League of Women Voters of Duluth
  • About Us
    • LWV Duluth Board >
      • Board Meeting Minutes
    • LWV Duluth Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
    • History of League of Women Voters Dulutlh
    • Policy, Program, Positions >
      • Nonpartisan Policy
      • LWV Duluth Program
      • LWV State Positions
  • Membership
    • Join
    • New Member Meet & Greet
    • For More Information About Membership
  • Events & Newsletter
    • Census 2020
    • Newsletter
    • Calendar
    • February 25, 2021: Women of Influence
    • February 20, 2021: A Good Time for the Truth
    • January 29, 2021 - Citizens in Action
    • January 28, 2021 - Zoom LWV Duluth "The Sisters" Book Club
    • January 14, 2021 - "Overview of the St. Louis River Area of Concern"
    • January 3, 2021 - Legislative Roundtable
    • November 19, 2020 - Zoom LWV Duluth "The Sisters" Book Club
    • October 28, 2020 - Talon Copper-Nickel Mining Threat
    • September 24, 2020 - Zoom LWV Duluth "The Sisters" Book Club
    • September 16, 2020 - LWV Duluth Fall Kick-Off
    • Events September 201- July 2020 >
      • September 18 - LWV Duluth Fall Kick-Off
      • September 26, 2019 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • October 26 - 100th Birthday "First Night" Gala
      • November 14, 2019 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • December 12, 2019 - LWV Duluth Holiday Social
      • December 13 - Reflect and Act: A Community Gathering
      • January 23, 2020 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • January 25, 2020- Citizens in Action Workshop
      • February 2, 2020 - Legislative Roundtable
      • February 13, 2020: Women of Influence
      • CANCELLED - March 18, 2020 - One Word: Plastics!
      • CANCELLED - March 19, 2020 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • POSTPONED - Equali-TEA March 28, 2020
      • Electronic Annual Meeting
      • May 21, 2020 - Zoom LWV Duluth "The Sisters" Book Club
      • July 15, 2020 - Zoom 2020 Voter Services Organizational Meeting
      • July 23, 2020 - Zoom LWV Duluth "The Sisters" Book Club
    • Events September 2018- June 2019 >
      • September 8 Duluth's People's Climate March
      • September 20 - LWV Duluth Fall Kick-Off
      • October 13 - "Soles to the Polls"
      • December 5 - LWV Duluth Holiday Social
      • January 2019 Trafficking Awareness Month
      • January 24, 2019 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • January 26, 2019 - Citizens in Action Workshop
      • March 6 - Community Green Space Forum
      • March 8 - International Women's Day/CEDAW Kick-off
      • March 16 - Equali-TEA
      • March 28, 2019 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • April 2 - Equal Pay Day Presentation
      • Women in Politics: April 3, 2019
      • May 16 - Annual Meeting
      • May 23, 2019 - LWV Duluth "The Sister" Book Club
      • June 8, 2019 - Annual Plant and Book Sale
    • Past Events: 2017-18
    • Past Events: 2016-17
  • Local Committees/Reports
    • Cross Cultural : Dedicated to Including All Voices
    • Observer Corps Reports
    • Natural Resources
    • International Relations
  • Voting
    • 2020 Voting Information
    • 2020 Candidate Forum Recordings
    • 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