Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm80034215
Collection material in English, with some Spanish
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The records of the National Consumers' League were given to the Library of Congress by Susanna P. Zwemer and other league officials between 1957 and 2005.
The collection was processed between 1973 and 2000 by Beverly Brannan, Michael McElderry, Paul D. Ledvina, and Patrick Kerwin. The finding aid was revised in 2011. Material received between 1998 and 2005 was processed as Addition IV by Katherine Madison and Katherine Duvall in 2021 and the finding aid was revised at that time.
Digital files were received as part of the National Consumers' League Records in 2000, on a single 3.5" floppy disc, which has been assigned a unique digital ID number. Use the digital ID number to request access copies of the files associated with this media. A description of the standard processes taken on all born digital records can be found in the Processing History Note: Born Digital Collection Material at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.digital.
Susanna P. Zwemer, New Jersey league president and later board chair of the national league, and Clement E. Vose originally processed portions of these records and prepared item-indexes to several series in the collection. These indexes, located in the Miscellany series, should be consulted for material dated prior to 1958.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Audiocassette and videocassette recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the National Consumers' League Records. Patrons are encouraged to contact these divisions in advance of a research visit.
Other records of the National Consumers' League are held at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University and at the Kheel Center for Labor at Cornell University Library.
Additional material on the early years of one local league, the Consumers League of the District of Columbia, is in the Manuscript Division's collection of the papers of Anna Kelton Wiley (see https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms013080).
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings in the records of the National Consumers' League is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The records of the National Consumers' League are open to research. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Access to digital content is available onsite only in the Manuscript Reading Room and requires advanced notice. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting.
Digital files were created in a Windows operating system, version unknown. The content is exclusively text files in WordPerfect for MS-DOZ v.5.1.
A microfilm edition of Series A through Series I of these records is available on 124 reels. Raymond H. Berry papers received with this collection on a separate edition of microfilm are available on 3 reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning purchase or interlibrary loan of the microfilm. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Selected documents from the National Consumers' League Records are available on the Library of Congress website at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011241.001.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container, reel, or digital ID number, National Consumers' League Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The records of the National Consumers' League span the years 1882-2003, with the bulk of the material dated 1920-1990. Although at one time various city and state leagues were chartered across the country, these records pertain primarily to the national organization. The collection is organized into twelve series: Organization File; Office File; Projects and Programs File; Speech, Article, and Book File; Legal File; Scrapbooks; Printed Matter; Miscellany; Addition I; Addition II; Addition III; and Addition IV.
The National Consumers' League was founded in 1899 as a social reform movement concerned with the conditions under which goods were manufactured and distributed. Unlike later consumer organizations that focused upon product testing and selection among competing items, the league insisted that consumers should use their buying power to promote broad social reform. To that end, it developed a comprehensive legislative program on both the state and federal level to secure statutes regulating wages and hours, guaranteeing healthy working conditions, and prohibiting child labor. It sought to ensure public health through measures such as the Pure Food and Drug Act, and it was an early advocate of social security legislation. The league promoted the creation of administrative agencies to enforce protective legislation and played a major role in defending reform measures in court. These topics and others are covered in both the Organization File and Office File. Related subjects in the Projects and Programs File are under specific headings such as child labor, the Equal Rights Amendment, the Fair Labor Standards Act, migratory labor, minimum wages, social security, and wages and hours.
With the exception of a few years for which there are no records, the Organizations File contains a complete record of the official proceedings of the league from 1899 to 1972. Minutes, reports, speeches, correspondence, and memoranda give insight into the workings of the organization and reflect the development of twentieth-century social thought.
For the period prior to 1932, the records reflect the major role played by the league's first general secretary, Florence Kelley. League general secretaries - a position later re-named executive director - had the dual function of carrying out league policy and coordinating the activities of the chartered leagues. Their correspondence is located in the general correspondence section of the Office File. Among the many citizens with whom Florence Kelley or later executive directors corresponded are Grace Abbott, Mary Anderson, Newton Diehl Baker, Elizabeth Brandeis Rauschenbush, Eveline M. Burns, John R. Commons, Mabel Cory Costigan, Molly Dewson, Paul H. Douglas, Josephine Goldmark, Pauline Goldmark, Eleanor M. Hadley, Alice Hamilton, Dorothy Smith McAllister, Esther Peterson, Frances Perkins, Jeanette Rankin, Josephine A. Roche, John A. Ryan, John G. Winant, Edwin E. Witte, Florence Wyckoff, and Susanna P. Zwemer.
The national organization's records also contain material generated by various state and local leagues. The chartered leagues' material relates local activities to the parent organization and reflects state and local projects. Correspondence of local leaders is located in the general correspondence section of the Office File. Records of the chartered leagues dated prior to 1966 appear as discrete headings in the Office File, but materials generated after that date are interfiled with the general correspondence. Annual reports of the various chartered leagues are located in the Printed Matter series.
The Legal File, which includes briefs of legal cases bearing on league work, is closely related to projects included in the Projects and Programs File. Material relating to the life and work of Florence Kelley can be found in both the Speech, Article, and Book File and in the Miscellany series.
Between 1951 and 1970 the league worked closely with the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor to extend protective legislation to migratory labor. Records for this organization are located in the Miscellany series and include correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed matter, and committee material.
Susanna P. Zwemer, New Jersey league president and later board chair of the national league between 1958 and 1961, and Clement E. Vose originally processed portions of these records and prepared item-indexes to several series. These indexes, located in the Miscellany series, should be consulted for material dated prior to 1958.
Addition I (Series I), Addition II (Series J), Addition III (Series K), and
Addition IV (Series L)
are subsequent additions to the records. Addition I, covering the years 1956-1973, consists chiefly of
administrative records. Also included in Addition I are files for two state leagues, New
Jersey and Ohio. Addition
II, covering the years 1905 to 1982, consists of correspondence and
chronological files, speeches, statements, league publications and other printed matter.
Of particular interest is the chronological file containing a complete set of outgoing
correspondence of the league's general secretary/executive director, 1960-1972. Also of
interest are reports on league activities that were issued annually, 1967-1976, giving
an overview of the league's work. Addition III, covering the years 1951-1986, includes records of
the National Consumers Committee for Research and Education, such as minutes of
meetings, correspondence, and project and publication files. Also in Addition III are
transcripts of interviews for the production of the publication
Addition IV spans the years 1900-2003. It documents the work of the National Consumers' League predominately from the 1960s through the 1990s on the topics of child labor, consumer education, credit card fraud, health care and drug costs, medication, privacy, telemarketing fraud, and other topics regarding workers' rights and consumer protections. It is arranged into an Organization File, an Office File, a Projects and Programs File, and a Publications and Press file. The Organization File primarily contains materials relating to the activities and decisions made at the top level of management in the national league, including files relating to the board of directors, executive committee, financial matters, and affiliate organizations. The Office File documents the general advocacy work and public activities of the league, including its testimonies before the United States Congress. The Projects and Programs File documents the various named programs participated in or managed by the league, particularly the Child Labor Coalition. The Publications and Press file contains material pertaining to the publicity and media relationships of the league, including copies of league publications such as brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, manuals, and reports.
This collection is arranged in twelve series:
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 18,509
Articles of incorporation, constitution and bylaws, charters for state leagues, minutes of meetings, correspondence, mailing lists, subject files, financial and historical material, programs, proceedings, resolutions, reports, tributes, invitations, addresses, publicity and press releases, testimony, newspaper clippings, and newsletters.
Arranged alphabetically by administrative unit.
Correspondence, newsletters, reports, printed matter, and histories pertaining to the chartered leagues.
Arranged alphabetically by state and chronologically thereunder. General correspondence dated 1900-1958 is filed alphabetically by name of correspondent. Post-1958 correspondence is filed chronologically by year and alphabetically thereunder. Ledger books are arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, publicity, draft legislation, newspaper clippings, publications, legal opinions, testimony, proceedings of hearings, and background papers from the President's Commission on Migratory Labor.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Speeches, article and book drafts, galley proofs, reviews, leaflets, printed copies, typescripts, source material, newspaper clippings, radio addresses, testimony, and related correspondence.
Arranged alphabetically by name of author.
Legal briefs and analyses.
Grouped alphabetically by state and arranged alphabetically by title therein. An index to this series is located at the end of the series.
Form letters, printed matter, newspaper clippings, and cost accounts.
Arranged chronologically.
Annual bulletins and reports of the chartered leagues, Christmas cards, leaflets, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Index listing individual folder headings from a previous arrangement of the collection, biographical data on several league officials, material relating to the death of Florence Kelley, and organization records of the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, reports, invitations, publicity and press releases, testimonies, financial records, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence and chronological files, legal and financial records, reports, bulletins, clippings, and other printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material and chronologically therein.
Minutes, correspondence, bylaws, project and publication files of the National Consumers Committee for Research and Education.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically therein.
Addition IV spans the years 1900-2003. It documents the work of the national league predominately from the 1960s through the 1990s on the topics of child labor, consumer education, credit card fraud, health care and drug costs, medication, privacy, telemarketing fraud, and other topics regarding workers' rights and consumer protections. It is divided into an Organization File, an Office File, a Projects and Programs File, and a Publications and Press File.
Arranged in four subseries.
The Organization File primarily contains materials relating to the activities and decisions made at the top level of management in the national league, including files relating to the board of directors, executive committee, financial matters, and affiliate organizations.
Arranged in three sub-subseries.
The General files contain material pertaining to the activities of the board of directors and executive committee, as well as annual meetings, events, reports, topical committees, and membership. Also included in this sub-subseries is information on the organization’s bylaws and a 1978 revision of its constitution. The materials are sporadic in nature and do not generally include complete chronological runs of reports, meeting minutes, and committee files.
Material types include correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas, memoranda, photographs, reports, and surveys.
Arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically within.
The Financial files document the organization's financial activities, particularly in regard to taxes, audits, and budgetary matters. A copy of the Articles of Incorporation for the National Consumers' League can also be found in this sub-subseries. Financial files for Related and Affiliate Organizations can be found in the relevant sub-subseries below.
Material types include correspondence, financial ledgers and statements, and tax forms.
Arranged chronologically.
The Related and Affiliate Organizations material documents some of the activities of organizations that operated peripherally to the National Consumers' League, including the National Coalition for Consumer Education (NCCE), the National Consumers Committee for Research and Education (NCCRE), the National Consumers Congress (NCC), and the National Consumer Resource Center (NCRC). The materials relating to the NCC make up the bulk of the sub-subseries and include a variety of materials related to that organization's projects and administration, including documentation of NCC's merger with the National Consumers' League in 1977. The documentation of the other organizations is primarily financial in nature, although some project files can be found in relation to the NCCRE.
Material types include correspondence, financial statements, meeting agendas and minutes, press, reports, and tax forms.
Arranged in four sections alphabetically by organization, then chronologically within.
The Office File documents the general advocacy work and public activities of the national league on the issues of child labor, credit and banking, food distribution, fraud, health care, insurance, privacy, and other issues of interest regarding workers' rights and consumer protections. It is particularly strong in documenting the league's work on Medicare and over-the-counter and prescription drug information for consumers. The Office File includes a non-comprehensive run of primarily outgoing correspondence from 1973 to 1998, and a chronological file containing policies, Congressional testimonies and letters, and speeches, as well as drafts of all this material, which the league called "originals." Also included is a subject file containing the league's collaboration with various businesses, organizations, and government departments and their activities related to specific issues of interest to the league. Additional material related to specific named programs of the National Consumers' League can be found in the Projects and Programs file below.
Material types include correspondence, conference proceedings, Congressional testimonies, copies and drafts of speeches, legal briefs, policies, proposals, reports, and surveys.
Arranged in a correspondence file, a chronological file, and an alphabetical subject file. The file structure of digital content maintained as received.
The Projects and Programs File documents the various named programs participated in or managed by the national league between the 1970s and the 1990s, including the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing (AAFT), the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), the Community-Based Health Care Project, and various consumer advocacy and education projects, including the Assertive Consumer, the Informed Consumer, the Consumer Education Development Program, and the Effective Consumer Participation project. The file also contains material related to the league's Standards Committee and to the federal Child Labor Advisory Committee and the Minimum Wage Study Commission, to which the league contributed.
Material types include correspondence, grants and proposals, manuals and guides, meeting minutes and agendas, press, reports, research papers, and conference proceedings.
Arranged alphabetically by project or program title.
The Publications and Press file contains material pertaining to the publicity
and media relationships of the league. It contains copies of league
publications, including brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, manuals, and
reports, as well as a run of publications from the National Consumers Committee
for Research and Education and a publication of the National Consumer Resource
Center. Runs of league newsletters, such as the
Material types include correspondence, articles and drafts, notes, newsletters, pamphlets, photographs, press and media kits, press clippings, press releases, and reports.
Arranged alphabetically by title.