League of Women Voters of Duluth
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • LWV Duluth Board >
      • Upcoming Board Meeting Agenda
      • Board Meeting Minutes
    • LWV Duluth Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
    • LWV: Minnesota & US
    • History of League of Women Voters Dulutlh
    • Policy, Program, Positions >
      • Nonpartisan Policy ( May 2021)
      • LWV Duluth Program
      • LWV State Positions
      • LWVUS Position on Reproductive Choices
    • LWV Duluth Bylaws
  • Membership
    • Join
    • New Member Meet & Greet
    • For More Information About Membership
  • Events & Newsletter
    • Newsletter
    • Calendar
    • Recordings of LWV Events
    • March 28 2023: Women of Influence
    • February 25, 2023 "Fannie Lou Hamer: Stand Up" Documentary
    • January 28, 2023- Citizens in Action Workshop
    • January 8, 2023- Legislative Roundtable
    • December 8, 2022 - Holiday Open House
    • Nuclear Weapons: A local Problem
    • October 1, 2022 "The Rally for Peace"
    • September 8, 2022 - LWV Duluth Fall Kick-Off
    • Events September 2021- June 2022 >
      • September 22, 2021 - LWV Duluth Fall Kick-Off
      • November 16, 2021: Voting Rights
      • December 2 - The Status of Copper Nickel Sulfide Mining in Minnesota
      • Dec. 14, 2021: Sandy Hook Vigil
      • January 6, 2022- We the People January 6 Day of Remembrance and Action Duluth News Tribune
      • January 6, 2022- We the People January 6 Day of Remembrance and Action
      • January 11, 2022- Judicial Selection and Elections via Zoom
      • January 19, 2022- Medical Aid in Dying
      • January 23, 2022- Legislative Roundtable
      • January 28, 2022- Citizens in Action Virtual Workshop
      • February 24 - Redlining in Duluth. It Happened Here
      • March 15 - Medical Aid in Dying
      • April 6, 2022: Women of Influence
      • April 12 - How Duluth is Addressing a Shortage of Affordable Housing
      • April 20 - It's Not Easy Being Green!
      • May 12, 2022 - Annual Meeting
      • June 11 - Annual Plant and Book Sale
    • Past Events: 2020-21
    • Past Events: 2019-20
    • Past Events: 2018-19
    • Past Events: 2017-18
    • Past Events: 2016-17
  • Local Committees/Groups
    • Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee
    • Environmental Action Committee
    • International Relations Committee
    • Program Committee and Advocacy Action Team
    • Observer Corps Reports
    • "The Sisters" Book Club
  • Voting
    • 2022 Voting Information
    • 2022 Candidate Forum Recordings
    • Redistricting
    • National and State Elected Officials
    • County Elected officials
    • City Government
    • Duluth School Board
History of the League of Women Voters of Duluth
​
In celebration of the one hundredth year of the League of Women Voters, The Voter will include monthly historical articles about the LWV Duluth, beginning in the 1920s. Information will begin with the suffrage movement and the beginning of national LWV and then document, by the decades, a history of the Duluth chapter. Anyone who is interested in digging through old meeting minutes, scrapbooks and historical trivia is welcome to join Linda Vukson and Theresa O’Gara at the UMD Library where the LWV Duluth archive is located.
 

​January 2020 Voter
After decades of struggle for suffrage for women, Carrie Chapman Catt spoke to Congress regarding the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “Woman suffrage is inevitable - you know it. There is one thing mightier than...political parties - the power of an idea when its time has come to move. The idea will not perish; the party which opposes it may.” (In 1919, Minnesota women gained the right to vote by state constitutional amendment. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution wasn’t ratified until August, 1920.)
 
From the suffrage movement and the First World War came the idea of a non-partisan organization that could provide political education and experiences to help contribute to citizen growth and assure the success of democracy. Carrie Chapman Catt proposed “ A League of Women Voters to finish the fight and aid in the reconstruction of the nation.” And so the League of Women Voters was born.
 
The first convention of the national LWV was held in Chicago in February, 1920, and focused on 3 important goals: to educate its members, work for needed legislation, and awaken the electorate to participation in government.
 
 
The first LWV chose topics of study to accomplish their goals that included:
  • the functioning of representative government (eventually leading to voter services committees)
  • collective bargaining, equal pay for equal work, and minimum wages
  • creation of Federal Children’s Bureau and the Infancy and Maternity Act, care of delinquents and minors, public health      education, compulsory education in every state, and citizen instruction in public schools
  • legislation to regulate the meat packing industry
  • uniform marriage and divorce laws, age of consent as 18, independent citizenship for married women, and jury service      of women
 
In addition to domestic affairs, the LWV reasoned that a policy of isolation from world affairs was neither wise nor possible. The League supported the Permanent Court of International Justice (World Court), disarmament measures, treaties, and participation of the U.S. in economic and humanitarian conferences.
 
And so, the national LWV began with the Duluth chapter not far behind. Join in the research and continue reading in the next issue about the Duluth League in the roaring 20s!
 
February Voter - LWV Duluth and the Roaring 20s
LWV Duluth and the Roaring 20s.pdf
File Size: 76 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March Voter - Amelia Earhart, Carrie Chapman Catt and the LWV of Duluth in the 1930s
Amelia Earhart Carrie Chapman Catt and the LWV of Duluth in the 1930s.pdf
File Size: 153 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File