Kingsport League of Woman Voters Collection, 1937-1994

INTRODUCTION

Title: Kingsport League of Women Voters Collection, 1937-1994

Collection Number: Kingsport Community Manuscript Collection (KCMC) 336

Physical Description: 9 boxes

Creator: Marge Sherwin

Repository: Archives of the City of Kingsport

 

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

 Provenance: Marge Sherwin, representative of the League of Women Voters, donated part of the collection in August 2001. The date of the initial donation is unknown.

Access/Restrictions: There are no restrictions on use of this collection for research purposes. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Processed by: Brianne Johnson processed the collection and developed the finding aid in April 2008.

 

COLLECTION CITATION

This collection should be cited as:

Kingsport League of Women Voters Collection, 1937-1994. KC Manuscript Collection 336, Archives of the City of Kingsport, Tennessee.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE

The League of Women Voters was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The convention was held just six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 72-year struggle.

The League began as a “mighty political experiment” designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. It encouraged them 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. It was then, and is now, a nonpartisan organization. League founders believed that maintaining a nonpartisan stance 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.

 

*Information taken from http://www.lvw.org

 

The Kingsport League of Women Voters was established in 1937.

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The collection contains 16 scrapbooks documenting activities of the Kingsport League of Women Voters as well as various activities of the state and national chapters of the League of Women Voters. Included in the collection is information on the chapter’s 40th anniversary in 1977, case studies, pamphlets, correspondence, newsletters, and membership lists.

 

SUBJECTS

League of Women Voters (Kingsport, Tenn.)

League of Women Voters of Tennessee

 

 

BOX AND FOLDER LIST

 

Box 1

  1. America’s Bicentennial, 1976
  2. Board of Directors and membership lists, 1954-56      and undated
  3. Bylaws, undated
  4. Correspondence, 1956-1987 and undated
  5. 50th anniversary celebration (national chapter),      1969
  6. 40th anniversary (Kingsport Chapter), 1977
  7. Greater Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce,      “Special Study,” undated
  8. “Juvenile Courts in SullivanCounty,”      1966

“SullivanCounty: It’s History, Official, Government, and Matters of General        Information,” 1995

  1. Juvenile suicide case study, undated
  2. “The Kingsport Voter” and newsletters, 1953-1994
  3. League of Women Voters of Chattanooga, Tennessee,      1953-1955
  4. Local Leaders Handbook, undated
  5. Miscellaneous materials, 1968, 1980-1982
  6. “The National Voter,” 1956-1958
  7. Neighborhood development, 1972-1980
  8. Newsclippings, 1948-1994
  9. “1994 Voters Guide,” 1994
  10. Pamphlets, undated
  11. Presentations, 1977,1990 and undated
  12. Programs, 1949-0955
  13. Smith, Mrs. Ruric N. (photograph), director of      National League of Women Voters, undated
  14. “Study of the Judicial System in Tennessee,” 1965
  15. “The Tennessee      Voter, 1956-1967

 

Box 2

 

  1. Scrapbook, 1937-1944
  2. Scrapbook, 1944-1947
  3. Certificate, 1977

 

Box 3

  1. Scrapbook, 1959-1966
  2. Scrapbook, 1964-1966

 

Box 4

  1. Scrapbook, 1974-1977
  2. Scrapbook, 1977-1978

 

Box 5

  1. Scrapbook, 1967-1968
  2. Scrapbook, 1967-1969

 

Box 6

  1. Scrapbook, 1978-1981
  2. Scrapbook, 1984-1986

 

Box 7

  1. Scrapbook,1949-1955
  2. Scrapbook, 1953-1963

 

Box 8

  1. Scrapbook, 1970-1971
  2. Scrapbook, 1971-1974

Box 9

  1. Scrapbook, 1968-1969
  2. Scrapbook, 1968-1970