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COLLECTION Identifier: WRC 1071-81; M-133, reel D3

Records of the Cambridge Political Equality Association in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1896-1926

Overview

Minutes, reports, financial records, correspondence, etc., of the Cambridge Political Equality Association, the forerunner of the Cambridge League of Woman Voters. These records are part of the Woman's Rights Collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1896-1926

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Originals closed; use microfilm, M-133, reel D3.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the records created by the Cambridge Political Equality Association as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Records may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

16 folders (14 folders, 1 folio folder, 1 oversize folder)
7 Volumes

This series includes clippings, minutes, reports, financial records, correspondence, flyers, announcements, lists, maps, permits, and sashes; it documents Cambridge Political Equality Association's suffrage activities and its connections with other suffrage organizations, particularly Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. Some clippings document the work of anti-suffragists and suffragists across the United States, and there is some material about the Cambridge League of Women Voters.

All volumes were dismantled for preservation purposes.

HISTORY

The Cambridge Political Equality Association was founded in 1896 "to extend study and discussion with a view to securing political equality for American citizens." Although the main focus was suffrage for women, Cambridge Political Equality Association also studied African-American suffrage and proportional representation.

In addition to sponsoring meetings and lectures, after 1900 Cambridge Political Equality Association helped organize suffrage rallies and parades, and raised money for woman suffrage through bazaars and rummage sales. In 1901, Cambridge Political Equality Association affiliated with the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. It also worked with the Cambridge Woman Suffrage Party and other organizations (probably including the Cambridge Public School Association), encouraging women to register and to vote in school committee elections. Cambridge Political Equality Association later became part of Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association and was probably the forerunner of the Cambridge League of Women Voters.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These records of the Cambridge Political Equality Association fill 16 folders and 5 volumes of the Woman's Rights Collection, which was given to Radcliffe College in August 1943 and formed the nucleus of the Women's Archives, later the Schlesinger Library. The material in these folders was prepared for microfilming in June 1990 by Kim Brookes. It was microfilmed as part of a Schlesinger Library/University Publications of America project.

Related Material:

This material forms part of the Schlesinger Library's Woman's rights collection, 1853-1958 (WRC).

Title
Cambridge Political Equality Association. Records of the Cambridge Political Equality Association in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1896-1926: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01014

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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