, 1976
Income assistance,
1969-1970, 1978
Mental health facilities,
1958
Welfare reform, 1970-1989
Natural resources
The Brundtland report, 1990
[environmental protection and sustainable development]
Energy, 1975, 1977
Environmental quality, 1971-1979
Hazardous waste, 1981
Land use, 1971-1984
Mass transit, 1969-1982
Solid waste, 1970-1992
Water conservation,
1957-1989
Box 19
National security, 1983-1984
Revenue sharing, 1974
"U.S. Congress: Evaluation of Structure, Procedure and
Practices, and Their Effect on Responsive Legislative Process," 1972
Voting rights, 1971
International
Central America, 1981
China, 1965, 1967
European Community, 1992
Foreign policy, 1959-1985
Foreign trade, 1962-1991
United Nations, 1976-1977
Publications
Polk County Guide, 1977, 1983
The Des Moines Voter
1953-1966 [14 folders]
Box
20
1967-1989 [23 folders]
Box
21
1990-1992 [3 folders]
Photographs
Polk county jail, undated
1977-1983 and undated
Box
22
Oversize:
History
Scrapbooks
1953-1956
Box
23
1981-1983
Box
24
Operation Ballot Box, 1952