New Jersey League of Women Voters

New Jersey League of Women Voters, Minutes of First Meeting, April 30, 1920
Courtesy, Special Collections/University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

In 1920, shortly after New Jersey became the 29th state to ratify the 19th Amendment enfranchising women, the New Jersey League of Women Voters (NJLWV) was organized by the former New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJWSA). The League’s stated object was to “promote education in citizenship, efficiency in government, needed legislation, and international co-operation to prevent war” through non-partisan means. The first regular meeting of the League was held at the former headquarters of the NJWSA. This excerpt from the minutes of the meeting shows that many the NJLWV officers were former suffrage leaders, and indicates the issues with which the League was initially concerned.