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Our History
OVER 100 YEARS
We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy. That’s been our vision since 1920, when the League of Women Voters was founded by leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. For 100 years, we have been a nonpartisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters should play a critical role in democracy.
The League of Women Voters was formed in 1920 from the movement to give women the right to vote, following the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment was ratified in 1920, after a 57-year struggle. The League was characterized as a “mighty political experiment” designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. It encouraged them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy.
Carrie Chapman Catt is generally credited as being the founder of the League. When she first wrote of how she envisioned the League in April 1919, she wrote, “The politicians used to ask why we wanted to vote. They seemed to think we want to do something particular with it, something we were not telling about. They did not understand that women wanted to help improve the general welfare of the people.”