Main content
Committee of Seventy records
Notifications
Held at: Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]1210 Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19122
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Committee of Seventy was founded on December 7, 1904, by Philadelphia civic and business leaders. The non-partisan organization's goals were to prevent election fraud, improve municipal government, and to educate the public in civic and political matters. The organization actively participated in elections, registrations, the State Legislature as it affects Philadelphia, city finances, civil service, taxation, housing, and the city charter. In the last few decades, the Committee of Seventy has focused primarily on monitoring Election Day activities.
The collection consists of subject files of the Committee of Seventy, dating from 1970 to 2000. These files contain some correspondence, memos and email, notably of Frederick L. Voigt, the Executive Secretary and later Executive Director of the Committee of Seventy. Subject files include: newspaper articles; copies of legislation and legal decisions; reports and studies; newsletters; and a small amount of correspondence. Topics cover a wide range of governance issues in the city of Philadelphia, such as voting, campaign finance, local and state political figures, city personnel, city services, policing, planning and development, finance and taxation, schools, unions, hospitals, and transportation. More specific topics include voting machines, privatization of city services, civil service commission, taxation governance, personnel governance, and the Redevelopment Authority.
Accession number: 1011
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
- Finding Aid Date
- 2012
- Sponsor
- This collection-level EAD record is a product of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) Consortial Survey Initiative, which was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.