Subseries A. Correspondence and office files, 1924-1960 (inclusive), 1928-1939 (bulk) (#59CB-93.18, 128FB.7, M-104)

Subseries A, Correspondence and office files, 1924-1960 (inclusive), 1928-1939 (bulk) (#59CB-93.18, 128FB.7, M-104) corresponds to an alphabetical index card file kept by Stevens of all IACW files. An index card exists for each folder; some have an extensive listing of what kinds of letters or documents are in each folder. Both the index file and the folders have cross-references to other folders that contain related correspondence; researchers looking for a specific correspondent should check both folder and card file for cross-references. Correspondence with Latin American women is sometimes filed under country of origin, and sometimes under individual names; names of prominent correspondents have been pointed out in the inventory. Pan American and other conferences attended by Stevens or other members of the IACW are generally alphabetized by the host city. Thus, the Sixth International Conference of American States, held in Havana, Cuba, in 1928, is here under the heading of "Havana Conference." Conferences are listed by complete names at first usage, then referred to by Stevens's shorthand. Files listed under the heading "Buenos Aires conference" include material on both the People's Conference for the Peace of America (November 1936) and the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace (December 1936).

Folders in this subseries may contain correspondence, press releases, documents, clippings, printed material, and notes. Folders for countries in the Americas generally contain information on the work of the IACW commissioners, correspondence with government officials about status of laws, reports on women's equality work, printed material (e.g., fliers, handbills, brochures, propaganda for suffrage or equal rights), as well as communication from women beginning new organizations or working for equality in other ways. Many of these folders also contain lists of women affiliated with those organizations or their work. Most of the other (non-American) country files contain responses to a 1929 IACW questionnaire on nationality laws. A few of the general country folders contain material about immigration issues of specific women. Correspondents include IACW commissioners, foreign government and embassy officials, and IACW staff: primarily Muna Lee, Fanny Bunand-Sévastos, and Elsie Shields. The folders on Cuba include material on that country's political tensions and upheavals in the 1930s. Files on the League of Nations's Women's Consultative Committee on Nationality are voluminous and contain copies of Alice Paul's correspondence with others working in Geneva. Many folders include documents in Spanish, a good number include French, and a smaller number include Portuguese. Much of the non-English correspondence also exists in English translation. Other languages have been noted.

The correspondence files also include some of Stevens's personal correspondence during her years on the commission. Notes and correspondence about Stevens's removal from the IACW in 1939 can be found in many general files, as well as in Subseries G. In the case of some correspondents, primarily other commissioners, Stevens filed their later correspondence with letters from her time as chairman. Folder headings in this subseries are those of the IACW; other information has been added in square brackets by the processor.