3rd Quarter Research Project

Latha Karne

February 18, 2014

H Block

3rd Quarter Research Project

    

       Birth control was such a controversial topic in the late 19th and early 20th century. This was such a controversial topic because people believed that birth control shouldn't be allowed to be used because it was against the bible. Others believed that it should be used because women should have the right to pleasure in marriage and not have the burden of children.

       In the progressive era, many women were beginning to want to have a place in society and be able to speak up for themselves. However, they were being held back because they had to stay at home and take care of their children. The beliefs behind the movement were that women were dying because they were giving birth to many children and that weakened their bodies (the average number of babies a child had in the 1800s was 7 babies). Over time, women became creative and began to use home remedies and abstinence to resist sex. Also, women would marry late or not marry at all to postpone having children.

      
       Margaret Sanger was a huge activist for the birth control movement during the progressive era. She worked as a nurse and saw many mothers die during pregnancies because their last pregnancies left them too weak. She also saw her own mother die at a young age and blamed it on the fact that her mother went through 18 pregnancies, which is not healthy for any women. Sanger also saw large families in poverty who did not have the financial ability to take care of another child, yet they still had more children because there was nothing they could do about it. Other mothers who could handle another child would self abort. Margaret Sanger said, “Most of us are brought into this world by accident and that is exactly what birth control is going to change. That is going to make humanity a conscious and voluntary thing…” I want to relate this quote to the picture below of the woman holding up a sign saying, Mother by Choice. This is monumental because it allowed to women to have a say about when they are ready to have a child. It gave women more of say and more control. At this point, marriage was very male-dominant, in that what the father said goes. Women were seeking a “companionate” marriage.

       Margaret Sanger was the voice of this campaign. When she started campaigning for the right to distribute birth control and give knowledge to people about the importance of birth control, she was arrested for breaking the Comstock Law. The Comstock Law was created in the 1870s and prevented the spreading or birth control information or devices. This law was created because people believed that birth control is immoral. He said that God made women to bear children and that by using birth control, women were going against God and committing a sin. Also, at this point in time, sex was only seen as a means for procreation and not for pleasure within a marriage and that was a belief that Sanger and her colleagues were trying to fix. Another argument against the birth control movement was that it was selfish and limiting families. It was depriving the nation of a future workforce ad that the Upper Class should definitely not use it because they had desirable traits that needed to be passed on.

       Dr. Charles Knowlton, a doctor in Massachusetts, used the work from other proponents of the birth control movement and set out to find a new method for birth control. He believed that there were some cheap, convenient, and harmless methods which shouldn’t interfere with the enjoyment. They were able to use rubber to create a method for birth control, called condoms. However, the proponents were not successful in the persuasion aspect of this innovation process because they American population was not ready to hear about sex in a pleasurable way.

       Margaret Sanger began working to spread the word on birth control, and through this coined the phrase, “birth control.” She published newspaper columns that got shut down, and also printed a newsletter called, “The Women Rebel” that ended up getting shut down. Then, Sanger was arrested for violating the Comstock Law. She fled to England instead of facing charges and while in England, studied the birth control movement that England had gone through. She also traveled around Europe, learning about their contraceptive methods. Sanger returned to the US and opened up a clinic called the New York Birth Control League. Sanger and her colleague Bryne were arrested for opening the clinic and distributing information and devices for birth control. However, during their trial, one judge, Judge Crane, said that Sanger was not breaking the law. The New York Law stated that, “an article or instrument, used or applied by physicians lawfully practicing, or by their direction or prescription for the cure or prevention of disease, is not an article of indecent or immoral nature to use, within this article.” He also defined disease as, “an alteration in the state of the body…causing threatening pain or sickness.” This means that preganancy is considered a disease and physicians could talk about contraception and contraceptive methods with married couples. Sanger then opened up a birth control clinic and staffed it with 40 doctors.

       However, Archbishop Patrick Hayes, an opponent to the birth control movement, had Sanger and her colleagues and staff at the clinic arrested. He was a member of the church and did was Sanger called, “barricaded himself behind the bible.” This got the sympathy from the doctors and the judge ended siding with the physicians, saying they had the right to privately discuss contraception with married couples.

       I think the innovation of the birth control movement was successful in the progressive era. Sanger communicated with the public, collaborated with doctors and other women (some are shown in the picture below), and tried to persuade the American people about the importance of birth control. However, this was not a successful reform until the 1950s and 1960s. At the time of the progressive era, the American public was not ready to hear about sex being used for pleasure in a romantic love. The American public was still in the mindset that sex is a way to procreate and that if that is not the case, then it is against the bible. God created women to procreate (as said in the Bible) and raise the future men and women, and if that was not happening, then sins are being committed. However, Sanger was successful in the area of communication because she spoke directly to the women who were suffering and related to the women, and collaborated with women to get the movement to go. If it was not for Sanger’s determination along with her communication, collaboration, and persuasion, this movement would have been successful in US History. This movement during the progressive era laid the foundation for the success of the moment in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Pictures:

This is an image of Margaret Sanger, a leader in the birth control movement of the progressive era.

This is a picture of a mother who is a supporter of the birth control movement and is proud to be a mother because she chose to. She wants all mothers to be this way and this can be seen through the smile and peaceful look on her face.

This is the book that Margaret Sanger wrote when she was trying to educate girls and women on the importance of contraception and birth control.

Margaret Sanger is surrounded by her supporters, who are all female and are discussing an important issue.

This is an image of the Archbishop of New York City who requested to have Margaret Sanger and her colleagues arrested who going against the Comstock Law. Also, he was against the birth control movement.

Sources:

 National Women's History Museum

This website was useful because it allowed me to see the history behind the controversy over birth control and what organizations were started. It also gave me search terms with organizations that are directly linked to the progressive era because the name of the organization changed after the progressive era.

Penn State University - Birth Control

This website was useful because it gave me multiple views on the controversy over Birth Control. It gave the arguments of Michael P. Dowling, Winter Russell, and Margaret Sanger. Michael P. Dowling was against the birth control pill and Winter Russell and Margaret Sanger for pro-birth control for different reasons. Reading these opinions helped me see how people were persuaded because there were different reasons to be pro-birth control. Also, it gave me Michael P. Dowling’s opinion and seeing the opposition and what they believed and why they wouldn’t be pro-birth control.

US History Textbook (from class)

The textbook was useful because it gave me an overview of the birth control movement. It also told me one of the causes for the controversy on birth control and how it was due to the fact that people began to change their belief on the purpose of sex and that it was a pleasurable experience and a way to celebrate love instead of thinking of sex as a way for procreation.

History of Birth Control - Washington Post

This website was useful because it gave me an overlook into the history of birth control and also told me who Margaret Sanger collaborated with. It also showed me another reason as to why Sanger was so pro-birth control.

First Speech by Margaret Sanger

This was a useful source because it was a primary source and allowed me to read one of Sanger’s first speeches and see the evidence and the horrific numbers that are part of infant deaths.

Birth Control Movement - Issues and Controversies in American History

This website was useful because it was an article and let me see the entire story from beginning to end on the birth control and Margaret Sanger’s role in the movement. It was also a good source for pictures.