Scope and Content Note
The records of the Women's Joint Congressional Committee span the years 1920-1970, with most of the material dated from 1920 to 1953. The collection consists of correspondence, information forms, minutes of meetings, committee reports and papers, treasurers' reports, membership lists, bills and receipts, and printed matter. The records are organized into five series: General Correspondence , Minutes of Meetings , Committee Files , Financial Records , and Miscellany.
The Women's Joint Congressional Committee was organized in 1920 shortly after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. The committee was composed of representatives from many national organizations including such prominent groups as the National Consumers League, the National Education Association of the United States, and the National Council of Jewish Women. The Committee served its members by acting as a clearinghouse and information center for legislation pending in Congress. Special interests included legislation in the fields of social welfare, education, and women's rights. Members supported legislation concerning maternity and infancy, women's and children's bureaus, school lunch programs, a department of education, social security, anti-lynching legislation, home rule for the District of Columbia, and civil rights.
Correspondence and minutes of committee meetings form the major portion of the collection. Although much of the correspondence deals with administrative matters performed by the committee's secretaries, many letters relate specifically to member organizations and the sponsorship of legislation in which they were interested. Consequently, many of the letters illustrate the methods used by these organizations to publicize legislation which they supported. The committee's minutes describe in detail each monthly meeting held while Congress was in session. Of prime importance are the reports of the legislative committees, sometimes appended to the minutes, which are frequently annotated with views and attitudes of members of Congress toward pending legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives.
The records also contain responses to questionnaires and information forms which provide a synopsis of the programs of the organizations belonging to the Women's Joint Congressional Committee, including legislative interests and names of delegates to the WJCC.
Frequent correspondents include Katharine M. Ansley, Helen W. Atwater, Mary T. Bannerman, Bessie S. Cone, Elizabeth Eastman, Eleanor M. Hadley, Florence Kelley, Margaret C. Maule, Claire Sifton, Florence V. Watkins, and Lenna Lowe Yost.