Catalog of Manuscript Collections

Creator: New Haven Citizens Committee for Council-Manager Charter Extent: 1.5 ft. (1,000 items) Description: In 1940 the League of Women Voters of New Haven became interested in a new city charter, which led to the Charter Revision Committee. As this committee lay dormant, the League agitated for a Council-Manager Charter by forming a Citizens' Charter Committee in 1948 which later became the NHCCCMC. By 1949 three charters had been proposed: the Commission's charter, the Taxpayers Research Council charter, and the Council-Manager charter. No action was taken by the Board of Aldermen, wherefor the New Haven Citizens Committee petitioned for a referendum in 1952. The publicity attendant on this campaign, personally collected by officer of the committee James Marshall Osborn (1906-76), forms this collection. It includes Osborn's correspondence, drafts of the proposed charter, committee working papers, newsletters, newspaper articles, publicity material, court papers, general statistics, and National Municipal League Conference papers. Research Topics: History of New Haven city government and politics