Elizabeth Nick, August 7, 1991

The idea to form the League of women Voters was proposed at the National American Woman Suffrage Association convention by Carrie Chapmen Catt on March 1919, in St Louis. The League was officially formed in February of 1920, at the Victory Convention of the National American Women Suffrage Association in Chicago. The League’s first project was to hold a National Citizenship School, to teach women about the election process. “The League was founded in 1920 to ‘finish the fight’ after women won the right to vote. Our aim from the start has been to ensure that citizens are informed about issues and prepared to play their part in community building and government.”(1)

Although it defined itself as not supporting a party or candidate, the League promoted certain items of legislation based on positions reached through study and consensus, particularly those which pertained to women’s equal participation in government and the improvement of living conditions for women and children. Among the first issues the League addressed were the regulation of child labor, and child welfare programs. The league championed independent citizenship for married women, women’s right to equal guardianship of children, and equal wages, as well as the inclusion of women on juries. They furthered nationally, uniform marriage and divorce laws, and citizenship instruction in the public school curricula.

Among the League’s early legislative successes were: the Sheppard-Towner Act for the Promotion of the Welfare and Hygiene of Maternity and Infancy in 1922; the Cable Act for the Independent Citizenship of Women in 1922; the Civil Service Reclassification Act which established equal compensation for equal work I 1933; provisions of the Social Security Act for unemployment compensation and for maternal and child health; the Child Labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938; and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic act of 1938. Additionally, the League was an early advocate for international peace and a supporter of the establishment of the United Nations in the 1940’s.

The League also conducted studies of various topics, including low voter-turnout, juvenile delinquency, and efficiency in government, and published a variety of informational materials on national and local elections, known as the Voter’s Service. The organization is also well known for monitoring the fairness of the election process and for holding presidential and local candidate debates, issue forums, and community discussions.

The Colorado branch of the League of Women Voters was formed in 1992. In 1931, a Boulder County branch called “The Women’s Citizens’ League of Boulder” was formed with twenty members and Mrs. C. B. Goodykoontz as president. In 1940, the name was officially changed to the “Boulder Valley League of Women Voters.”

The Boulder Valley League’s activities can often provide a barometer of Boulder Political Interests. Some of the Boulder Leagues’ first local studies concerned traffic safety, the advantage of municipally-owned utilities, welfare legislation, the prevention of juvenile delinquency, public health, aging, and sanitation. In the 1940’s the League promoted compulsory pasteurization of milk, improvement in city sanitation standards, and the establishment and expansion of Boulder recreation facilities. In the 1950’2, the Boulder League was concerned with city planning, zoning development, and parks. Reflecting the population growth of the 1960’s, they published “know Your Country” and “Know Your Schools” studies, and advanced the establishment of annexation standards for Boulder, as well as furthering the fight against discrimination in education, housing and employment. In the 1970’s the League continued with its concern for the growth and development, the ERA, alternatives to incarceration, and county home rule. The environmentalism of the 1980’s show up in the League’s promotion of energy-efficient houses, environmental protection, and an end to the arms race.

According to their websites,(2) the League has been concerned with eliminating obstacles to voter registration in the 1990’s, and is advocating campaign finance reforms to reduce the influence of special interest groups and promote election fairness, among other issues.

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(1) According to the February 1998 version of the League of Women Voters of Colorado website http://www.sni.net/lwvcol/lwvwho.htm

(2) http://www.lwv.org/impact.htm; and www.sninet/lwvco/lwvwho.htm

From the guide to the Records of the Boulder Valley League of Women Voters, 1932-1990's, (University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Archives Dept.)