Subseries D. Alva Belmont, 1919-1934 (#46.21-50.1)
Scope and Contents
Subseries D, Alva Belmont, 1919-1934 (#46.21-50.1), includes correspondence, index cards, notes, press releases, clippings, and legal and financial records related to Stevens's relationship with Alva Belmont and a lawsuit Stevens filed in an attempt to reverse a codicil that cut her out of Belmont's will. Most of the material was drawn together in 1933 by Stevens in preparation for the lawsuit. Stevens worked directly under Belmont for much of the 1910s and 1920s, with the understanding that she would later be compensated from Belmont's estate. For the lawsuit, Stevens sought to prove that she had never been a paid employee of the National Woman's Party after 1919; National Woman's Party financial records, and Stevens's accounting of them, can be found here. She also wished to give an accurate record of her entire history with Belmont; thus she compiled index cards with dates and events in the suffrage movement to detail their interactions. A copy of her deposition narrates this history. The entirety of Stevens's correspondence with Belmont is in this subseries, as are her notes re: Belmont's intentions and directions for international activities, her alliances with different feminist groups, and her changing relationships with other National Woman's Party leaders. Many letters (or copies of letters) have Stevens's 1933 notes on them explaining how they prove that she was working under Belmont's direction, and not that of any other National Woman's Party official. The subseries also includes information about Stevens's and Alice Paul's European work for women's rights from 1926 to 1932.
Dates
- Creation: 1884-1983
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1920-1960
Language of Materials
Materials in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Conditions Governing Access
SERIES IV IS CLOSED; USE DIGITAL IMAGES.
Extent
65.69 linear feet ((116 file boxes, 2 folio boxes, 5 folio+ boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 4 card file boxes) plus 9 folio+ folders, 3 oversize folders, 1 supersize folder, 1 supersize box, 56 photograph folders, 37 folio photograph folders, 3 folio+ photograph folders, 1 supersize photograph folder, 13 audiotapes, 16 memorabilia objects, 1 reel of microfilm)Creator
- From the Collection: Stevens, Doris, 1888-1963 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.