Percy Maxim Lee was an American political and social reformer who was involved in leadership roles in various institutions. Most notably, she was the President of the League of Women Voters of the United States from 1950-1958. She was almost always called Mrs. John G. Lee in newspaper coverage.

League of Women Voters

Lee was president of the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

of the United States from 1950 to 1958, during the period when

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

was alleging communist influence throughout the US government and other institutions. In 1951, in order to educate its members and the public about the importance of freedom of speech and thought, the League created a Freedom Agenda Committee, which published a document ''Individual Liberty USA''. In 1955, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

attacked the Freedom Agenda as disloyal to the United States. Percy Lee gave a speech in Indianapolis refusing to repudiate it. This was also the beginning of the period of the largest membership growth in League history, from 1950 to 1970, growing from 126,000 members in 1954 to 156,780 in 1969. Throughout her term as president Lee promoted the League's policy of supporting international cooperation. Before the 1952 convention of the League, Lee said that "Support of United States policies to strengthen the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and to bring about international economic development continues to be a subject of great interest to membership." In 1952, she announced a campaign to improve citizens' understanding of United States trade policy. In 1953, she was active in a League of Women Voters campaign to promote "more solid backing of the United Nations, a more liberal international trade policy, and restoration of technical assistance ( Point Four) funds" to foreign countries. Under her leadership in 1954, the League program reaffirmed support of the United Nations and for "United States participation in international programs for regional defense, economic development, and technical assistance". She later testified against the Bricker Amendment limiting Presidential treaty-making powers and strongly supported the League's study of international trade and individual liberty. In 1955, as League president, she testified at a Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights hearing "against Senator

's abuse of Congressional investigative powers". In 1956, Lee was re-elected for the fourth time and the program adopted included "individual liberties with an emphasis on loyalty-security programs and conservation with an emphasis on water resources". In her time as President of the League of Women Voters, Lee was generally referred to as Mrs. John G. Lee in newspaper coverage. She was president of the Connecticut State League during the time when the League was opposed to the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

(ERA). She quoted the League position in a letter to a proponent of the ERA that first, that it "would do violence to the political system embodied in our Constitution" by allowing Congress to make rules on matters formerly reserved to local bodies, and later, that it would create confusion and uncertainty and invite litigation.

Other professional activity

In her professional life, Lee was a founder of The Renbrook School, served on the Board of Trustees of the

Putney School The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-edu ...

and

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. Originally chartered as Thames College, it was founded in 1911 as the state's only women's colle ...

, and held various appointed positions, including Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Connecticut College, Chairman of the Capitol Region Planning Agency, and Chairman of the Consumer Advisory Council. She also served on the State Library Commission, the

Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has bee ...

, and The Clean Water Task Force, and acted as a liaison between the public and The Foreign Operations Administration from 1954 to 1955.

President John Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

President Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

both appointed her to positions, including the Consumer Advisory Council and

Public Land Law Review Commission The Public Land Law Review Commission (PLLRC) was wikt:establish, established on in order to review Federal government of the United States, federal public Land Laws, land laws and regulations of the United States and to recommend a public land pol ...

Personal life

Lee had held four honorary degrees (LL.D. from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Drexel Institute Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

Cedar Crest College Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2024, the college enrolled 886 undergraduate and 362 graduate students. Students of all genders can pursue degree programs through the Scho ...

, and LH.D. from the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

). She was married to John Glessner Lee and they had four children. Additionally, during World War II, the Lee family hosted two daughters of Oxford University professors and a German family of three in their home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Percy Maxim 1906 births 2002 deaths Educators from Hartford, Connecticut 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators Members of the League of Women Voters Founders of American schools and colleges Connecticut College people American nonprofit chief executives