Both the Political Equality League and the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association are represented in the collection. The majority of the paper portion of the collection is one chronological run of official correspondence of the Association kept by Mrs. Youmans consisting of letters received and carbon copies of replies, financial and legislative reports, press releases, other records filed together. One volume contains minutes of meetings, 1904-1918. One box contains materials, 1910-1920, received from Mrs. Jessie Jack Hooper, legislative chairman of the association, containing some correspondence of the Political Equality League. The scrapbooks of clippings are available only on microfilm.
The chronological correspondence traces the history of the fusions and dissensions in the Association and its reorganization as the League of Women Voters. They show, too, the connections of the suffragists with political parties and other women's organizations; their interest in progressive legislation; and their patriotic services during the World War.
Among the state and national officers of the Association whose letters appear here are Mrs. Meta Berger, the Rev. Olympia Brown, Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, Mrs. Antoinette Funk, Zona Gale, Ada L. James, Mrs. Rachel S. Jastrow, Mrs. Belle Case La Follette, and Mrs. Jennie McMullin Turner. There are historical and biographical sketches of the organization and its leaders.
Further papers concern Mrs. Youman's work as chairman of the Woman's Division of the Republican State Central Committee and as member of the National Committee of Policies and Platform of the party in 1920.
The ten microfilmed scrapbooks consist entirely of newspaper clippings, primarily from Wisconsin newspapers, with a few miscellaneous items included. The clippings were gathered by a Milwaukee clipping service, on such topics as state and national suffrage activities and events, prominent women's rights personalities, and opposition to suffrage for women.
The clippings regarding the Political Equality League comprised five scrapbooks, dating from June 1911 to 1912. The remaining clippings pertain to the work of the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association; the majority date from October 1916 to October 1919, with additional miscellaneous clippings and other material from 1883 to 1919. Following the dated clippings is a group of clippings which could not be dated or otherwise identified.
