Girls State is a program for training girls in democratic leadership, sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. Girls who have completed their third year in high school take part in statewide training courses called Girls States. The girls practice operating the machinery of democratic government. They hold political party conventions and nominate candidates for state office. They wage political campaigns and hold elections. The winners are installed in office. Legislative, executive, and judicial branches of these miniature state governments carry out their work.
Girls States are usually held on college campuses for one week in June or July. Girls who attend are selected for potential leadership ability. Activities are directed and counseled by Auxiliary members and college faculty members. State officials give lectures during visits by the girls to state capitols. Each Girls State selects two girls to serve as senators at Girls Nation, held every year in Washington, D.C. These delegates study and practice the processes of the national government.
In 1937, the national convention of the American Legion Auxiliary first proposed the establishment of Girls States. They were modeled after the Boys States conducted by the American Legion. Girls State programs were tried in the District of Columbia and in Delaware in 1938. The first weeklong Girls States were held in Kansas and Nebraska in 1939. Headquarters for the Girls State are in Indianapolis, Ind.
