SUBJECT FILES,, 1920-1989.

Summary:Material documenting League areas of study and action. Includes documents generated by League committees, and material sent by other organizations and individuals and kept for reference purposes. Types of documents include large amounts of correspondence received, copies of correspondence sent, board reports, information sheets, memoranda, newspaper & magazine clippings, committee meeting minutes, agendas, leaflets, pamphlets, workshop materials, kits, speeches & statements, testimony before various government bodies, study guides, questionnaires, survey results, publications, resolutions, copies of actual and proposed legislation, legal briefs, court opinions, booklets, reports, and a few financial documents.

League work on voter education such as registration and get-out-the-vote drives and candidate questionnaires can be found under the Elections heading as well as in the VOTERS SERVICE series. Extensive League work on election, administrative and legislative reform (approx. 5 cu. ft.) can be found under the following headings: State Administration Reorganization (1931-1951) concerns support of greater efficiency and standardization of practices in the state government; Civil Service (1937-1940) shows the League's position against patronage and its support of a qualified civil service for administration of policy; Constitution of New Jersey (1937-1948; 1.5 cu. ft.) details the League's involvement in rewriting the New Jersey Constitution; Optional Charter (1948-1954), pertains to municipal government reorganization; Title 40 (1962-1963) concerns the League's study of the structures and procedures under which county and municipal governments operate; and Apportionment (1966-1978) and Reapportionment (1964-1967) refers to the reconfiguring of electoral districts. Material concerning election and legislative reform can also be found under their respective headings. Election reform included the campaigns for mechanical voting machines, a direct primary and the standardization of electoral procedures. Legislative reform primarily concerned studying the advantages of a unicameral versus a bicameral legislature; the concept of a unicameral legislature for New Jersey was eventually rejected by the League. The League was consistently in favor of a graduated income tax, reduced reliance on property tax, and wary of bonds as a way to pay for public services. Material concerning state and federal budgets and taxation constitute approximately 4 cubic feet, including: Emergency Consumers Tax Council (1938-1942), an anti-tax organization on which the League kept files; State Chairman's Tax Files (1948-1970; approx. 1 cu. ft.); Taxes (1952-1982) and Fiscal Policy (1959-1983), each making up 1 cubic foot of material; and the Tax Reform Coalition (1974-1978), which favored progressive taxes and was chaired by League President Rita Cohen. Other subjects covered in this area include state bonds and attempts to balance the federal budget.

Environmental issues such as conservation, water potability, waste management, and the effects of development are covered in several files. Water conservation and management (1950-1965) was one of the earliest areas of League environmental study and action. The Inter-League Council on the Delaware River (1968-1979; see also INTER-LEAGUE ORGANIZATIONS series) was established in 1958 as a consortium of delegates from the state leagues of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania to keep abreast of development in the Delaware River region and supply information for action when needed. Environmental Quality (1961-1976; approx 1 cu. ft.) and Natural Resources (1967-1983; approx. 1 cu. ft.) overlap in dates and in subject matter. Both sets of files encompass subjects that may have their own groupings, such as Water. Overall, the files document the League's promotion of natural resource management and conservation in the public interest. More recent areas of interest are Biomass/Alcohol (1979-1980), which refers to alternative fuels; Energy (1973-1983), which concerns all aspects of energy generation, transport, and disposal of radioactive waste; the Can & Bottle Bill (1981-1983), which documents League involvement, along with other environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and Public Interest Research Group, in supporting the placement of a five cent deposit on cans and bottles to encourage recycling.

The Administration of Justice (1969-1983; 2 cu. ft.) concerns various aspects of the court system and application of the law, highlighting League work in standardization of sentencing; in creating a more uniform bail system and more representative juries; and in civil, criminal, and family court reorganization. Related files include: Court Reorganization (1939-1940), Jury School (1930-1939), Juvenile Court Observer Corps (1975-1976), Prison Reform (1975) and JINS Shelter (1975).

Education (1945-1981; approx. 1.5 cu. ft) demonstrates the League's support of financial measures to improve and equalize public education, examines school district organization, and documents the League's support of higher education in New Jersey.

Human Resources (1966-1981; approx. 1 cu. ft.) was a national program item supporting equal rights for all, combating discrimination and poverty and providing for equal access to housing, employment and quality in education. Human Resources overlaps with several files in time and in subject matter, such as welfare, civil liberties and urban affairs.

The League's position on various civil and voting rights issues is illuminated through Civil Liberties (1945-1963), Civil Rights (1948-1951), and Voting Rights (1964-1976). Several civil rights court cases on which the state or national league served as plaintiff, consultant, or about which it was approached are covered in these files. Women's rights are covered in: Equal Rights (1926-1950); Equal Rights Amendment (1975-1981); and Women's Issues (1971-1983), which also contains material concerning Medicaid funding for abortions (see also Birth Control and Abortion Study, 1981).

Urban Affairs & Urban Crisis (1969-1979) overlaps with Regional Planning (1921-1967; approx. .5 cu. ft.) in subject matter. Both file groupings are concerned with transportation, land use, and development; the more recent "urban" headings concentrate more on anti-poverty programs, urban blight, and redevelopment. Also of interest: Attacks on the League (1949-1966) documents accusations that the League was being infiltrated by communists; Economic Welfare (1941-1952) deals with social security, housing, and price control during and just after World War II; the Majority Response Rally (1968) was organized to show the state legislature that the white middle class supported Governor Richard J. Hughes' proposals for financial aid to urban areas of New Jersey; the Metropolitan Government Project (1972-1974) was a three year study initiated by the League of Women Voters to examine new approaches to organizing cities, counties, and regions; and United Nations (1944-1950) concerns the establishment of the United Nations and a League giveaway of UN flags to local schools. This series also includes files on organizations with which the League cooperated on projects such as the New Jersey Council on Social Issues (1968-1970), which was a loosely-knit coalition created to be a clearinghouse of information concerning social welfare legislation and the New Jersey Coalition for Fair Broadcasting (1972-1978), which sought to get more coverage of New Jersey on televised news broadcasts.