History:
The League of Women Voters is an outgrowth of the suffragist movement when women were seeking the right to vote.  Carrie Chapman Catt founded the organization in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.  Six months later, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 57 year struggle.  The League was designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters.  It encouraged them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy.

The League's leaders believed that citizens should play an active role in advocacy.  The League has always been a non-partisan organization.  As a non-partisan organization it does not endorse any party or individual for any political office.  The Leagues work focuses on important issues facing our legislatures, not on the elected officials themselves.  Although non-partisan, League members are encouraged to be active themselves, by educating citizens about, and lobbying for, government and social reform legislation.

Several decades ago, the National League voted to include men in its membership.  The New Castle League is proud to carry on this tradition today.

The New Castle League was founded in 1950 and its first objectives were those being addressed by State and National Leagues including Court reform (appointment vs. election of Judges), GATT-General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, nuclear armament, and the UN.  Local issues, especially regarding the Chappaqua School District were also studied.