Register of the Winifred Gail Soules Bradley Papers, 1952-1982
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleWinifred Gail Soules Bradley Papers,
1952-1982
Creator
Bradley, Winifred Gail Soules
Extent
4.6 Linear Feet
Approximately 2,760 Items
Repository
Approximately 2,760 Items
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this
collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
For information on copyright restrictions, please consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Winifred Gail Soules Bradley Papers,
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Bradley Papers were given to the Manuscript Department in
1972 and 1983. Copyright interests in the papers have been reserved.
Processing Information
Processed by Janie C. Morris
Completed November 27, 1989
Encoded by Alvin Pollock
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Processing Note: The papers were weeded for duplicate materials as well as for
printed material of various types including runs of periodicals (with an
exception being made for the Bulletin published by the League of
Women Voters of Durham, N.C.), published works, reprints from some
journals, and newsclippings.
Some League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS),
UNESCO, and Women's Bureau materials were removed from the
collection because they exist elsewhere in the archives of the
organizations. Some LWVUS materials are located at the Library of
Congress and at the League of Women Voters national office. Records of
the Women's Bureau are housed at the National Archives, while records
of UNESCO are located at the United Nations. Some of these materials
were kept with the collection, however, if they were deemed necessary for
documenting Bradley's role in the organization.
Some ephemeral printed materials were also retained if it was not
obvious that they would be maintained by other repositories.
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Biographical Note
| 1917, April 8 | Born |
| 1940 | B.A. Sociology, University of California at Los Angeles |
| 1942 | M.A. Northwestern University (Philosophy of Religion) |
| 1942 | Certificate of Religious Education, Garrett Theological Seminary |
| 1947-1948 | Visiting Instructor of psychology at Western Maryland College |
| 1951-1958 | Member of the League of Women Voters of the Durham Board of Directors |
| 1957-1959 | President, League of Women Voters of Durham |
| 1958-1961 | Research Assistant, Duke Center for the Study of Aging |
| 1960-1962 | Treasurer, League of Women Voters of North Carolina |
| 1962-1965 | President of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina |
| 1966 | Trustee of the Overseas Education Fund of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) |
| 1967-1970 | Foreign Policy Chairman, LWVUS |
| 1970-1974 | First Vice-President LWVUS, headed League's Education Fund |
| 1971-1974 | Member of the Board of the National Institute for Consumer Justice, appointed by President Nixon |
| 1972 | Testified on League positions before the Republican and Democratic National platform committees |
| 1973-1974 | Consultant in Community Organization, Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development |
| 1974-1979 | Member, United States National Commission for UNESCO |
| 1975-1976 | Staff member, Duke Center for the Study of Aging |
| 1976 | President, North Carolina Women's Equity Action League |
| 1977 | Vice-Chair, United States National Commission for UNESCO |
| 1977 | Delegate, National Women's Conference in Houston |
| 1978-1979 | 1st Vice-President North Carolinians United for ERA |
| 1978 | Member of the Planning Committee of the 20th UNESCO General Conference Session, Paris, France and Technical Advisor to the United States Delegation |
| ca. 1978 | Chair, Status of Women Committee of the United States National Commission for UNESCO |
| 1979 | Vice-President, Women's Forum of North Carolina |
| 1982 Nov. 29 | Died |
Collection Overview
The papers of Winifred Gail Soules Bradley span the period 1952 to
1982 with the bulk of the material dating from 1965 through the 1970s.
The focus of the collection is the various women's organizations to which
Bradley belonged and in which she held leadership positions.
The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, minutes,
reports, speeches and writings, newsletters, financial reports, pamphlets,
clippings, flyers, and printed materials. It is organized chiefly
alphabetically by name of organization, committee, or concern.
The organization primarily represented is the League of Women
Voters in which Bradley held local, state, and national office. Files
pertaining to the League are subdivided by the League of Women Voters,
Durham, N.C., League of Women Voters, N.C., and the League of Women
Voters, United States. These files are further subdivided by committees,
conferences, and issues in which Bradley held an office or was involved.
Within these subgroups, the papers are arranged in chronological order.
The majority of materials in this file pertains to her offices at the national
level, in particular her service as chair of the League of Women Voters of
the United States (LWVUS) Foreign Policy Committee from 1967 to 1970
and her tenure as First Vice President from 1970 to 1974.
Papers relating to the Foreign Policy Committee include memos
from Bradley to state league presidents, handwritten notes, reports and
speeches (some of these made by Bradley), position papers, and
newsletters. Among the topics addressed while she was Foreign Policy
committee chairman were foreign aid, biological and chemical warfare,
and United States trade policies.
Bradley's positions as First Vice President of the LWVUS and Chair
of the Foreign Policy Committee gave her several opportunities to have a
highly visible role in the League's activities, some of which are reflected
in the collection. They include speeches she made before the U.S. House
Foreign Affairs Committee in support of foreign economic aid in 1968 and
before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding U.S. trade policy
and the Trade Expansion Act of 1968. She also represented the League
on a fact-finding mission to Japan in 1972 and at the Hemispheric
Conference for Women in Miami in 1976. Documentation and papers
relating to both trips are included in the collection.
In 1971, Bradley was appointed by President Nixon to serve as a
member of the board of the National Institute for Consumer Justice. The
board's report provided findings and recommendations concerning the
adequacy of existing procedures for resolving disputes arising out of
consumer transactions, particularly as they related to small claims
courts.
Bradley's involvement with the Overseas Education Fund (OEF)
also added an international component to her work with the LWVUS.
She became a life trustee of the organization. The mission of the OEF
was to help women of the third world become integrated into the
socioeconomic development of their societies, as well as to further
understanding in the United States of issues as they related to women in
development. Bradley also represented the LWVUS on the United States
National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Papers related to this
organization contain reports by Bradley to the LWVUS about the group
and to her activities as chair of its Status of Women Committee. One of
these involvements was a Mid-Decade World Conference held in
Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980, which grew out of the United Nations
Decade for Women (1975-1985). The papers indicate that Bradley
contributed to the development of this conference by devising a basic
plan to involve nongovernmental organizations in the conference.
The collection contains several speeches Bradley made before
League groups both while she was President of the North Carolina
League of Women Voters and also when she was First Vice-President of
the LWVUS. However, there is not very much material relating to her
tenure as president of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina
from 1962 to 1965. Some of this material has been donated to the North
Carolina State Division of Archives and History and to the state league
office in Raleigh, North Carolina. What material there is primarily
concerns the League's efforts to revise the structure and operations of
the Judicial Department of North Carolina, particularly the North
Carolina court system.
The League of Women Voters of Durham, N.C. Bulletin
forms the bulk of the material relating to the local league with which
Bradley was involved. The Bulletin spans the years 1952 to 1982 and
offers insight into League activities at the local level. Bradley was
President of the Durham League from 1957 to 1959. Other materials
from the Durham League include information about local workshops,
general information pertaining to Durham and local issues in the areas
of housing, transportation, and law enforcement.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) File (1971-1982) chiefly
relates to efforts to ratify passage of the ERA in the North Carolina State
Legislature. These papers particularly reflect those attempts which were
made in the state from 1974 to 1979. The organization most
prominently represented is North Carolinians United for ERA (NCUERA)
which was comprised of a coalition of forty-three groups in North
Carolina. NCUERA was apparently referred to by several names,
including ERA United Inc., N. C. Coalition for Passage of the ERA, and
the North Carolina Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Coalition.
Offices Bradley held include Public Relations Coordinator for ERA
United, 1974-1975 and lst Vice-President of NCUERA, 1978-1979. The
files contain handwritten notes, speeches made by Bradley,
correspondence, minutes, and printed materials generated to garner
support for the ERA amendment. They also include personal testimonies
from persons, who were surveyed by Bradley during her tenure as Public
Relations Coordinator, regarding why they were working for passage of
the ERA as well as samples of quotes from persons representing different
groups who were against passage of the ERA.
Two other North Carolina women's groups in which she held
leadership positions were WEAL (Women's Equity Action League) and
Women's Forum (WF) of North Carolina. Correspondence, minutes, and
newsletters relating to both groups are located in the collection and cover
the years 1977 to 1982. Both organizations were affiliated with national
organizations. Bradley was President of the North Carolina division of
WEAL in 1976 and Vice-President of WF of North Carolina in 1979.
WEAL was interested in promoting economic opportunity and pressing
for enforcement of anti-discrimination laws against women. It was one of
the forty-three groups that joined together to form North Carolinians
United for the ERA.
The WF of North Carolina was comprised of women deemed to be
high achievers and leaders. Papers indicate that in order to become
eligible for membership women had to have influence in the community,
have a constituency or make achievements in and beyond their fields.
Additionally, members were to have made a commitment to changing the
status of women. The papers document considerable debate about
eligibility requirements and lengthy discussions about whether or not
proposed members should be accepted. Some of the membership
proposals are included in the collection.
While most of the collection pertains to volunteer organizations
with which Bradley was involved, two other groups are represented in
which Bradley held paid positions. She worked as a fundraising
consultant for the N. C. Rape Crisis Association, Inc. and as a staff
member of the Older Americans Volunteer Program Training Project
(OAVP). OAVP was housed in the Center for the Study of Aging and
Human Development in the Duke University Medical Center. There are
two folders of miscellaneous items, including the work by Bradley, ABC's
of Fundraising for Volunteer Organizations, speeches she gave
(but it is unclear for which organizations they were made), and
pamphlets and bibliographies concerning legal, insurance, and child care
issues affecting women.
There is very little personal material relating to Mrs. Bradley or to
her family in the collection. Some of the papers indicate she and her
husband, Dr. David Bradley, worked together for the passage of the ERA
in North Carolina and that they traveled abroad to conferences
sponsored by the Wilton Park organization. [Wilton Park is described as
a British organization to promote greater cooperation in Europe and the
West and to offer those influencing opinion in their own countries an
opportunity to exchange views on political, economic, and social
questions.] Dr. Bradley was for many years on the faculty of the Duke
University Religion Department.
A common goal which characterizes the various organizations and
committees in which Bradley established herself as a leader was to
improve the condition of women legally, economically, and politically.
Through her many efforts she worked toward this goal at the local, state,
national, and international levels.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- League of Women Voters (U.S.).
- League of Women Voters (U.S.).--Foreign Policy Committee.
- Equal rights amendments--North Carolina.
- Women--Legal status, laws, etc.
- Women's rights.
- U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.
- Women's Equity Action League of North Carolina.
- Women's Forum of North Carolina.
- League of Women Voters (Durham, N.C.)--Bulletin.
- North Carolinians United for ERA.
- Women in politics.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Box 1Council for Women of Durham County, 1981-1982 and undated
Equal Rights Amendment, 1971-1976
(5 folders)
Box 2
Equal Rights Amendment, 1977-1982 and undated
(3 folders)
Equal Rights Amendment, Writings and Speeches, undated
Equal Rights Amendment, miscellaneous, 1970-1976 and undated
(2 folders)
Box 3
International Women's Year: National Commission on the Observance of, 1975-1977 and undated
International Women's Year: North Carolina, 1976-1977 and undated
(3 folders)
League of Women Voters: Durham, NC: Bulletin, 1952-1957
League of Women Voters: Durham, NC: Bulletin, 1958-1982
(4 folders)
League of Women Voters: Durham, NC: Miscellaneous, 1958-1976 and undated
League of Women Voters: North Carolina, 1961-1979
League of Women Voters: North Carolina Courts, 1962-1966 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Education Fund, 1960-1973
League of Women Voters: United States: Fact-Finding Mission to Japan, 1971-1972 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: General Information, 1967-1969 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Biological and Chemical Warfare (BCW), 1969
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Business--Aid Reevaluation, 1966-1969 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: China, 1967-1970 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Foreign Aid, 1968-1969 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Speeches, 1967-1970 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Speeches of Others, 1969-1970
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Trade--American Selling Price (ASP), 1967-1968 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Trade--International Coffee Agreement, 1968 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Trade--Less Developed Countries (LDC's), 1967-1968 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Trade--Non Tariff Barriers, 1967-1968 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Trade--Protectionism, 1967-1969
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: United Nations, 1968-1970
League of Women Voters: United States: Foreign Policy Committee: Miscellaneous, 1967-1970 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Overseas Education Fund (OEF), 1980-1983 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Representative Hemispheric Conference for Women, 1976
League of Women Voters: United States: International Relations Monitor, 1975-1978 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Miscellaneous, 1974 and undated
League of Women Voters: United States: Membership Lists, 1960-1979 and undated
League of Women Voters: Miscellaneous: National Program Structure, 1962-1963
League of Women Voters: Miscellaneous: Speeches and Writings, 1964-1975 and undated
National Institute for Consumer Justice, 1972-1973 and n.d
North Carolina Rape Crisis Association, Inc: Fundraising, 1977-1979 and undated
North Carolina Rape Crisis Association, Inc.: Workshop, 1978 and undated
North Carolina Rape Crisis Association, Inc. (2 volumes)
Older Americans Volunteer Program/ACTION, 1973-1975 and undated
Older Americans Volunteer Program/ACTION: Training Program, 1973 and undated
President's Advisory Committee for Women
RTI Committee on Women in Development, 1979
UNESCO: 20th General Conference Session, 1978
UNESCO: USA Observer to Organization of American States Conference, 1977
UNESCO: U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, 1977-1979
UNESCO: U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, 1979-1980 and undated
(2 folders)
UNESCO: Miscellaneous, 1974-1978 and undated
U.S. National Women's Agenda, 1975 and undated
Wilton Park, 1973-1977 and undated
Women in Transition, 1981 and undated
Women's Equity Action League (WEAL), 1977-1982 and undated
Women's Forum of N.C., 1977-1981
Women's Forum of N.C., 1982 and undated
Other Organizations: Book Club, 1974 and undated
Miscellaneous, 1974-1981 and undated
(2 folders)
Oversize Materials
Copies of the North Carolinians United ERA newspaper
