Title: North Dakota Young Citizens League
Dates: 1930-1982
Collection Number: MSS 10484
Quantity: 2.25 feet
Abstract: Consists of board minutes, convention minutes, correspondence, reports state projects, resolutions, committees, programs from state conventions, banquets and county leagues, newspaper clippings, certificates, election and ballot materials, news releases, thank you notes, music, spelling bee information, district maps, newsletters, an International Peace Garden Young Citizens League scrapbook and photographs.
Provenance: The collection was donated to the State Historical Society of North Dakota by Patricia Herbel on July 10, 1986. Additional material was donated to the collection by the Department of Public Instruction in 1998. MSS 10527 was added to the collection in October 2013. MSS 10527 was donated by the Department of Public Instruction in 1989.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to the collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights to materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Related Collections:
MSS 10466 Morton County (ND) Young Citizens League
MSS 10528 Bowman County (ND) Young Citizens League
MSS 10529 Slope County (ND) Young Citizens League
Transfer: A variety of artifacts were offered to the Museum Division of the State Historical Society of North Dakota in October 2013. ND State YCL records were transferred from the Morton County YCL Records (MSS 10466) in November 2013.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
The Young Citizens League was introduced into North Dakota in 1927 and functioned under the Department of Public Instruction. Officers included a president, vice president, and secretary and were elected at the annual State Y.C. L. Convention in Bismarck (ND). Delegates to the State Convention were chosen at County Conventions. Five delegates represented each county.
County Conventions were held prior to the State Convention. County Conventions also elected officers: a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer (or secretary-treasurer); each served a one year term. Delegates to the County Convention were chosen by individual leagues in schools. Any school could organize as a league, and could have multiple leagues if enrollment numbers were great enough. There was no minimum or maximum number required to organize a league.
Like the county organization, school or classroom leagues also elected officers. Often these officers hold office only a month or two and then were rotated so that everyone had an opportunity to be an officer. Meeting frequency varied by organization. The purpose of having a league was to train students in citizenship, give them an opportunity to be leaders and followers, and give experience in working in groups and on committees. Meetings gave students practice in following parliamentary procedure and conducting meetings. The leagues aimed to maintain discipline by improving students' attitudes and promoting school pride. Students were responsible for contributing to daily maintenance activities.
Each year a theme was selected for the state which was followed by county conventions and individual leagues. Each league typically worked on a project and prepared an exhibit for the county convention.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Box 1:
1 Board meeting minutes, 1937-1959
2 Board meeting minutes, 1960-1982
3 Convention minutes, 1936-1982
4 Delegates and officers, board of directors, 1945-1979
5 Correspondence, 1950-1968
Box 2:
1 Correspondence, 1969
2 Correspondence, 1970-1973
3 Correspondence, 1974-1981
4 Reports, 1949-1979
5 State Projects, 1940-1979
6 Resolutions, 1955-1981
7 Committees, 1951-1979
Box 3:
1 State convention and banquet programs, 1939-1985
2 Local programs (Burleigh, Steele and Walsh Counties), 1969-1971
3 Constitution, 1946
4 Board of Directors minutes, 1949-1975
5 YCL Bulletin, 1945-1946
6 Miscellaneous, 1930-1982 (newspaper clippings, certificates, election and ballot materials, news releases, thank you notes, music, spelling bee information, district maps, newsletters)
7 Miscellaneous (continued)
(loose) International Peace Garden Young Citizens League scrapbook, 1939-1941
Box 4: Photographs, ca. 1950s-1980s
Box 5: Photographs, ca. 1950s-1980s
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