Margaret Sanger; Voyage Through Debate and Diplomacy
Being the founder of birth control Margaret Sanger had created one of the most brilliant innovations that could allow people to have control over their future, but with the establishment of birth control came lots of speculation and debate regarding old traditions and the morality of the conception.
Margaret Sanger became a strong advocate for birth control in the early 19th century. She had struggled for the American society to accept the wild concept of eliminating children during production. Ever since Sanger was first able to develop a perception of her surrounding civilization a gender-based bias was identified through society's expected roles of women becoming a product of bearing children and men bringing home the income. Sanger didn't agree with this presumption.
During the early 19th Century the US Supreme Court had strongly enforced the Comstock Law restricting any obscene materials; this had included Sanger's birth control idea. Violating the Comstock Law wasn't taken lightly as citizens were forced to pay a $5000 penalty and up to 10 years in jail. Without the permission of birth control there was an average of 7 children per family, and breast feeding was used as a contraception since it stopped women's menstrual cycle. The excessive amount of children became an economic burden. Mother's felt the need to produce more children to bring in more income by working on the fields/factories, but with more children families were forced to supply more household necessities.
When women had decided to opt out of becoming a mother engaging in sexual activities was seen as unacceptable and improper. The dominance of christianity in America's 19th century society had created the widely regarded belief that premarital sex wasn't okay. Sanger saw the unfairness of this ideal as she believed that every women's physical satisfaction is important. Along with the idea that a woman's body is her own temple rather than an incubator served Sanger's motivation to have birth control become an active ingredient of America's culture. Before adding birth control to America's list of innovations, Margaret Sanger had to undergo many debates revolving around other leader's speculations and unchangeable ideas of old traditions and Catholic morals.
During the early 19th Century the US Supreme Court had strongly enforced the Comstock Law restricting any obscene materials; this had included Sanger's birth control idea. Violating the Comstock Law wasn't taken lightly as citizens were forced to pay a $5000 penalty and up to 10 years in jail. Without the permission of birth control there was an average of 7 children per family, and breast feeding was used as a contraception since it stopped women's menstrual cycle. The excessive amount of children became an economic burden. Mother's felt the need to produce more children to bring in more income by working on the fields/factories, but with more children families were forced to supply more household necessities.
When women had decided to opt out of becoming a mother engaging in sexual activities was seen as unacceptable and improper. The dominance of christianity in America's 19th century society had created the widely regarded belief that premarital sex wasn't okay. Sanger saw the unfairness of this ideal as she believed that every women's physical satisfaction is important. Along with the idea that a woman's body is her own temple rather than an incubator served Sanger's motivation to have birth control become an active ingredient of America's culture. Before adding birth control to America's list of innovations, Margaret Sanger had to undergo many debates revolving around other leader's speculations and unchangeable ideas of old traditions and Catholic morals.
