Topeka League of Women Voters

Collection 175

• Introduction
• Organizational History
• Scope and Content
• Contents list

Introduction

In March of 1985, the Topeka League of Women Voters donated three cardboard boxes containing deleted files no longer deemed currently useful to the Kansas State Historical Society. Actual acknowledgement of receipt was made on November 5, 1985, by Patricia Michaelis of the Society’s Manuscripts Department. After processing, the collection occupies nine “Hollinger” boxes, and contains correspondence, studies and information on various topics, and organizational records (including minutes, by-laws, reports, and membership directories.) As the Society acts as the League’s designated archive, published material is also included.

The collection is arranged into fourteen series, including Organizational Records and thirteen others identified with a topic (e.g. Civil Rights, Energy) that the League was either interested in or conducted a study on. Years covered by materials in the collection are concentrated between those of 1951 and 1978, although several topics extend to an earlier or later time; that is, the collection, overall, extends from 1923 to 1982. There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Organizational History

The League of Women Voters was an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was first proposed in its last convention by President Carrie Chapman Catt. The earlier organization had been in existence for more than one-half a century, and had led the fight to secure American women the right to vote. When that goal was realized in1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, a decision was made to shift focus and the National League of Women Voters was proposed. The new organization would have as its goals to educate new women citizens, work for needed legislation, and awaken the whole electorate to participate more fully in the activities of its government.

Although it is a nonpartisan organization, the League does take action and support certain issues (though not political parties) after conducting studies and reaching a consensus of the members. The LWV is a membership organization, and its decisions are made by members. Boards are elected to carry out decisions made by members in local meetings and state and national conventions. From the very beginning, the League has been active in community affairs and issues concerned with government at all levels, including candidate meetings and various round table meetings where international relations were discussed.

The National American Woman Suffrage Association was an organization well-organized throughout the nation, with local units formed in numerous localities. In 1920, when the NAWSA was discontinued and the League of Women Voters was organized, many former NAWSA units reorganized to become local League chapters. However, Kansas’ records (although spotty) indicate that the first League in the state was formed four months after the national League.

In the early years, the Topeka League was made up of a few women devoted to the work, several of the state personnel who served as state chairmen, and a large group of women who participated in surface activities of the League but failed to comprehend the essential drive of its program. This account comes from a written remembrance of the League’s early years by an original member of the organization, and which is contained in this collection.

The Topeka League of Women Voters has been active through the years in the community through voter’s services, and membership study, discussion, and action based on a broad understanding of the issues. Records of its first years, however, are few and far between. What evidence that remains tells us that Alice McFarland and Mrs. C. J. Evans were active members in the 1920’s, and during that decade the League held candidate meetings and established the state LWV headquarters at Topeka in Room #9 of the Orpheum Building. The 1920’s also saw visits from William Allen White and Carrie Chapman Catt.

Little evidence remains that details League activities from 1925 to 1948, but when the records resume, a new and expanded League arises. Candidate meetings and election activities continue, but gradually the Topeka League expanded its interests further into the community. In 1950, a study was conducted on the city manager form of government and Topeka schools were also examined. A national Freedom Agenda project of the LWV of the U. S. was carried out in the early 1950’s to foster discussion on freedom and related issues. As a part of this program, the Topeka League conducted a “Freedom Forum” project in 1955 which involved speakers and public discussions. Studies were also conducted on, among other topics, recreation in Topeka and the police department.

In the 1960’s, League interest continued to diversify. Studies were conducted on family courts, the financing of Topeka’s public school system, housing and the need for fairness in its distribution, and proposals for city/county jail consolidation. Traditional league and activities continued, including a public meeting in 1966 on the use of federal funds in Topeka. Also, the Topeka League office established at 832 W. 10th.

The organization in the 1970’s further expanded. As society transformed and new issues arose, the Topeka LWV followed. Energy became an important concern, and the League responded with a study in 1977 on the available alternatives to currently used resources. Native American issues also occupied a significant amount of their time. Posed as a respected and active member of its community, the Topeka League of Women Voters will undoubtedly continue into the 1980’s and 1990’s always on the forefront of true citizen involvement in the community of Topeka.

Scope and Content

The collection covers the League of Women Voters of Topeka and its activities from 1939 to 1982. It does contain, however, several items which date from the 1920’s and the early years of the League which were collected in the 1970’s to provide a better understanding of the League and its historical background. The collection was the personal archives of the president of the Topeka chapter until given to the Historical Society, and as such represents the full scope of the organization. Organizational records, including the budget records and monthly bulletins, give a clear picture of the mundane and day-to-day activities of the chapter and its members, while materials relating to various topics and/or League studies reveal the broader and more far-reaching interest of the organization.

The records of the Topeka League of Women Voters portray an organization dedicated to the best interest and well-being of the community. While the LWV initially grew out of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and its efforts to secure women the right to vote, by the 1950’s, when the bulk of the collection begins, the organization had grown to include all aspects of life within its interest, as can be witnessed by collected material and studies on topics as diverse as Native Americans to the financing of Topeka’s public schools. Respect for the broad-based foundation of the 1970’s League can be seen by the pleas of various organizations and individuals for League support on issues that deal neither with women, in specific or general, nor voting.

Contents List

Series Description

Series in this collection include Organizational Records and thirteen other topics which have been arranged alphabetically: Civil Rights, County and State Government, Energy, Fair Housing, Family Courts, Financing Public Schools, Freedom Agenda, Native Americans, Police Department, Public Schools, Recreation, Voting and Elections, and Welfare.

The Organizational Records Series is the longest of the collection (four boxes,) and also the centerpiece. It is through these records that daily activities of the Topeka LWV have been preserved. It is divided into ten separate subseries. By-laws of the organization, including various revisions made throughout the years, are included, as are minutes of the board meetings, and budget reports, which were further subdivided into
treasurer’s reports, annual expenditures, proposed budgets, and pledge formulas and requests, all of which span the years from 1939 to 1980. Also included are membership directories, which provide lists of LWV members from 1959 to 1980, program and support positions of issues concerning the League, and information on several intergroup councils of which the LWV of Topeka was a member. The monthly bulletin, which provides invaluable information on League events from 1951 to 1979, should provide an
excellent tool for researchers on discovering issues that involved the
LWVT. Until 1964 it was called simply the bulletin, but thereafter was given the title “Topeka Voter,” and has continued as such. Within the Organizational Records Series there is also a subseries labeled, “correspondence (miscellaneous), which is arranged chronologically and contains letters that do not deal directly with other sections of the collection. Finally, a subseries on the history of the national and local LWV is included, which, as stated before, boasts several items from the 1920’s (both printed and non-printed), and contains additional items relating to the local Bicentennial celebration in Shawnee County.

The Civil Rights Series, which is contained in only two folders of the collection, includes prepared information on several civil rights issues, memorandums, and resolutions. Printed material (three pamphlets) is also included. Another series is the County and State Government Series, which consists of a 1979 LWVT study of community corrections for juveniles in Shawnee County, a 1968 Kansas tax impact study, and five related pamphlets. The material in both series is mostly undated.

The Energy Series, 1974 to 1977, occupies fourteen folders, and consists of various printed material and information on the energy issue, a series of twenty-three energy fact sheets, and memorandums, press releases, and related newspaper articles. There are several subseries of special interest. A K-State conference was held in November of 1975 dealing with energy concerns, and was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Kansas. Several items are included which deal with participants and issues discussed. Also of interest is a study on energy in Kansas (1977), conducted by the LWV of Kansas.

The Fair Housing Series (1960-1975) consists of correspondence, related newspaper and magazine articles, memorandums (both of LWV and of other organizations), copies of ordinances, laws, and various judicial decisions, and printed material concerning the fair housing issue. Several newsletters are also included: the Tenants’ Voice newsletter (5/74 to 4/76), published by the Topeka Housing Complaint Center, and the Housing Survival newsletter (10/74 to 4/76). The centerpiece of the series is the two-part study on the fair housing issue conducted by the LWV of Topeka.

The Family Courts Series, contained in six folders and spanning the dates of 1957 to 1965, contains correspondence, related pamphlets, prepared information, and a League study of family courts, whose parts (progress reports, consensus) are dated variously between 1963 and 1965. Also included is a League prepared booklet: “Kansas Constitution (1859-1962)—The Judiciary.”

The Financing Public Schools Series spans the years of 1959 to 1975, and includes correspondence, newspaper articles (with a full newspaper section dated August, 1967) and prepared information on the Topeka school system expenditures. Most important of all is the 1961 LWVT consensus reached on the issue of school system finances.

The Freedom Agenda series, covering years 1951 to 1973, deals primarily with a national program in the 1950’s of the LWV of the U. S. “to increase understanding and appreciation of the role that individual freedom plays in our system of constitutional democracy and representative government.” As such it contains items relating to several regional and national conferences, correspondence, articles (newspaper and magazine), memorandums, newsletters, and communiqués. Several pamphlets are included. Also included are items relating to the Topeka chapter’s Freedom Forum project, which involved discussions at the Topeka High School in October of 1955 on the nature of our basic freedoms.

The Native American Series includes both collected printed material and items which link the LWVT directly to the issues of Native Americans. It contains newspaper and magazine articles, and newsletters and other items related to the Indian Center of Topeka and its affiliated institution, the Indian Offender Rehabilitation Program (including information on the genesis, location, by-laws, and history and activities of the program.) Much printed material on various aspects of Native Americans is contained, as is correspondence. Of particular importance within the correspondence is an exchange between Mary Bradford, president of the Topeka LWV, and Steve Cadue, tribal member of the Kickapoo Tribal Committee, in which Cadue attempts to elicit League support against Jack Carson, BIA representative in Horton, Kansas. The Native American Series spans the years 1970 to 1976.

The Police Department Series contains a newspaper article and printed material on the Topeka Police Department, including pamphlets and newsletter. Of primary importance, however, is an October, 1954 study of the police department by the LWVT with a report of its Police Study Committee. The series spans 1954 to 1956.

The Public Schools Series contains related items on Topeka public schools, correspondence, newspaper articles, Board of Education minutes (1977-1978), and general information on Topeka schools, including information on bond elections and a proposed administration building. Most important of all is a 1951 study by the LWVT on the school system. The series covers the years 1951 to 1978.

The Recreation Series also contains a LWV study from1963, divided into an outline of study, suggested consensus questions, and final consensus. Printed material and correspondence is also included. Of special interest are items relating to a 1965 ice rink proposal for Topeka. The Recreation Series covers years 1963 to 1968.

The Voting and Elections Series spans the period of 1970 to 1975, and contains three folders that are composed exclusively of newspaper sections from the Topeka Capital-Journal covering various elections through those years with profiles of candidates. There is one exception; one section is from the Wichita Independent.

The Welfare Series (1969 to 1974) contains printed and prepared information, letters and memorandums, newspaper articles, out-of-work questionnaires, and television interview materials (interview forms and potential on-the-air questions.) Also included is a study “Evaluation of Human Resources” of Salina, Kansas.

Thomas Reynolds
Washburn University Intern
Spring, 1986

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