Eager hundreds ‘hitch’ chairs to hear message
Subject(s): Birth control, Birth control--Attitudes, Birth control--Citizen participation, Birth control--Moral and ethical aspects, Birth control--Press coverage, Birth control--Public opinion, California--Oakland, Censorship, Families, Family, Family--Government policy, Motherhood, Motherhood--Government policy, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966, Suffrage--Women, United States. Post Office Department, United States. Post Office Dept., Working class women--Health and hygiene
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Journalist Gene Frances Baker, who wrote under the name Gene Baker, reports on the crowd of women who “came in droves” to hear Margaret Sanger speak at the Hotel Oakland ballroom. Sanger, who Baker describes as “feminine” with “personal warmth,” scientifically and clearly described the issue of birth control. She criticized the censorship of the United States Postal Service and former President Roosevelt’s sense of morality. Sanger asked the audience who was more moral: she, for encouraging small, responsible families, or Roosevelt, for encouraging American couples to have many children? At this, Baker reports that Sanger received a great deal of applause, indicating that “the Rooseveltian theory would never win him many of the women’s votes.”
Collection
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project
Creation Date
1916-06-15
Creator(s)
McComas, Gene Frances, 1886-1982
Language
English
Period
Post-Presidential Years (1913-January 6, 1919)
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
See the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library Terms of Use for further copyright information.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Eager hundreds ‘hitch’ chairs to hear message. [June 15, 1916]. The Margaret Sanger Papers Project.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291923. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
McComas, Gene Frances, 1886-1982. Eager hundreds ‘hitch’ chairs to hear message. [15 Jun. 1916]. Image.
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291923.
APA:
McComas, Gene Frances, 1886-1982., [1916, June 15]. Eager hundreds ‘hitch’ chairs to hear message.
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o291923.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/the-margaret-sanger-papers-project. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/the-margaret-sanger-papers-project.
APA:
The Margaret Sanger Papers Project. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/the-margaret-sanger-papers-project.
