LETTER TO JAMES E. STARR FROM WILLIAM H. WEBSTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90G00152R001102380049-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 49
• Publication Date: July 10, 1987
• Content Type: LETTER

STAT
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10 July 1.987
Mrs. James E. Starr
National President
American Legion Auxiliary
Washington Office
1608 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Erccutive RP,;stL__
We will be happy to host the Girls Nation "DCI" designee at our
Headquarters Building Thursday, July 16, 1987, at 3:00 p.m. If my schedule
permits, I will look forward to meeting with your representative or I will
designate another senor Agency officer.
Best wishes on your 41st annual session of the American Legion Auxiliary
Girls Nation. Training our young people in responsible government is a
commendable mission.
Sincerely yours,
"aj'-5a~~
William H. Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
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PAO 87-0037
July 2, 1987
RE: American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation Delegate Visit
Headquarters Building
July 16, 1987
STAT
STAT
Mrs. James E. Starr, National President of the American Legion Auxiliary,
has requested that you meet with the DCI's Girls Nation "Counterpart" for
approximately 15 minutes at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, 16 July, in your office.
In the past nine years either the DCI, the DDCI, the Executive Director, or
the Director of Public Affairs has met and been photographed with the Girls
Nation "DCI." Last year the Director of Public Affairs met with her, the year
before the DDCI and three years ago the DCI. Opposite is the photograph taken
in 1985.
This is the 41st Girls Nation program sponsored by the American Legion
Auxiliary. The annual citizenship course will be held 11 - 18 July at
Marymount College in Arlington, Virginia, and will include high school juniors
(two from each of the 50 Girls State sessions and the District of Columbia).
The delegates convene as a legislative body and then divide into rival
political parties and conduct campaigns which culminate in an election. The
winning party forms an administration with offices comparable to the Cabinet
and other high level government positions; hence a Girls Nation representative
is the DCI. Opposite is additional information. The "DCI" designee will wish
to acquaint herself with the primary functions of your office.
I recommend that, if you are available, the Girls Nation representative
have the opportunity to meet with you. However, if your schedule does not
permit, you could defer to the DDCI or the Executive Director. My office will
host the visit and provide additional information and materials. If you
agree, attached is a letter to Mrs. Starr for your signature.
DO/PAD/1"
ama/2 July 1987
Distribution:
Orig - Addressee
1 - ER
1 - PA0 87-0037
STAT 1
STAT
1 - PAO Chrono
1 - PAO Ames
1 - MED (Subject)
1 - D/ExStaff
Bill Baker
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AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY
[phone]
June 9, 1987
Honorable Judge William Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505
Dear Judge Webster:
Ec Re
87-2311X
The 41st annual session of American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation will be held at
Marymount University of Virginia in Arlington, July 11-18, 1987. As an enthusiastic
observer of this youth citizenship training program in the processes of Federal
government, I want to thank you for your previous help in making these girls'
Counterpart visits a memorable experience.
The girls will convene in the form of a legislative body modeled after the United
States Senate. Once they have mastered legislative procedures, they then will
divide into rival political parties to conduct campaigns which will be climaxed by
an election. The winning party will form an administration in which there will be
an office comparable to yours. It is in the interest of the young lady who will be
appointed to this office that I have two favors to ask of you:
1) Before we print the list of key administrative offices in the Girls Nation
instructional manual, we would like to be certain that we have the names of the
current office holders and their titles in the correct form. Therefore if the
inside address of this letter is in any way incorrect, would you be so kind as to
let us know? t
2) It will be the challenge of your Girls Nation counterpart to learn the primary
functions of her office as well as possible in the limited time available. Nothing
inspires her to greater effort than to have the opportunity to meet and visit even
briefly with her actual counterpart in government. To facilitate this, could you
grant this Girls Nation delegate an appointment on Thursday afternoon, July 16
(perhaps 15 minutes between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.) and then perhaps assign
a staff member to show her around your office and answer her questions?
Would this be agreeable to you? If you would be so kind as to notify my secretary,
Donna Jaffe, at the telephone number listed above, I would deeply appreciate it.
She will be happy to provide you with the identity of your Girls Nation counterpart
following the Girls Nation election, which takes place late on Tuesday, July 14.
We will be grateful for any help you can give us in making this an exciting "living
experience in government" for these young ladies.
Sincerely,
Enc: Girls Nation Fact Sheet
Mrs. James E. Starr
National President
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NEWS RELEASE
AMERICAN L EGION AUXILI
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS A R-
777 NORTH MERIDIAN STREET
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46204 1608 K STREET, BRANCH
TELEPHONE [phone]
4D EET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
IMMEDIATELY
(For Background Information)
TELEPHONE [phone]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alan M. Olszewski, Director
Washington Office
GIRLS STATE AND GIRLS NATION
Girls State, culminating in Girls Nation, is the
youth program conducted annually by the American Legion AuxiliaryZtosgivethighing
school juniors practical experience 'in the processes of
clear understanding of their approaching citizenship responsibilities. thus a
GIRLS STATE SESSIONS, sponsored by 51 state Departments of the American Legion
Auxiliary, are held each June or July in state capitals, or on centrally
located campuses in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
There, high school juniors, chosen with the aid of their school
qualities of leadership, set up their own miniature city, county and cPrincipale for
governments and learn to administer them according to the rules and roee
set by actual state and local laws. They learn by "doing" it. Procedures
From Girls State, two Senators are selected to represent their constituents at
Girls Nation, sponsored in the Nation's Capital in July by the National
Organization of the American Legion Auxiliary.
GIRLS NATION, in its first three days, organizes
political
"Nationalist" and the "Federalist," holds nationalconventionstfor,thee
nomination of candidates, climaxes campaigns with a "national election" and
installs the winners in office.
From this point on, Girls Nation moves in a dual role: 4
meets to enact legislation, and also as a As a Senate, which
with elected and appointed officials. government administration, complete
House and learns firsthand how the federallgovernmenthfunctions throughte
briefing sessions on Capitol Hill and at various Government Departments,
including those of State and Defense.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this
program on the Advisory List of National Contests and Activities for 1986-87.
(over)
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?~4
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GIRLS STATE
AND GIRLS NATION PROGRAMS
Back in the depression-ridden days of the early 1930's, The American Legion
grew concerned over public statements to the effect that Democracy was "on the
Skids." How, it wondered, could America train its young people in the
processes of self government as effectively as Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
seemed to be training their youth groups in the promulgation of totalitarian
forms of government. Deciding that the best way to learn something was by
practicing it, American Legionnaires began, in 1935, to gather teenage
representatives of high schools together for a few days each summer in a
citizenship training program on the processes of city and state government.
They called it "Boys State."
As this program succeeded and spread throughout the United States, the
American Legion Auxiliary began providing similar opportunities for girls of
high school age. Thus "Girls State" was founded. The first Girls State was
conducted in 1938 and since 1948 has been a regular part of the Auxiliary's
better citizenship program. The 1987 Girls State sessions are being held in
50 states.
Girls Nation, the youth citizenship program in the processes of federal
government to which Girls States send two "Senators" each, is an annual climax
to the Girls State program and has been held in the nation's Capital for one
week each summer since 1947.
Girls State is staffed by American Legion Auxiliary members who volunteer
their time and effort to this enterprise. Its administrative costs are
defrayed by their Department (state) organizations. All costs for Girls
Nation, including transportation, are financed by the American Legion
Auxiliary's national organization. Delegates to Girls State are selected with
the help of their high school principals on the basis of potential leadership
qualities and must be between their junior and senior years in high school to
qualify. Through these programs, it is estimated that each summer the
American Legion Auxiliary is adding 19,000 girls trained in the processes of
government to a group that by the end of 1987 will total about 743,900.
On Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1964, the American Legion Auxiliary
received one of the four top Americana Awards from the Freedoms Foundation at
Valley Forge honoring its 1963 Girls Nation Program. Other Girls Nation
Programs have helped to win similar George Washington Honor Medals, including
the ones in 1971 and 1972. In 1977, the Joint Bicentennial Session of Boys
and Girls Nation won its Distinguished Service Award.
(over)
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 j.
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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
ROUTING SLIP
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AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY
WASHINGTON OFFICE - 1608 K STREET, N W ? WASHINGTON. D C -20006
[phone]
June 9, 1987
Honorable Judge William Webster
Director of Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505
Dear Judge Webster:
i
EIIcutive Ragistry
87I I SIH
The 41st annual session of American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation will be held at
Marymount University of Virginia in Arlington, July 11-18, 1987. As an enthusiastic
observer of this youth citizenship training program in the processes of Federal
government, I want to thank you for your previous help in making these girls'
Counterpart visits a memorable experience.
The girls will convene in the form of a legislative body modeled after the United
States Senate. Once they have mastered legislative procedures, they then will
divide into rival political parties to conduct campaigns which will be climaxed by
an election. The winning party will form an administration in which there will be
an office comparable to yours. It is in the interest of the young lady who will be
appointed to this office that I have two favors to ask of you:
1) Before we print the list of key administrative offices in the Girls Nation
instructional manual, we would like to be certain that we have the names of the
current office holders and their titles in the correct form. Therefore if the
inside address of this letter is in any way incorrect, would you be so kind as to
let us know?
2) It will be the challenge of your Girls Nation counterpart to learn the primary
functions of her office as well as possible in the limited time available. Nothing
inspires her to greater effort than to have the opportunity to meet and visit even
briefly with her actual counterpart in government. To facilitate this, could you
grant this Girls Nation delegate an appointment on Thursday afternoon, July 16
(perhaps 15 minutes between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.) and then perhaps assign
a staff member to show her around your office and answer her questions?
Would this be agreeable to you? If you would be so kind as to notify my secretary,
Donna Jaffe, at the telephone number listed above, I would deeply appreciate it.
She will be happy to provide you with the identity of your Girls Nation counterpart
following the Girls Nation election, which takes place late on Tuesday, July 14.
We will be grateful for any help you can give us in making this an exciting "living
experience in government" for these young ladies.
Sincerely,
Enc: Girls Nation Fact Sheet Mrs. James E. Starr
National President
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NEWS RELEASE
LEGION AUXILIARY
IONALHEADQUARTERS
777 NORTH MERIDIAN STREET
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46204
TELEPHONE [phone]
WASHINGTON BRANCH
1608 K STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
TELEPHONE [phone]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
IMMEDIATELY Alan M. Olszewski, Director
(For Background Information) Washington Office
GIRLS STATE AND GIRLS NATION
Girls State, culminating in Girls Nation, is the youth citizenship training
program conducted annually by the American Legion Auxiliary to give high
school juniors practical experience'in the processes of government and thus a
clear understanding of their approaching citizenship responsibilities.
GIRLS STATE SESSIONS, sponsored by 51 state Departments of the American Legion
Auxiliary, are held each June or July in state capitals or on centrally
located campuses in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
There, high school juniors, chosen with the aid of their school principals for
qualities of leadership, set up their own miniature city, county and state
governments and learn to administer them according to the rules and procedures
set by actual state and local laws. They learn by "doing" it.
From Girls State, two Senators are selected to represent their constituents at
Girls Nation, sponsored in the Nation's Capital in July by the National
Organization of the American Legion Auxiliary.
GIRLS NATION, in its first three days, organizes political parties, the
"Nationalist" and the "Federalist," holds national conventions for the
nomination of candidates, climaxes campaigns with a "national election" and
installs the winners in office.
From this point on, Girls Nation moves in a dual role: As a Senate, which
meets to enact legislation, and also as a government administration, complete
with elected and appointed officials. Girls Nation then visits the White
House and learns firsthand how the federal government functions through
briefing sessions on Capitol Hill and at various Government Departments,
including those of State and Defense.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this
program on the Advisory List of National Contests and Activities for 1986-87.
(over)
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 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP90G00152R001102380049-2
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GIRLS STATE
AND GIRLS NATION PROGRAMS
Back in the depression-ridden days of the early 1930's, The American Legion
grew concerned over public statements to the effect that Democracy was "on the
Skids." How, it wondered, could America train its young people in the
processes of self government as effectively as Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
seemed to be training their youth groups in the promulgation of totalitarian
forms of government. Deciding that the best way to learn something was by
practicing it, American Legionnaires began, in 1935, to gather teenage
representatives of high schools together for a few days each summer in a
citizenship training program on the processes of city and state government.
They called it "Boys State."
As this program succeeded and spread throughout the United States, the
American Legion Auxiliary began providing similar opportunities for girls of
high school age. Thus "Girls State" was founded. The first Girls State was
conducted in 1938 and since 1948 has been a regular part of the Auxiliary's
better citizenship program. The 1987 Girls State sessions are being held in
50 states.
Girls Nation, the youth citizenship program in the processes of federal
government to which Girls States send two "Senators" each, is an annual climax
to the Girls State program and has been held in the nation's Capital for one
week each summer since 1947.
Girls State is staffed by American Legion Auxiliary members who volunteer
their time and effort to this enterprise. Its administrative costs are
defrayed by their Department (state) organizations. All costs for Girls
Nation, including transportation, are financed by the American Legion
Auxiliary's national organization. Delegates to Girls State are selected with
the help of their high school principals on the basis of potential leadership
qualities and must be between their junior and senior years in high school to
qualify. Through these programs, it is estimated that each summer the
American Legion Auxiliary is adding 19,000 girls trained in the processes of
government to a group that by the end of 1987 will total about 743,900.
On Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1964, the American Legion Auxiliary
received one of the four top Americana Awards from the Freedoms Foundation at
Valley Forge honoring its 1963 Girls Nation Program. Other Girls Nation
Programs have helped to win similar George Washington Honor Medals, including
the ones in 1971 and 1972. In 1977, the Joint Bicentennial Session of Boys
and Girls Nation won its Distinguished Service Award.
(over)
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