Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger Essay

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Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger
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"A free race cannot be born" and no woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"(Sanger A 35). Margaret Sanger (1870-1966)said this in one of her many controversial papers. The name of Margaret Sanger and the issue of birth control have virtually become synonymous. Birth control and the work of Sanger have done a great deal to change the role of woman in society, relationships between men and woman, and the family. The development and spread of knowledge of birth control gave women sexual freedom for the first time, gave them an individual…show more content…
This in turn had prompted an arms race. There for many countries felt children were an important part of building a stronger military. National pride to all countries was important. European countries were competing for space and power do to what Germany called "The War of the Cradle"(Birth Control in America). This meant the German government had begun instilling national pride and building its nationalism from the ground up. This was at the brink of World War One. However, it was not only for nationalism that the impoverished were encouraged to reproduce. It was because children meant inexpensive labor for the new industrial factories that were springing up all over urban America and the world.

There was also the "ethical" argument against birth control that seems to be mostly tainted with male pride. It appeared to some people to be
"...increasing isolation and mobility of the individual family" (Birth
Control in America). It allowed people to control the size of their family thus controlling their life style as well. Fewer children meant less work more money and more time for women. With Margaret Sanger’s work, and birth control the family was reshaped in size from seven or eight children to what is more common today, which is two to three children.
Birth control has always been present in society even if it was just a matter of "Backyard" abortions, with coat hangers. These
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