A History of the Birth Control Movement in America (review)

In this readable narrative of birth control activism in early-twentieth-century America, Peter C. Engelman draws on his extensive work with the Margaret Sanger papers to provide an accessible account of an important social movement. Written for a general audience, A History of the Birth Control Movement in America reveals the backbreaking work of activists determined to legalize birth control in the Progressive Era. Their actions are not nearly as well known as those of the later reproductive rights movement that began in the 1960s, yet as Engelman shows, their earlier contributions were crucial in “moving women toward sexual, social, and political equality” (p. xix). A wide assortment of characters, ranging from anarchists to socialites, challenged the Comstock antiobscenity laws that had restricted the dissemination of birth control beginning in the late nineteenth century.

Central to the story, not surprisingly, is Margaret Sanger, whose actions, publications, and organizations familiarized Americans with the concept of birth control. Engelman’s long-term work on the Margaret Sanger Papers Project at New York University allows for a nuanced portrayal of Sanger. In recent years, Sanger’s connection with the eugenics movement has become fodder for opponents of reproductive rights, who have taken quotes out of context to suggest that the birth control movement was racist at the core (and therefore indefensible). Defenders of the movement, meanwhile, sometimes choose to avoid the historical controversy altogether. “Idealogues on both sides,” Engelman argues, “have failed to either evaluate the documentary record of the movement or carefully consider the historical context” (p. xix). A History of the Birth Control Movement in America situates Sanger within a culture that viewed eugenics as a potentially progressive solution to the problems of industrial growth, immigration, and changing sexual mores. It also captures the complexities of a social movement attempting to sway public opinion on a controversial issue. Other advocates, such as Mary Ware Dennett, disagreed with Sanger’s approaches and attempted to “cleanse the movement of [its] strident tones” and “elevate it above Sanger’s brand of street theater and unlawfulness” (p. 104). The resulting movement was mired in factionalism yet nonetheless successful in making birth control a palatable practice in American society.

Engelman’s study begins in the nineteenth century and ends in 1942, when the Birth Control Federation of America changed its name to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Leadership’s decision to drop the phrase birth control marked the end of an era, and, according to Engelman, “the once militant cause had become an institution” (p. xxi). He further distinguishes between the early-twentieth-century protest movement and the later clinic movement that institutionalized birth control in the mid-1920s. The framework and detail provided in his study suggest that perhaps this movement was less cohesive than previously portrayed (indeed, perhaps we should view this story as a series of movements rather than as a single one). Nonetheless, this is an enjoyable read that builds on an impressive body of scholarship in order to educate a general audience about the history of birth control activism in the United States.