History of the League of Women Voters

¶ … history of the League of Women Voters rightly begins with the very inception of the Women's Movement and the fight for liberation in the United States. During the early history of the United States there was little, if any respect for the principles of women's rights. In an intensely patriarchal society a man " ... virtually owned his wife and children as he did his material possessions. If a poor man chose to send his children to the poorhouse, the mother was legally defenseless to object." (Women's History in America) The history of women's movements in the United States is largely a reaction to this system of exclusion and male-dominance.

The start of the history of the fight for women's rights begins with a tea party hosted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in New York. Mrs. Stanton expressed her feelings of discontent at the situation of women in society. This meeting led to the first Convention on Women's Rights, which took place at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls in 1848. While this was a comparatively small meeting it was to have wide repercussions and affect the future of women in America. In an insightful move Stanton used the principles of the Declaration of Independence as a framework for her "Declaration of Sentiments." In so doing she succeeded in giving the idea of women's rights legitimacy by associating these rights with a powerful symbol of freedom and liberty. In her declaration Stanton mentions eighteen areas of discontent - the same number of grievances that was declared in the Declaration of Independence from England.

Her grievances included the following:

Married women were legally dead in the eyes of the law

Women were not allowed to vote

Women had to submit to laws when they had no voice in their formation

Married women had no property rights

Husbands had legal power over and responsibility for their wives to the extent that they could imprison or beat them with impunity

Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women

Women had to pay property taxes although they had no representation in the levying of these taxes

Most occupations were closed to women and when women did work they were paid only a fraction of what men earned

Women were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law

Women had no means to gain an education since no college or university would accept women students

With only a few exceptions, women were not allowed to participate in the affairs of the church

Women were robbed of their self-confidence and self-respect, and were made totally dependent on men. (ibid)

At the First Women's Rights Convention all the proposals were accepted unanimously, except for one. This was the resolution dealing with the enfranchisement of women. At this time the issue of a woman's right to vote was hardly thinkable. However, after some argument the resolution was carried with a small majority. (ibid) The fact that there was such a large degree of dissent on the enfranchisement issue at the convention is an indication of the degree to which women were still enslaved by the male-dominated society.

As was to be expected there was an immediate and negative reaction from the male-dominated society to the results of the convention.

Newspaper editors were so scandalized by the shameless audacity of the Declaration of Sentiments, and particularly of the ninth resolution -- women demanding the vote! -- that they attacked the women with all the vitriol they could muster. (ibid)

The convention resulted in an expansion of the movement for women's rights. A series of similar conventions were held throughout America. Other figures in the movement in the latter part of the nineteenth century who successful promoted a variety of issues pertaining to women's rights were Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth. Besides these prominent figures another woman who furthered the cause of women's rights was Esther Morris, who was the first woman to hold a position in the judiciary. Other activists were Abigail Scott Duniway, Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt, who were leaders of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in the early 20th Century. Other women who also played an important part in the establishment of the Women's movement in the country were Alice Paul, the founder and leader of the National Woman's Party, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who become a member of the Supreme Court Justice.

These women carried the message of equality for women to various parts of the country. However, the opposition, especially with regard to the issue of the vote, was strong and "it took 72 years for the women and their male supporters to be successful." (ibid)

The early women's movement finally achieved one of their most desired objectives - and the vote was won in 1920. This however was not the end of the movement and many women continued to work and campaign for further rights and equality for females in society.

2. The League of Women Voters

The League of Women Voters was a development that emerged naturally from the success of the suffragist movement. Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters in 1920 during the Chicago convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. "The convention was held only six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 57-year struggle."

(Past & Future.LWV Org.)

The hope and vision underlying the establishment of the League of Women Voters was that women voters should become an effective and important force in national politics.

(LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. Houghton Mifflin)

On March 24, 1919 Carrie Chapman Catt proposed the formation of "a league of women voters to finish the fight and to aid in the reconstruction of the nation." This was during the 50th Anniversary Jubilee Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, in St. Louis. In the face of the ratification of the 19th amendment, Catt posed the question: "What could be more natural than those women who have attained their political independence should desire to give service in token of their gratitude? What could be more appropriate than that such woman should do for the coming generation what those of a preceding period did for them? ... Let us then raise up a league of women voters ... A league that shall be non-partisan and non-sectarian in character ... " (The LWV Heritage)

In 1920 the League of Women Voters was officially founded as "a might experiment" and in 1921 the first annual convention of the League was held in Cleveland, Ohio. (ibid) Catt stated that the essential vision of League was " ... A League of Women Voters to finish the fight ... The "fight" was to win national woman suffrage and to eliminate other forms of legal discrimination against women. (League of Women Voters: Historylink)

She maintained that the League should continue to face controversial issues, as NAWSA had, should remain nonpartisan, and should educate for citizenship.

3. The purpose and function go the League

Not only was the League of Women Voters constituted to continue the "mighty experiment" in women's rights and continue the work that had lead to the female vote; but it was also to "help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters." (Stuhler 22) An important reason for the creation of the League was that Catt and many other women in the suffrage movement realized winning suffrage was only the beginning of the struggle towards full rights and privileges for women within society. They also realized that there was a large amount of education of women voters needed if the full liberation of women was to be achieved.

Catt and others realized that the winning of suffrage would not be not an ending but a beginning -- the beginning of full citizenship for American women. They would have to be trained in the rudiments of voting: how and where to register; how to assess candidates and ballot issues; and what to do at polling places. If the votes of these newly enfranchised citizens were to be effective, the citizens had to be informed about a wide range of issues. Among those already of interest were education, social services, child labor, governments that were open and accountable, women's rights, and world peace. (Stuhler 22)

The development of the league was therefore an extension of the success which had already been achieved, but which needed to be extended and consolidated. This is one of the reasons for the strong emphasis from the beginning in the League on advocacy issues. The league was envisaged to encourage women voters to " ... use their new power to participate in shaping public policy. From the beginning, the League was an activist, grassroots organization whose leaders believed that citizens should play a critical role in advocacy." (ibid) As the above quotation points out an important aspect of the League was its grassroots foundations and support.

A third important aspect that characterized the formation and the League for Women Voters was its nonpartisan policy. This was to be a controversial and complex issue within the organization. The League adopted a strong nonpartisanship view.

It was then, and is now, a nonpartisan organization. League founders believed that maintaining a nonpartisan status would protect the fledgling organization from becoming mired in the party politics of the day. However, League members were encouraged to be political themselves, by educating citizens about, and lobbying for, government and social reform legislation. (Past & Future. LWV Org.)

The issue of partisanship was a divisive issue in the early days of the League. There were many dissenting voices who stated that allowing women to join a particular party or even forming their own political party would better further the aims of women in society.

From the first, however, League members were divided on whether women should exercise their new power independently or through existing political parties. Catt argued for the latter. "Success can only be found on the inside," she said. "You won't be so welcome there, but that is the place to be." Other leaders, including Jane Addams, argued that women's special voice would be lost in the world of party politics. Members of this group further disagreed among themselves, however, some arguing that women should form their own party, and others that they should remain above all partisan politics.

(LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. Houghton Mifflin)

Carrie Chapman Catt realized that the nonpartisanship would be a difficult for the members of the newly formed league. While she urged the members of the League to become active in the party of their choice she also "foresaw the difficulties and misunderstandings that might confront members of an organization, ostensibly nonpartisan, who also participated in the political parties and supported or opposed legislation." (Stuhler 26) In spite of the dissent and confusion on this issue it was finally agreed that the league would remain nonpartisan, "supporting general programs of reform rather than functioning as an independent political organization for women." (ibid)

The history of the League of Women voters has not always been one of consensus and agreement and there have been times of disagreement within the organization as well as outside with other women's liberation movements and the society as a whole. There was dissention during the 1930's, particularly between the League and the national Women's party (NWP) The NWP "focused exclusively on women's rights, to be realized through a constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for both genders." (ibid) The League opposed this amendment as being "harmful to the special needs of women" (ibid) and was more focused on a broader range of social reforms.

The above points to a distinguishing characteristic of the League in that they were not exclusively focused on women in society but rather were concerned with more comprehensive issues which were not exclusively and only to do with women's rights. "We are not feminists primarily," wrote one leader; "we are citizens." (ibid) This spirit of concern with the overarching and broader concerns of society is expressed in the following quotation.

In succeeding decades, the League continued its efforts to educate and mobilize public opinion on issues of general interest, gradually expanding its scope of concern to include nearly every aspect of public affairs -- local, state, and national. While other organizations arose to carry on the traditions of feminism, the League sought to articulate the highest interests of both sexes. Starting in 1974, men were admitted as full members. (ibid)

One of the central strengths of the League for the very beginning was their grassroots foundation. All consultations and decisions take by the League were taken first at the grassroots level. This meant that these decisions were to have a solid support base.

Our advocacy is based on sound, informed decision making at the grassroots level. People trust the League because they know that we study issues carefully before taking action ....The study and consensus process helps make the League unique among American grassroots advocacy organizations. Decisions on what national positions to adopt are made from the bottom up, not the top down. (Past & Future.LWV Org.)

From its very inception the League was intended as an organization that was concerned with an active and purposeful role in the society. League founder Carrie Chapman Catt, summarizes this central vision of action. She saw the League as

... A union of all intelligent forces within the state to attack illiteracy, social evils, industrial ills ... The politicians used to ask us why we wanted the vote. They seemed to think that we want to do something particular with it, something we were not telling about. They did not understand that women wanted to help make the general welfare.

(ibid)

The words "general welfare" sums up the wide ranging and inclusive approach of the league, "Helping to 'make the general welfare' was the primary agenda of the new League."(ibid)

From the early years the League, under the guidance of Maud Wood Park, started to earn a reputation for its contribution to society and government. (Stuhler 29) During the first convention of the organization voted 60 items as statements of principle and as recommendations for legislation. Most of these were "family issues" and included "support for collective bargaining, child labor laws, minimum wage, a joint federal-state employment service, compulsory education, and equal opportunity for women in government industry."

(Past & Future. LWV Org.) Many of the recommendations become law and are still in force today. While many of these laws are an accepted part of life and society today, there was often a long and arduous struggle in their enactment.

3.4 Important events and actions

In the early years of the Leagues' activities there were many cases of opposition and even outright attacks on the decisions and principles of the League. This was the case when Governor Nathan L. Miller of New York who " ... vented his ire about the League of Women Voters before the state League convention. He said that they had no reason to exist, they were a menace to the institutions of the republic (because they were not a political party), they were evil, and he was opposed to the social welfare legislation the League advocated."

(Stuhler 39)

The League also experienced many early difficulties with their campaigns. One example was the League's campaign for the passage of the Sheppard-Towner Act, a " ... bill that provided federal aid for maternal and child care programs. It was designed to alleviate the high maternal and infant death rates in the U.S. Of the 1920s." (Stuhler 41) There were some lawmakers at the time who were opposed to the use of federal funds for use in social welfare programs. The league found themselves in conflict with those legislators and decision makers who were threatened by the social reforms. "Some of them even made the outlandish charge that enfranchising women had opened the door to dangerous experiments that would weaken and undermine the United States' basic economic and social order. " (ibid)

However the League never backed down from their central vision that the vote for women must also lead to significant social change. As Catt had stated earlier, the vote was only the beginning and the real challenge was in its use in creating change and reform.

"Winning the vote is only an opening wedge," noted League founder Carrie Chapman Catt, "but to learn to use it is a bigger task." The vote was, in her words, "a tool to build a better nation ... To provide for the common welfare ... To help humanity upward." Women's voting power, she said, would benefit "all the weak and the erring ... all the homeless and unloved." (ibid)

The campaign to pass the Sheppard-Towner Act was successful and was also an indication of the power of the grassroots foundations and the organizing skills of the League. Taking courage for the success of the Sheppard-Towner campaign, the league continued work on other issues, including government corruption. To this end in the 1930's it "organized a national, coordinated attack on political patronage in federal and state government jobs." (Past & Future. LWV Org.)

The League recommended a merit system which would be used in the selection of government employees. The organization used its grassroots system and citizen education skills to bring this issue to the public attention. This was also to result in success for the League. "Due in large measure to the League's campaign, legislation passed in 1938 and 1940 removed hundreds of federal jobs from the spoils system and placed them under civil service."(ibid)

The league also mobilized its growing organizational skills and support base to tackle environmental issues, such as the power facility in the Tennessee River basin.

In 1922 The League took a global initiative and combined its third national Convention with a Pan-American Conference in Baltimore. Representatives of Latin American nations were invited to take part in the conference. At the conference the women from other countries were encouraged to put forth their influence and work for the vote. (Stuhler 71) The idea of the commonality of problems experienced by women in different countries was emphasized by the League president, Maude Wood Park. Her speech was indicative of the maturity and the confidence that had been attained by the League in a relatively short space of time.

The women who are turning their thoughts on this conference today realize with us that we women have problems in common that are not defined by national or international boundaries-problems that belong to women all over the wide world, and we believe that in the combined wisdom of the women who are here we shall all receive help in our common problems. (Stuhler 71)

At the beginning of the Second World War the League was very proactive in helping the Allies largely though is support of "Lend-Lease legislation and its efforts to repeal of the Neutrality Act." (ibid) With the focus on creating a better world the League also was strongly in favor of influencing public opinion and working for the American participation in a post-war organization of nations to keep the peace. (ibid)

The second half of the Twentieth Century saw a growth in the visibility and the influence of the League of Women Voters. The league " ... enjoyed a more visible and impressive persona marked by the largest membership growth in the organization's history." (ibid) Between 1950 and 1970 the League also become increasingly effective as an educator and advocate in the society. The League had 156,780 members in 1969. (ibid) However, the membership of the League declined during the late 1970s mainly due to more women entering the workforce and improving their education. This meant that the League had to reassess its strategies regarding membership in order to function at a high level. To this end a self-study of the League was initiated in the 1980's. "The conclusion of a 1972-74 study showed that the League was well aware of the problems, but it also expressed the inherent optimism of the organization." (Stuhler 288)