Celebrating 100

“If it is true—and it is true—that woman’s moral leverage in the home is an all important one, then it is true that her moral leverage in the government would be an all important one. Home and government! Their problems are identical; and to give woman a voice in the government is but to enlarge her consecrated services in the home.”

Flora Aldrich The Minneapolis Tribune, 1911

timeline

As people went off to fight in WWI (1914-1918) , the role of women in society expanded. Those fighting for suffrage argued that by “doing their part” for the country, getting the vote only seemed fair. In March of 1919 the National Woman Suffrage Association created the League of Women Voters as an Auxiliary organization and Minnesota granted women the right to vote in Presidential elections only. On September 8, Minnesota ratified the 19th Amendment. The following February 14, the National League of Women Voters becomes an independent organization. Two months later, the National League of Women Voters chair, Mrs. Maud Wood Parker, and other State and District League officers visit Anoka to organize an Anoka County League. Anoka was one of three cities besides Minneapolis and St. Paul selected for a possible chapter.

profiles

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The LWV—Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids Area is a 501(c)3 political organization of volunteers who believe that our representative democracy needs citizens involved in public discussions. We encourage open discussion, respect for the right to disagree, and use of information that looks at an issue from as many perspectives as possible.

The organization doesn’t support political parties or candidates for office, focusing instead on issuing position briefings, advocating, educating through nonpartisan public meetings, encouraging voting, and helping citizens advocate for issues they have studied.

the league today

The LWV—ABC offers many ways to be involved at local, state, regional, and national levels, like observing local meetings (Observer Corps), helping at a League-sponsored forum or discussion, serving on a study committee (Our Action and Advocacy), lobbying the state legislature on issues and policies, registering voters (Voter Services) or simply attending League meetings and events.

Initiatives like the 2004, “Bee Safe” campaign raise awareness about a certain topic. This particular effort tackled hazardous household products in an effort to protect children, families, and the environment. Other positions and programs have dealt with garbage, pollinators, and outreach in the schools.

The exhibit at ACHS will be open through the end of 2019. Visit us to learn more about local advocacy!

2019: The League of Women Voters 100th anniversary

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the League of Women Voters and women winning the right to vote, the Anoka County Historical Society will unveil a new exhibit on January 19 from 2-4 p.m. at the History Center.

The opening celebrated not only the centennial, but also the partnership between the League of Women Voters—Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids and ACHS, which produced the research, artifacts, and fabrication of the display. A program led by LWV-ABC members highlighted projects such as “Bee Safe” and “Pollinator Program” as well as the group’s origins at a tea held in 1938.

Once more ahead of the curve, Minnesota LWV became a chapter one year before the National LWV chapter was established, in 2020. This created an environment of perpetual change and progress in which local chapters developed to serve their constituents, even before the vote actually came to pass. In 1911, Anoka resident Dr. Flora Aldrich spoke in favor of women’s suffrage in an article printed in the Minneapolis Tribune.

“If it is true—and it is true—that woman’s moral leverage in the home is an all important one, then it is true that her moral leverage in the government would be an all important one,” wrote Aldrich. “Home and government! Their problems are identical; and to give woman a voice in the government is but to enlarge her consecrated services in the home.” 

Six years later, nationally known suffragist Dr. Effie McCullum James spoke at Library Hall, Anoka. The Anoka Union reported that “it was not well attended” but that the address itself was “splendid”. It’s interesting to note how little the local newspapers covered the suffrage movement and ensuing passage of the 19th Amendment.

World War I challenged ideas of American involvement in the global community and opened employment opportunities for women to replace men in the work force during their deployments. At the end of the war, Grace Randall, an organizer in the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association, visited Anoka to appoint a Ratification Committee to continue advocating for women’s voting rights. The Committee included Mrs. A.E. Giddings as Chairman, Dr. Flora Aldrich and 14 other local women, as well as one man. In Minnesota, March 20, 1919 marks the right for women to vote in the Presidential election, though the state would ratify the national amendment in September. On October 29, the League of Women Voters--Minnesota officially incorporates.

Nellie Erickson Peterson [1866-1948] chaired the League of Women Voters in Anoka during the ratification of the 19th Amendment. She often hosted meetings at her home and submitted an article to the Anoka Union on September 1 on behalf of the League. She doesn’t dwell on the win but moves forward into what comes next: preparing to vote in the November Presidential Election.

“It is the hope and belief of the League of Women Voters that the women of our county will respond in the finest spirit of patriotism to this new duty,” wrote Peterson. “It is the personal duty– the special responsibility of every Anoka county woman to take her place at the polls for the good of her home, her state, her country. We believe she will respond….”

This article first ran in the Anoka County Herald on January 27, 2019