Birth control--Public opinion

Creation Date

1916-08-09

Creator(s)

Birth control: Margaret Sanger’s reply to Theodore Roosevelt

Margaret Sanger replies to former President Roosevelt’s article “Birth Control–From the Positive Side.” Sanger argues that birth control is necessary for all classes; however, it is most necessary for the working class. She criticizes Roosevelt’s approach, stating that widespread fertility should not be encouraged in order to prevent the “spawning of the slums.” She also takes issue with Roosevelt’s assessment that birth rates in France and Germany helped precipitate World War I. Finally, Sanger argues that women fear birthing children into poverty with the inability to care for them. For this reason, birth control dissemination is a necessity.

Collection

Creation Date

1917-12

Creator(s)

Eager hundreds ‘hitch’ chairs to hear message

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

McComas, Gene Frances, 1886-1982

Creation Date

1916-06-15

Creator(s)

Mrs. Sanger defies courts before 3,000

The New York Times reports that Margaret Sanger spoke to a large crowd at Carnegie Hall in New York the previous evening. Sanger spoke about birth control and the importance of disseminating the information to women, particularly women of the working classes who are prevented from the education that upper class women receive. Sanger criticized former President Roosevelt, stating that he was freely allowed to discuss female reproduction when he encouraged large families. She discussed Roosevelt’s home of Oyster Bay, New York, claiming that sixty-three “poor mothers” from the area had sought her help on matters of birth control.

Collection

Creation Date

1917-01-30

Creator(s)

Woman rebel scores Roosevelt as enslaver of mothers in U.S.

In an interview with Margaret Sanger, the Denver Post reports on the reformer’s efforts in the area of birth control and her desire for “better babies or no babies.” Sanger claimed that former President Roosevelt had “enslaved” American women and children with his policies and ideas concerning family reproduction. She stated that Roosevelt’s efforts in encouraging American couples to rear large families was “willy-nilly” and that the former president’s personality encouraged people, particularly women, to listen to him. Sanger emphatically called Roosevelt “foolish” and accused him of creating “tenants for our insane asylums, prisons and alms’ houses.”

Collection

Creation Date

1916-05-17

Creator(s)

Wayne, Frances

Scores U.S. law which bars talk on birth control

At an engagement at the Hotel Wisconsin, Margaret Sanger discussed birth control, claiming that wealthy women were aware how to prevent pregnancy but working class women did not have access to this information. Sanger indignantly protested that while former President Roosevelt was allowed to travel around the United States and urge couples to have large families, she was not allowed to provide information to women to prevent numerous pregnancies. She further argued that the immorality argument leveled against birth control was identical to the one leveled earlier against women in higher education.

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Creation Date

1916-04-27

Creator(s)

The woman rebel: No gods no masters

Margaret Sanger writes that the first edition of her journal The Woman Rebel was returned by the postmaster because it violated anti-obscenity laws. Sanger sarcastically declares her intentions to be more patriotic, claiming she will follow former President Roosevelt’s example and champion for large families. However, while Roosevelt stated the country needed large families to prevent race suicide, Sanger claims that large numbers of children are necessary to “uphold” all of America’s areas of failing–public schools, factories, asylums, prisons, courts, and “slums”–in a satirical critique.

Collection

Creation Date

1914-04

Creator(s)

Birth control expounded here

The Indianapolis Star reports on Margaret Sanger’s speech about birth control at the Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sanger discussed the importance of providing birth control information to working class women in order to reduce and prevent infant and maternal mortality, poverty, abortion, and prostitution. She argued that if former President Roosevelt was allowed to travel the country and urge families to have many children, she should be allowed to give poor women the information they needed. In reference to Roosevelt’s concerns over race suicide, Sanger stated, “I say the race ought to commit suicide unless it can take care of its children better.”

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Creation Date

1916-05-16

Creator(s)

Limit families: Better humanity

The Detroit News reports that Margaret Sanger spoke on birth control education, arguing for the benefit it would hold for the working class. Sanger discussed the idea of race suicide and how former President Roosevelt claimed that his presidency would end the problem in the United States by encouraging large families. She stated, “Nobody called Roosevelt immoral for advocating larger families. I wonder if you will call me immoral for advocating small families.”

Collection

Creation Date

1916-05-03

Creator(s)

“Woman rebel” tells need of birth control

The Denver Express reports on Margaret Sanger’s birth control speech at Marble Hall in Denver, Colorado. Sanger discussed the benefit of birth control for the working class. She also took issue with former President Roosevelt’s widely-disseminated ideas about race suicide, stating that if the race cannot take better care of its children, then it should commit suicide.

Collection

Creation Date

1916-05-28

Creator(s)

My fight for birth control

Margaret Sanger writes of her efforts and struggles to bring birth control education to working class women in order to combat issues such as infant and maternal mortality, abortion, and poverty. Sanger argues that it is unfair that she is considered immoral for urging working class couples to have small families while former President Roosevelt is lauded as moral for encouraging them to have large families in order to prevent race suicide.

Collection

Creation Date

1917-04

Creator(s)

History of education

In her draft of a speech in response to her trial on The Woman Rebel dissemination, Margaret Sanger discusses social problems and the manner in which birth control can address these issues and help the working class. Sanger critiques anti-obscenity laws and the notion of birth control education as pornography. She asks whether former President Roosevelt is truly moral for encouraging large families and she is immoral for encouraging small families. Sanger also addresses the charge that her article concerning an assassination attempt incited murder. She includes quotations from well-known ancient orators and writers and also from Roosevelt, claiming that if these writings on assassination are not accused of inciting murder, she should not be accused of such either.

Collection

Creation Date

1916-01

Creator(s)