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The need of birth control in America margaret sanger essay
Women in us during the progressive era
Women's movement history
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In the early 20th century, Margaret Sanger began a movement, known as the birth control movement, in order to make contraception widely available so that women could limit the size of their families. I n “I Resolved that Women should have knowledge of Contraception,” Margaret Sanger describes women’s desperate attempts to limit their family size by efforts such as drinking various herb-teas, inserting foreign objects into their uterus and even rolling down the stairs. Sanger also describes the reasons behind women’s desperate attempts to prevent or eliminate pregnancy, along with the story of her mother’s death; a major inspiration for her desire in the birth control movement. Women in the twentieth century were dominated by their husbands …show more content…
and were expected to give birth as a duty to society. The twentieth century marked the beginning of a birth control movement that made progress toward women’s rights with new laws and new public roles outside of the typical domestic spheres. Birth Control was important for the success of women’s rights in the twentieth century due to the fact that women could not take their place in society if they were trapped at home with their time consumed by childbearing.
Progressivist turned to moral persuasion and the law to try to bring about dramatic reform such as that of birth control. Sanger believed every woman had the right to control her own body and that a woman’s only two options were either to abandon their own life to access childbearing or to terminate their own pregnancies. Equipment during this time period was not safe enough to perform abortions accordingly, along with the science of medicine not being advanced enough. Illegal operations on women caused eight thousand deaths a year in New York State alone, while the practice of birth control by means of pills, condoms and other methods would prevent the pregnancy from happening in the beginning (1982, …show more content…
440). The Birth control movement had a purpose of overcoming laws that made it illegal to provide women with birth control devices and even information relating to birth control. Abortion and the use and dissemination of birth control were made illegal in the U.S. in the 1870’s as a matter of public health. Yet, a growing number of women, primarily in the upper and middle class, sought to limit their family sizes by seeking out their own methods of birth control. In 1916, Progressive reformer Margaret Sanger was arrested for opening the first birth control clinic in the United States. Years after being arrested by the Comstock Act in 1914 for the publication of a newspaper advocating contraception, she fought against the Comstock Law, which made it illegal to disseminate birth control devices and information through the mail (1982, 434). She was unsuccessful in getting this law overturned, yet ultimately led to a later decision the court made to allow physicians to inform women about birth control during the U.S. vs one package court decision, which ruled that objects ordered by physicians in good faith were exempted from punishments by the law. Women and men in the twentieth century were separated into domestic spheres based on biological ideas and paired as opposites.
Women were viewed upon as pure and were expected to keep the home peaceful and haven-like for men after their dangerous work outside of the home. Therefore, the idea of contraception brought upon arguments such as the fact that limiting family size could not only free women’s energies for social reform, but birth control would contribute to promiscuity and deny women the dignity that was their virtue of motherhood. In this time period, women were expected to have sex in order to solely produce babies, with no pleasurable aspect involved. Sanger and other reform members began to discuss openly other purposes than that of childbirth. According to women reformers such as Margaret Sanger, cities were full of “crowded homes, too many children; babies dying in infancy; mothers overworked; children neglected and hungry-mothers so nervously wrought they could not give the little things the comfort nor care they needed; mother’s half sick most of their lives; children aged six and seven pushed into labor market to help earn a living: another baby on the way; still another; yet another; a baby born dead--great relief” (1982, 437). Reforms created new opportunities for women to claim social authority and create a public role for themselves in order to defy ideas accepted by that of women’s private spheres. Due to women’s place in society during this time
period, abstinence was commonly not an option. Men were in charge of households and women were expected to obey their husband’s desires. However, women used their moral status and femininity to justify for political activism in reforms such as this one. During the twentieth century, women were fighting for a place in society with power and independence outside of man’s control. Women’s reformers such as Margaret Sanger began social movements such as the birth control movement to allow women to gain control of their own bodies.
Margaret Sanger was, at large, a birth control activist, but this speech was more about the questioning of birth control corrupting morality in women. People must remember, in the day and age where Sanger presented this speech, November 1921, women were considered very far from equal and much closer to servants or maids. In her speech, I saw that ethos was present in the sense that she gave herself credibility. Through Sanger’s detailed words and actions, and her statements including the presence of scientists and, or, professionals, the masses of listening people could infer that she was very well informed and solid in her statements. Though she presented herself as agreeable, Sanger was firm in her beliefs. In addition, Sanger says, “We desire to stop at its source the disease, poverty and feeble-mindedness and insanity which exist today, for these lower the standards of civilization and make for race deterioration. We know that the masses of people are growing wiser and are using their own minds to decide their individual conduct” (Sanger, par.15). To me, Sanger made herself appeal to the audience by using the word ‘we.’ In the practice of ethos, this focused on the author more than...
On September 14, 1879, Margaret Sanger was born in Corning, New York. She was the sixth child of eleven children and realized early what being part of a large family meant; just making due. Although her family was Roman Catholic both her mother and father were of Irish descent. Her mother, Anne Purcell had a sense of beauty that was expressed through and with flowers. Her father was an Irish born stonemason whose real religion was social radicalism. Her father was a free thinker and strong believer in eugenics which meant Margaret possessed some of the same values. (Sanger, Margaret) Eugenics is the belief that one race is better than a different race just because they are not like them, kind of like Hitler and the holocaust. “He expected me to be grown up at the age of ten.” (Source 4.3 page 30) Coming from a family of eleven children she did have to grow up fast. Faster than most kids should have to. She left her house as a teenager and came back when she needed to study nursing. It was during this time that Margaret worked as a maternity nurse helping in the delivery of babies to immigrant women. She saw illegal abortions, women being overwhelmed by poverty, to many children, and women dying because they had no knowledge of how to prevent one pregnancy after another. This reminded her of the fact that her own mother had eighteen pregnancies, eleven children, and died at the age of forty-nine. Margaret dropped out of school and moved in with her sister. She ended up teaching first grade children and absolutely hated it. She hated children at that time. When Margaret was a child herself however, she would dream about living on the hill where all the wealthy people lived. She would dream of playing tennis and wearing beautiful c...
Both sources approach an issue from a different demographic, the married young housewife and the of age generation in the roaring twenties respectively. If we compare intent, we see Sanger's is a politically motivated piece seeking empathy compared to what appears to be a balanced study from New Girls for Old. Therefore the more representative source is that of the uninfluenced survey, while we can't discount that they are selectively chosen; in comparison to Sanger's selected testimonials are likely the most pressing and emotive letters written to her. This contrasting factor of intent also leads to their influence varying, as Engelman presents it was Sanger's pivotal activist role that when combined with the radicals, socialites and professionals that led to the successive progress of the birth control movement as one of the few women led social movements i...
The Roaring Twenties were known as a time of economic boom, pop culture and social developments. This was a time when women began to break norms, they acted rebelliously such as wearing releveling clothing, smoking, and drinking. These women were known as “flappers” who wanted to change their roles in the 1920’s. Birth control activist, Margaret Sanger sought to change the world where women had access to a low cost, effective contraception pill. In “The Morality of Birth Control” Sanger battled opponents who claimed that contraception would cause women to become immoral. The author uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and fallacies to back up her claim while touching on issues in the church, advancements of women, and the source of disease in the world.
Crystal, E. (1918). Birth Control in the Feminism Program. In E. C. DuBois & L. Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents (p. 509). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
In the book Margaret Sanger: A life of passion by Jean H. Baker. Margaret Sanger, the subject depicted in Baker’s novel Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion is one of the leading women in the fight for birth control. Born in 1879 to Irish immigrant parents in Corning, New York she is the 6th of 11 children. Her mother was a devout Catholic and had a total of 18 pregnancies in her 22 year marriage 11 of which were births and 7 were miscarriages. “My mother died at 48”, says Sanger “My father died at 80”. Her mother was a victim of tuberculosis not long after her last child was born. Sanger grew up in poverty and soon realized that bigger families were associated with lower means. Sanger was not one for domesticated duties and soon defied social norms and went to nursing school her aspirations included becoming a doctor. She did not complete nursing school she instead married William Sanger, an architect and artist. They settled into domestic life for a short time in the suburbs. Together they had three children, two sons and a daughter. Soon a fire consumed their home and this was the turning point for Sanger. The family then moved back to the city and Sanger became a nurse. Their daughter would later die of pneumonia at a very young age due to horrible conditions at her boarding school. The two older sons would eventually grow to blame Sanger for her death and she would divorce her husband and maintain the company of several men after. Despite the number of suitors she acquires she will be single when she dies.
“No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body,” said Margaret Sanger. “No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” Many people may not think Sanger is important or even know who she is, but there are many reasons why she is important in American history. She revolutionized women's health all over the world. Her family life played a tremendous role in her becoming a women’s rights activist. Sanger changed women’s rights in the 1900s and still has an impact on women’s rights today. Margaret Sanger impacted women’s health more than anyone in American history simply because she started the conversation about women’s rights.
Sanger, one of the pioneers of modern birth control, founded Planned Parenthood which was an
Until the mid 1800s, abortion was unrestricted and unregulated in the United States. The justifications for criminalizing it varied from state to state. One big reason was population control, which addressed fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly ...
During the early 1900s, American nurse Margaret Sanger led the birth-control movement in the United States. She and others opened clinics to provide women with information and devices. Although frequently jailed, she and her followers were instrumental in getting laws changed. In subsequent years, laws against birth control gradually weakened, and more effective methods were developed.
In Canada in the early 20th century birth control was a highly contentious issue. Before 1929 birth control was an obscene, immoral and unnatural topic. It was broached only by the odd feminist or left-wing group. Section 179c (substituted by Section 207 in 1900) of the 1892 Criminal Code made the sale or advertisement of contraceptives an indictable offense up until the Code was amended in 1969. During the years 1930-1936 the mindset of Canadians began to shift toward approval of the use and legalization of contraceptives. This movement originated from middle-class Canadian concerns over population and the economic stability of Canada along with concerns over maternal health. Many women involved in the movement argued women had a right to birth control and the control over their own bodies, this view however was overshadowed by the economic and social arguments presented by the leaders of the movement. Throughout these years there was much opposition to the legalization of birth control. The proponents of birth control were equated in the minds of many with either sexual radicals or reactionary Malthusians. The Roman Catholic Church opposed birth control vehemently because it allowed for the separation of sexuality and procreation. It is argued that the birth control movement stemmed from the Depression in the 1930’s.
In our society today, both men and women have the ability to control their chances of reproduction by utilizing some type of birth control. However, this was not always true. From 1873 to 1972, the Comstock Act prohibited the usage or distribution of birth control. The American birth control movement, partly led by Margaret Sanger, fought against these laws, believing that women in particular should be able to decide the sizes of their families. Margaret Sanger changed the lives of women during her time period for the better by giving women access to birth control, becoming involved in politics, and aiding in the development of an oral contraceptive. In doing so, she had a lasting influence on reproductive rights that one can still see today
This fundamental right Sanger fights is women of all economic statuses have the right to their body and to give them the awareness they needed to make informed decisions on the use of birth control. When Sanger nursing in the clinic, she is very concerned about her patient's life. “Some women tried to save a few dollars by inserting wires and hangers… or ingesting the abortification ...”(Baker 49). In another word, due to the illegal practice and improper medication for abortion, many women lost their lives, and also other women put their lives in danger. Therefore, the basic question for this women is also “what can [they] do to prevent getting [pregnant] again?” (Baker 49).In 1916, when Sanger started the birth control clinic, she faces a lot of criticism from including jail with her coworkers. “Sanger and her staff, including her sister Ethel, were arrested during a raid of the Brooklyn clinic nine days after it opened. They were charged with providing information on contraception and fitting women for diaphragms”(Baker 117). In other words, Sanger goes beyond her limits including breaking the law to show Americans and the world women have the basic right. After she released from prison, Sanger established birth control movement, and she starts her fight for women's freedom again. Sanger considered that
“The Morality of Birth Control” the speech by Margaret Sanger took place on November 8, 1921, in New York. The 1920’s were a period that redefined the place of women in society. It was the final meeting in a three-day meeting discussing the requirement of birth control use. Margaret asked the question of ethics addressing the topic backing up her opinion with various pathos, ethos and logos. Margaret proclaimed that there was a survey conducted around the world that included questions related to birth control. The survey applied not only to the people who would possibly reinforce the idea of permitting birth control in the United States, but also some who could differ.
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.