Woman of Valor (89 page)

6.
On women in the early years of the Depression, see Susan Ware,
Holding Their Own: American Women in the 1930s
(Boston: 1982), esp. the introduction, pp. xii-xiii, and pp. 1-5. Also see “Report of Interview with Secretary of the Interior, Ray Lyman Wilbur,” May 5, 1930, MS-SS.

7.
The qualifications were meant as a salvo to social conservatives and as a rebuke to the more socially minded among the bishops, such as Margaret's correspondent of years back, Dean William Inge, whose vocal support of Malthusian arguments appeared to his colleagues to elevate considerations of individual and social need over fundamental moral laws governing family life. The Lambeth Conference resolutions are cited in John T. Noonan, Jr.,
Contraception: A History of Its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and Canonists
, 2d ed. (Cambridge, Mass: 1986), p. 409. The resolutions and subsequent events in England received front page newspaper coverage in America. See, for example, coverage of an address on birth control by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in
The New York Times
, Nov. 16, 1930, clipping in MS-LC.

8.
The textual quotations are from the “Report of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America,” which appeared as “Birth Control: Protestant View,”
Current History
(Apr. 1931), and was then reprinted as a flier distributed by Sanger's committee, copy in MS-SS. Also see “Memorandum on the revised Social Ideals of the Churches and the Action on Birth Control by the Quadrennial Meeting of the Federal Council of Churches at Indianapolis, Dec. 8, 1932,” MS-SS, and Committee on Marriage and the Home, Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America,
Moral Aspects of Birth Control: Some Recent Pronouncements of Religious Bodies
, 1938 pamphlet, copy in MS-SS. As an example of endorsement, see “Resolution Passed by the General Council of the Congregational and Christian Churches in Seattle, Washington, at Its Meeting June 25 to July 3, 1931,” MS-SS. Conservative Jews joined their Reform brethren in 1934; see “Statement of United Synagogue of America,” Feb. 27, 1934, MS-SS. The matter got front page coverage. See “Council of Churches Hold Birth Control Morally Justified,”
The New York Times
, Mar. 26, 1931, 56:5-6, and later “Hails Church Move for Birth Control,”
NYT
, Apr. 15, 1931, 56:2. On Sanger's role, see Worth M. Tippy to M.S., June 24, 1931; M.S. to Tippy, June 30, 1931; Tippy to M.S., July 1, 1931; M.S. to Frances Ackerman, July 1, 1931; M.S. to George Blumenthal, Oct. 29, 1931; M.S. to Tippy, Nov. 5, 1931; Amelia Wyckoff (for Tippy) to M.S., Nov. 30, 1931; Tippy to M.S., Feb. 27 and Nov. 22, 1933; L. Foster Wood to M.S., June 7, 1934, and Jan. 10, 1935; M.S. to Wood, Jan. 21 and Feb. 16, 1935, June 15, 1937, Jan. 5, 1939, Feb. 4, 1940, all in MS-LC.

9.
The Sanger quote is from stories in the
New York World-Telegram
and the
New York Herald Tribune
, Mar. 21, 1931, clippings in MS-LC. Ellis's remark is in H.E. to M.S., Apr. 9, 1931, MS-LC. On the Episcopalians, see M.S. to Bishops of Episcopal Church, Dec. 3, 1934, MS-SS; Hazel Moore to M.S., “Year of the Bishops, 1934 Episcopalian Convention,” MS-LC; and “Church to Retain Canon on Divorce--Birth Control Also Before Bishops,”
The New York Times
, Oct. 16, 1934, 28:2. On the Lutherans, see Alan Graebner, “Birth Control and the Lutherans: The Missouri Synod as a Case Study,”
Journal of Social History
2:4 (Summer 1969), pp. 309-32.
Kennedy's interpretation of these events differs substantially from my own. He does not give Sanger as much credit as she deserves for influencing the report of the Committee on Marriage and the Home, and, in turn, asserts that her treatment from Protestants was little better than from Catholics, which is true only of conservative denominations, a critical distinction. He then emphasizes the controversial nature of the committee's document to the point of losing sight of its enormous public impact as a statement of liberal thinking. See Kennedy,
Birth Control
, pp. 154-71.

10.
Commonweal
, Apr. 1, 1931, p. 589. Pius XI,
Casti Conubii: On Christian Marriage
(Washington, D.C.: 1931); and Arthur Versmeersch, “Annotationes” (on the encyclical
Casti Conubii
), cited in Noonan,
Contraception
, pp. 426-27. Also see Kennedy,
Birth Control
, pp. 150-51, and Lucy Freibert, “American Catholics and the Rhythm Method from the 1930s to the 1960s,” paper delivered at the Berkshire Conference on the History of Women in America, Bryn Mawr College, June 1976, pp. 6-9. Dorothy Dunbar Bromley discusses the significance of the encyclical in
Catholics and Birth Control: Contemporary Views on Doctrine
(New York: 1965), p. 1.

11.
Noonan,
Contraception
, pp. 120 and 438-44. The Ryan quote is from John A. Ryan, “The Moral Aspects of Periodical Continence,”
Ecclesiastical Review
89 (1933), p. 29, also cited in Noonan,
idem
, p. 443. For an opposing view on the legitimacy of rhythm, see William F. Montavon to Hatton Sumners, chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, Jan. 23, 1934, MS-LC. On the impact of the encyclical, see “Pius XI Condemns Trial Marriage, Divorce and Birth Control,” a front page story in
The New York Times
, Jan. 31, 1931, along with clippings from other papers in MS-LC. Also see Ernest R. Groves, “The Family,”
American Journal of Sociology
36:6 (May 1931), p. 997.

12.
Noonan,
Contraception
, p. 443. Leo J. Latz, M.D.,
The Rhythm of Sterility and Fertility in Women
(Chicago: 1932), quotations consecutively from pp. 119, 128, and 131. Also see,
The Big Problem of MARRIED PEOPLE Solved
, circular advertisement for Latz,
The Rhythm
, copy in MS-SS.
Hannah Stone conducted preliminary research at the clinic in 1936 and could identify only one women in 150 who experienced a regular menstrual cycle over the course of a seven month investigation. Her preliminary data on rhythm is in “Safe Period Calendars (Preliminary Report).” By the 1950s, however, the clinic took a more favorable view and actually set up a Rhythm Service. See, “Description of Special Service Established at Bureau, April, 1959.” Both documents were in MS-NYC uncataloged papers, now in MS-SS. Finally, see Freibert, “Rhythm Method,” and, on the AMA and rhythm, Kennedy,
Birth Control
, pp. 210-11.

13.
For the Hayes view see Canon Valere Coucke and James J. Walsh,
The Sterile Period in Family Life
(New York: 1933); and Noonan,
Contraception
, pp. 443-44. Pope Pius XII,
Moral Questions Affecting Married Life: The Apostolate of the Midwife
(New York: 1951), esp. pp.13-15. For John Ryan's views on rhythm, see his lecture notes, “Rhythm of Fertile and Infertile Periods,” pp. 13-23, in JR-CU.

14.
Transcript of Organization Meeting, NCFLBC, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 12, 1929; “Proceedings, Western States Conference on Birth Control and Population Problems,” Los Angeles, Feb. 20-23, 1930, both in MS-SS; “Report on Maryland,” Feb. (probably 1930), MS-LC; Katharine Hepburn to M.S., Apr. 3, 1930, MS-LC. Memo, “Federal Contributions: 1929-31” and
Autobiography
, p. 429, tell the Viola Kaufman story, MS-SS, as does M.S. to Juliet Rublee, Jan. 9, 1932, MS-DC. “Outline of Birth Control Legislation” prepared for Congress in 1931, MS-LC, identifies state-by-state organizational progress to that point. Other NCFLBC organizational documents, identifying state-by-state progress are in MS-LC and MS-SS. Ida Timme to Mrs. Willard V. King, Convent, N.J., Feb. 24, 1930, is an example of organizational outreach. Also see
Autobiography
, pp. 415-30.

15.
Mrs. Walter Timme to Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Oct. 24, 1929, and accompanying mailing list for $1,000 letter; Felix Warburg to Mrs. Walter Timme, Feb. 11, 1930, all in MS-LC. “Birth Control Unit Plans $100,000 Fund,”
The New York Times
, Jan. 11, 1930, 9:4. Ruth Topping, file memorandum, “Interview with Mrs. Sanger,” Apr. 16, 1931, and R. Topping to Mr. Dunham, “Application from Committee on Federal Legislation, Mrs. Sanger, Chairman,” Oct. 2, 1931, Rocky-BSH papers; funding memoranda on National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control, Dec. 26, 1934, Nov. 1, 1936, Dec. 11, 1936 and NCFLBC Treasurer's Reports, Nov. 1, 1935, and Oct. 31, 1936, all in Rocky-RG2. John D. Rockefeller, III also gave $500 personally in response to an appeal by mail, but would not allow his or his wife's names to be used. See J.D.R. III to Arthur Packard, Aug. 16, 1934; J.D.R. III to J.N.H.S., Dec. 10, 1935, and Blanchette Rockefeller to Mrs. Harriman, Feb. 6, 1935, MS-LC. Another example of where Sanger was turned down for money to lobby but funded for the clinic is in M.S. to Julius Rosenwald, Apr. 6, 1931, M.S. to Ed Embree, president of the Rosenwald Fund to M.S., April 18, 1931, and M.S. to Julius Levin of the fund, June 29, 1932, all in MS-LC. The quotes are from Mrs. Walter Timme to “My dear Mrs.,” general letter, n.d., MS-LC. Timme replaced Frances Ackerman, Sanger's original treasurer at the American Birth Control League, who died in 1934. In the fall of 1933, Margaret engaged Tamblyn & Brown, a professional fund-raising firm, to help, and expanded her goals. See John Brown to M.S., Oct. 7, 1933, MS-LC. Finally, see
Autobiography
, p. 429.

16.
The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
1925-28, pp. 236-37; 1929-32, pp. 240-41; 1933-35, pp. 217-18. Also see Gloria Moore and Ronald Moore,
Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement: A Bibliography, 1911-1984
(Metuchen N.J./London: 1986), pp. 63-92. Assorted clippings on birth control activity and Senate hearings in February and March of 1931 include the
New York Herald Tribune
, May 24, 1931, the
Brooklyn Eagle
, May 1, 1931,
The New York Times
and
New York World-Telegram
, May 18, 1931, all in MS-LC.

17.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn to M.S., Mar. 1, 1929; M.S. to Mrs. Thomas Hepburn, Nov. 6, 1929, Dec. 11, 1933, Jan. 26, 1934; M.S. to the young Katharine Hepburn, Jan. 25, 1934, and Hepburn to M.S., Jan. 25, 1934, all in MS-LC. Also see, “Katharine Hepburn,”
Current Biography
(New York: 1969), pp. 209-11 and Christopher Anderson,
Young Kate
(New York: 1988). On the influence of the movies, see Ware,
Holding Their Own
.

18.
NCFLBC, “Endorsing Committee of 1,000,” Summary Report, Nov. 1, 1933 to June 1, 1934; Annual Report for Nov. 1, 1934-Oct. 1, 1935, both in M.S. to Arthur Packard, Oct. 12, 1935, Rocky-RG2. Resolutions from Easton, Pa., and elsewhere, all in MS-LC. Sanger's
Autobiography
claims that, when the committee folded in 1937, organizations representing 12 million people had endorsed it, see p. 430. Eighteen drawers of file cards record the range and breadth of individual and institutional endorsements nationally, MS-LC. So strong was the emphasis on field organization that the Washington headquarters closed for the half of the year that Congress was out of session, both to save money and to augment the field operation. See, M.S. to Hazel Moore, telegram, June 8, 1933, MS-LC.
This analysis disputes Linda Gordon's claim that Sanger ignored mass organization in favor of the mobilization of elites. The two were not mutually exclusive. See Gordon,
Woman's Body
, p. 328.

19.
M.S. to “Dear Friend of Our Cause,” Apr. 29, 1932; unknown (signature unclear) to “Margaret Sanger, Dear Friend,” May 9, 1932; and Mrs. Geraldine Kish to M.S., Apr. 22, 1936, all in MS-SS. For an assessment of Sanger's mail, see Application to the Elmhurst Foundation, n.d. (probably 1933), MS-SS.

20.
Dorothy Brush, manuscript for “Impressions of Margaret Sanger,” in “Our M.S,” 1957, p. 3, Dorothy Brush Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, hereinafter DB-SS.

21.
Moore résumé and Hazel Moore to “Dear Girls,” n.d. “The Day After the Day” (1932); M.S. to “To Whom it May Concern,” May 13, 1939, an enthusiastic letter of reference for Moore, remarks on her “courage, sincerity, integrity of purpose and boundless perseverance,” all in MS-LC.

22.
Recollection of these early incidents is in NCFLBC, Annual Report, Nov. 1, 1934-Oct. 1, 1935, p. 8, copy in Rocky-RG2. Quotation is from Heywood Broun,
New York Herald Tribune
, Oct. 15, 1930, clipping in MS-LC.

23.
Mrs. Donald McGraw to Katharine Hepburn, Feb. 28, 1930; Katharine Hepburn, “Outline of Report of Legislative Chairman,” New York, Apr. 24, 1930.

24.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary,
Birth Control, Hearings on S. 4582
, 71st Cong., 3d sess., Feb. 13-14, 1931, esp. pp. 2-7 and 76-83; “The Mother's Bill of Rights.” U.S. Congress. Senate. Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary. 71st Cong., 3d sess., Feb. 13, 1931, statement by Margaret Sanger, NCFLBC reprint; clippings from
Congressional Digest
, 10:4 Apr. 1931, pp. 97-116; lists of speakers and endorsements of the Gillette Bill, including medical societies, women's clubs, junior leagues, social and child welfare associations, settlement houses, religious associations, and the American Civil Liberties Union; lobbying memos and logs from Feb. to Dec. 1931, all in MS-LC. The NCWC testimony in opposition, dated Feb. 13, 1931, and a statement by William Green, president of the AFL, Feb. 17, 1931, are in MS-LC. A copy of the bill and evidence of the testimony and mail in opposition is also in MS-NA.
See
especially M.S. to Frederick Gillette, regarding a Dr. Henry Cattell's statement about “Sanger Pro-Tex Tubes,” Feb. 20, 1931, and Mrs. Randolph Frothingham to Hon. George W. Norris, Feb. 26, 1931. The first quotes are from “Bill to Legalize the Importation and Dissemination of Contraceptive Literature and Devices,”
Commonweal
13, Mar. 4, 1931, p. 479, and Michael Williams, “The Religion of Death,”
Commonweal
15 (Dec. 30, 1931), pp. 234-36. The last quotes are from M.S. to Ida Timme, Dec. 10, 1931, MS-LC. Finally, see M.S. to the Hon. George W. Norris, Nov. 17, 1942, MS-LC, a letter filled with praise for all the help he had given her, written on the occasion of his defeat.