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The Autobiography of Margaret Sanger
A pioneer in the battle to establish birth control as a basic human right and a founder of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Sanger, a nurse who witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of unwanted pregancy, triumphed over arrest, indictment, and exile. Her autobiography is a classic of women's studies.
"An unabridged and unaltered republication of the work originally published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York, in 1938 under the title Margaret Sanger: an autobiography"--Verso t.p. Dover ed. originally published in 1971. Includes index.
"An unabridged and unaltered republication of the work originally published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York, in 1938 under the title Margaret Sanger: an autobiography"--Verso t.p. Dover ed. originally published in 1971. Includes index.
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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1073 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Sanger
121 books58 followersMargaret Higgins Sanger Slee was an American birth control activist and the founder of the American Birth Control League (which eventually became Planned Parenthood). Although she initially met with opposition, Sanger gradually won some support for getting women access to contraception. In her drive to promote contraception and negative eugenics, Sanger remains a controversial figure.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 18, 2008
I have a bit of hero worship for Margaret Sanger. I love that she spent her life desperately trying to educate women on their bodies despite the opposition of men who spent their lives desperately trying to control women by witholding vital medical knowledge from them. But most of all I love that she was successful in her efforts.
July 19, 2020
Margaret Sanger was the founder of the birth control movement in the USA and an international leader in the field.
After college, she took nurse training in New York, and after a short teaching career, she practiced obstetrician nursing on the Lower East Side of the city, where she witnessed poverty, uncontrolled fertility, high rates of maternal and infant mortality, and death from illegal abortions gone wrong.
Those observations made Sanger believe in every woman’s right to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and she devoted herself to destroying the legal barriers to publicizing facts about contraception.
In 1912, she gave up nursing to wholly focus on the cause of birth control and sex education, publishing a series or articles on this subject. In 1916, in Brooklyn, she opened the first brith control clinic in the States. Then, she was arrested and charged with maintaining “a public nuisance”. Her sentencing and subsequent cases of legal harassment helped incline the public opinion in favor of the birth control movement. Sanger’s legal appeals contributed first to the granting to physicians of the right to give advice about birth control methods, and then, in 1936, to reinterpret the Comstock Act (which classified contraception as obscene) in such a way as to permit physicians to import and prescribe contraceptives.
Margaret Sanger has wrote a very interesting and well-written biography. She gives a precise account of her life and activities, clearly stating her goals and beliefs. As one of the eminent figures in the history of birth control, who originated the term “birth control”, she may be of great interest not only to her supporters, but also to everyone else interested in the origins of the movement in the States. This book is definitely worth a read.
After college, she took nurse training in New York, and after a short teaching career, she practiced obstetrician nursing on the Lower East Side of the city, where she witnessed poverty, uncontrolled fertility, high rates of maternal and infant mortality, and death from illegal abortions gone wrong.
Those observations made Sanger believe in every woman’s right to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and she devoted herself to destroying the legal barriers to publicizing facts about contraception.
In 1912, she gave up nursing to wholly focus on the cause of birth control and sex education, publishing a series or articles on this subject. In 1916, in Brooklyn, she opened the first brith control clinic in the States. Then, she was arrested and charged with maintaining “a public nuisance”. Her sentencing and subsequent cases of legal harassment helped incline the public opinion in favor of the birth control movement. Sanger’s legal appeals contributed first to the granting to physicians of the right to give advice about birth control methods, and then, in 1936, to reinterpret the Comstock Act (which classified contraception as obscene) in such a way as to permit physicians to import and prescribe contraceptives.
Margaret Sanger has wrote a very interesting and well-written biography. She gives a precise account of her life and activities, clearly stating her goals and beliefs. As one of the eminent figures in the history of birth control, who originated the term “birth control”, she may be of great interest not only to her supporters, but also to everyone else interested in the origins of the movement in the States. This book is definitely worth a read.
June 3, 2014
I personally believe that the best way to learn about history is to read autobiographies of people who lived during that time and/or personally experienced the event, rather than current, biased opinions of history from modern scholars. Taking this into consideration, I decided to tackle the controversial subject of Margaret Sanger and her birth control plight.
I have always found it amusing how people classify Margaret Sanger as a heroin, even with her stance on race and class. I decided to make a judgment call myself upon reading her autobiography. Needless to say, much of what is said about her is, in fact, fairly accurate. She was indeed staunchly classist, and although she spoke less of actual 'race', she did accept invitations to speak to secret gatherings of the KKK. 'Eugenics' and 'Neo-Malthusian' are thrown around in her writings more often than actual women's rights. One can't help but question whether people would actually continue their support of operations, such as Planned Parenthood, if they knew of its origins.
While many may wonder how Thomas Jefferson could be a slave owner himself while at the same time drafting the abolition of slavery into the Declaration of Independence (which was later removed, much to his dismay), Margaret Sanger's beliefs are less contradictory (as that of Jefferson), and more that of one who carries an ulterior motive. The adjectives she uses to describe the poor only paint the picture that she is absolutely repulsed by the sight of them, rather than moved to compassion. The ways in which she talks about ridding the world of the unfavorable, mentally unstable, deformed, etc. you'd think she was on a personal plight to eradicate anyone she considers "less than worthy" to live in her utopian world. I can't help but make the comparison of Ms. Sanger and another such character, Mr. Hitler.
That being said, there is much to commend Ms. Sanger for; free speech among other things. The fact that she went to jail simply by mentioning birth control in newsletters says a lot about the times. It was practically illegal to even -ask- about birth control. One other thing I'd like to commend her for is that she was very much against abortion.
Being as I have yet to read her later writings, I'm not aware if she changed her stance on abortion, but assuming she did not, I'm sure she would be absolutely appalled at what Planned Parenthood has become today. Ms. Sanger clearly states that abortion during any stage of pregnancy is the murder of a life. If women were ever to ask for an abortion at one of her clinics, her staff was instructed to talk them out of doing so. Her theory was that the "barbaric" practice of abortion would be completely eradicated with the free availability of birth control. Considering Planned Parenthood performs approximately 3.5 million abortions a year (more than any other clinic in the USA), I wonder what she would say today?
What I consider to be Margaret Sanger's greatest downfalls is that of her manipulation of religion. She considered herself non-religious and strongly advocated that society look to science and evolution rather than faith; yet if she found someone of faith to support her beliefs in birth control, she wouldn't hesitate to use them. I would have far greater respect for someone who argued for their cause by sticking solidly to their beliefs rather than siding with anyone and everyone who agreed with her, even if their reasons for doing so where completely contradictory to their own.
Perhaps, given more time, another would have stood up in defense of birth control that was not so blighted by a mentality of race and class superiority. Europe was already on the rise in its usage of birth control, and other countries were quickly following. At the same time, how sadly common her mentality was during that period in history!
All in all, I am still not a supporter of Planned Parenthood knowing its history. I wish I had known much sooner. I wouldn't support an institution founded by Hitler just because it has some good in it. I can't help thinking that Margaret and Hitler would be kissing cousins if they lived in the same demographic (due to their strong correlated beliefs in eugenics). ‘Women and the New Race’ will be the next of her books to tackle.
I have always found it amusing how people classify Margaret Sanger as a heroin, even with her stance on race and class. I decided to make a judgment call myself upon reading her autobiography. Needless to say, much of what is said about her is, in fact, fairly accurate. She was indeed staunchly classist, and although she spoke less of actual 'race', she did accept invitations to speak to secret gatherings of the KKK. 'Eugenics' and 'Neo-Malthusian' are thrown around in her writings more often than actual women's rights. One can't help but question whether people would actually continue their support of operations, such as Planned Parenthood, if they knew of its origins.
While many may wonder how Thomas Jefferson could be a slave owner himself while at the same time drafting the abolition of slavery into the Declaration of Independence (which was later removed, much to his dismay), Margaret Sanger's beliefs are less contradictory (as that of Jefferson), and more that of one who carries an ulterior motive. The adjectives she uses to describe the poor only paint the picture that she is absolutely repulsed by the sight of them, rather than moved to compassion. The ways in which she talks about ridding the world of the unfavorable, mentally unstable, deformed, etc. you'd think she was on a personal plight to eradicate anyone she considers "less than worthy" to live in her utopian world. I can't help but make the comparison of Ms. Sanger and another such character, Mr. Hitler.
That being said, there is much to commend Ms. Sanger for; free speech among other things. The fact that she went to jail simply by mentioning birth control in newsletters says a lot about the times. It was practically illegal to even -ask- about birth control. One other thing I'd like to commend her for is that she was very much against abortion.
Being as I have yet to read her later writings, I'm not aware if she changed her stance on abortion, but assuming she did not, I'm sure she would be absolutely appalled at what Planned Parenthood has become today. Ms. Sanger clearly states that abortion during any stage of pregnancy is the murder of a life. If women were ever to ask for an abortion at one of her clinics, her staff was instructed to talk them out of doing so. Her theory was that the "barbaric" practice of abortion would be completely eradicated with the free availability of birth control. Considering Planned Parenthood performs approximately 3.5 million abortions a year (more than any other clinic in the USA), I wonder what she would say today?
What I consider to be Margaret Sanger's greatest downfalls is that of her manipulation of religion. She considered herself non-religious and strongly advocated that society look to science and evolution rather than faith; yet if she found someone of faith to support her beliefs in birth control, she wouldn't hesitate to use them. I would have far greater respect for someone who argued for their cause by sticking solidly to their beliefs rather than siding with anyone and everyone who agreed with her, even if their reasons for doing so where completely contradictory to their own.
Perhaps, given more time, another would have stood up in defense of birth control that was not so blighted by a mentality of race and class superiority. Europe was already on the rise in its usage of birth control, and other countries were quickly following. At the same time, how sadly common her mentality was during that period in history!
All in all, I am still not a supporter of Planned Parenthood knowing its history. I wish I had known much sooner. I wouldn't support an institution founded by Hitler just because it has some good in it. I can't help thinking that Margaret and Hitler would be kissing cousins if they lived in the same demographic (due to their strong correlated beliefs in eugenics). ‘Women and the New Race’ will be the next of her books to tackle.
March 7, 2013
"Isms, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an Ism; he should believe in himself." - Ferris Bueller
Margaret Sanger believed in herself, and a LARGE number of Isms. She was a proponent of Malthusianism, Neo-Malthusianism, Socialism, Humanitarianism, Individualist Anarchism, and Agnosticism; was embraced by believers in Syndicalism and Theosophism; and disagreed with adherents of Feminism, Marxism, and Roman Catholicism.
Surprisingly, the Isms became the highlight of her autobiography for me. The late 19th/early 20th centuries were an amazing time for political intellectualISM, and as the backdrop for Sanger's life it was so interesting to see how exposure to all these ideas shaped her. (Though she doesn't discuss them so much as mention them in passing - you have to research them on your own.)
The autobiography itself was T-E-D-I-O-U-S reading. I suppose I was hoping for some take-no-prisoners tale, but instead much of the book is a travelogue, detailed down to the servant who tried to swindle Margaret out of a coat and the bad haircut she got in London. She was definitely a badass, but of the self-righteous, judgemental do-gooder variety. I still admire her tremendously.
Favorite piece in the book: a reproduction of one of her earliest articles, entitled "What Every Girl Should Know". When published, it read: "What Every Girl Should Know. NOTHING! By Order of the Post-Office Department".
(The article violated the Comstock Laws, which prohibited material deemed lewd, lascivious, or obscene from passing through the post. She'd mentioned some STDs.)
In sum: I wish I'd researched a good biography of Sanger instead of slogging through her autobiography.
Margaret Sanger believed in herself, and a LARGE number of Isms. She was a proponent of Malthusianism, Neo-Malthusianism, Socialism, Humanitarianism, Individualist Anarchism, and Agnosticism; was embraced by believers in Syndicalism and Theosophism; and disagreed with adherents of Feminism, Marxism, and Roman Catholicism.
Surprisingly, the Isms became the highlight of her autobiography for me. The late 19th/early 20th centuries were an amazing time for political intellectualISM, and as the backdrop for Sanger's life it was so interesting to see how exposure to all these ideas shaped her. (Though she doesn't discuss them so much as mention them in passing - you have to research them on your own.)
The autobiography itself was T-E-D-I-O-U-S reading. I suppose I was hoping for some take-no-prisoners tale, but instead much of the book is a travelogue, detailed down to the servant who tried to swindle Margaret out of a coat and the bad haircut she got in London. She was definitely a badass, but of the self-righteous, judgemental do-gooder variety. I still admire her tremendously.
Favorite piece in the book: a reproduction of one of her earliest articles, entitled "What Every Girl Should Know". When published, it read: "What Every Girl Should Know. NOTHING! By Order of the Post-Office Department".
(The article violated the Comstock Laws, which prohibited material deemed lewd, lascivious, or obscene from passing through the post. She'd mentioned some STDs.)
In sum: I wish I'd researched a good biography of Sanger instead of slogging through her autobiography.
June 15, 2023
Margaret Sanger has been presented as some kind of demon who was racist and into eugenics. I prefer to judge someone by their own acts and words. Sanger is not the evildoer that the opponents of Planned Parenthood want you to believe. Actually, she was not even a proponent of abortion. She believed that the way to strengthen women and families was by limiting the number of children conceived, that is, birth control. Read the book, then decide whether everything she says makes sense.
The book dragged at times when she talked about her world travels.
Well-worth reading. Recommended.
The book dragged at times when she talked about her world travels.
Well-worth reading. Recommended.
June 2, 2015
Fascinating and lively read. Sanger's strong, quirky, single-minded personality comes through in her writing, and she gives evocative descriptions of all her travels and doings. It was very inspiring to read about how hard she and her colleagues worked just to be able to TELL people about birth control. (And scary that people are still trying to roll back many of these rights, and we are still facing some of the same challenges today, almost 100 years later.)
The problem was that I'd be reading along, thinking "Wow, all these women are so miserable because they have 15 children and can't afford to feed them and their health is wrecked - good for Sanger for fighting for their right to birth control!" and then all of a sudden she'd come out with something like "The upper classes were limiting their families, while the lower classes were not, and so society was being overrun by the feeble-minded and moronic." Awww, man. Why did you and your movement have to be hella classist and racist and, just, wrong?
Also, it was a little sad to read about how she basically lived completely apart from her children because of her activist life. I know many male activists did that, and I think that's sad too. So it's not just because she's a mom. I just hope for activism to happen in ways that allow for us to have families and full lives.
The problem was that I'd be reading along, thinking "Wow, all these women are so miserable because they have 15 children and can't afford to feed them and their health is wrecked - good for Sanger for fighting for their right to birth control!" and then all of a sudden she'd come out with something like "The upper classes were limiting their families, while the lower classes were not, and so society was being overrun by the feeble-minded and moronic." Awww, man. Why did you and your movement have to be hella classist and racist and, just, wrong?
Also, it was a little sad to read about how she basically lived completely apart from her children because of her activist life. I know many male activists did that, and I think that's sad too. So it's not just because she's a mom. I just hope for activism to happen in ways that allow for us to have families and full lives.
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March 3, 2014مارجريت سانجر. أحد أعلام الدارونية الإجتماعية "سوشيال داروينزم" و مُبدعة شعار "تحديد النسل" تدعو إلى القضاء على الفقراءوليس الفقر "من أرحم ما تفعله الأسر الكبيرة لواحد من أطفالها هو أن تقضى عليه"، فأبشع ما قد يُورث للأجياء القادمة الغباء الذى يسرى فى دماء الفقراء "قمامة البشر" فتدعو إلى إغلاق الجمعيات الخيرية و قطع يد العون التى تحنو عليهم. لكن بالعودة إلى سيرتها الذاتية تجد أنها أخت لثمانية عشر أخ و ماتت أمها بالسل فكانت ترعى اخوتها و بدلاً من أن يدفعها ذلك للعطف على الفقراء حدث ما لا يليق بعاقل إذا نادت بإستئصال شأفتهم و قطع دابر القوم المُستضعفين عملاً بنبؤة تشاربيز داروين "سيأتى زمن على الأعراق المتحضرة تبيد فيه الأعراق الهمجية، و ترث الأرض حتماً" فتم التأويل الخاطئ و شرعت الولايات المتحدةالإرهابية فى التعقيم الإنتقائى فى كل إنحاء العالم تحد شعارات "تحسين النسل و تنظيمه" صحتك اولاً" إجتماعية بزر فكرها بوضوح فى كتابها "المرأة و العِرق الجديد" مما أهًلها لأان تكون من أبرز الإجتماعيين ذو البصمة فى المجتمع الأمريكى. فلشد ما تتمنى القضاء على السود و الهنود. فسبحان من أنزل فى كتابه " لست عليهم حفيظاً" لأرحم الناس بالناس. فكيف لإنسان أن يتحكم فى مصير إنسان و يسلب حريته تحت مُسمى فارغ".
October 28, 2016
A brilliant, articulate, dedicated woman. A wonderful story to read. Fascinating life and a great accomplishment. She dedicated herself to the cause of birth control and never looked back. Particularly interesting were Chapters 27 (a visit to China - a real eye opener) and Chapter 37 where she visits India.
At times the story dragged a little but there was so much of her life that I understood wanting to get everything down so people would understand her completely. Lots of name dropping, many of whom I did not know but it did not take away from the book.
At times the story dragged a little but there was so much of her life that I understood wanting to get everything down so people would understand her completely. Lots of name dropping, many of whom I did not know but it did not take away from the book.
July 26, 2020
The book is interesting. I decided to read the book to learn more about Margaret Sanger and I did learn something’s that I did not know but at the same time, I thought she went around her beliefs and never fully stating them. The main belief that she did state was the belief in birth control. Her belief in birth control was a safe topic, but she did not write about her eugenics beliefs or what she told the women at the klan meeting. It was good to read the autobiography, but with some questions unanswered I will look for a biography about her.
July 21, 2020
I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Margaret Sanger, who fought tirelessly for decades to promote birth control. She fought a lot, risked a lot and continued on until she achieved what she set out to accomplish. She traveled worldwide to both learn how other countries handled birth control and also to promote birth control.
I felt the book was too long and could've been condensed into 300 versus 500 pages. There were too many names, places and events to keep up with.
I felt the book was too long and could've been condensed into 300 versus 500 pages. There were too many names, places and events to keep up with.
June 21, 2020
I will admit that I read the Reader's Digest edition but didn't find that one on GR. The Reader's Digest version is only 150 pages, not the 500-something the original was.
July 23, 2023
Margaret Sanger has been, to me, a controversial figure. I decided to learn more about her, beginning with her autobiography. I found that she was passionate about her crusades, and in fact, led a fascinating life, traveling to remote locations and meeting with a wide range of people. Based on this book, I found that she was most definitely a crusader for birth control, but apparently was against abortion, and said little about eugenics. Since this doesn't align with what I learned, I now need to continue reading about this topic.
August 25, 2015
I really enjoyed reading about Sanger who I knew very little about up until now. Melinda Gates reminds me of a modern Sanger with her zeal for improving the lives of women and their children by allowing them to space their pregnancies using birth control.
Sanger speaks of her experiences in New York and all around the world seeing the state of the poor and practicing nursing. I felt gratitude for her work in changing legislation in our country, paving the way for more information about birth control. I know of many who have benefited from her work. She spoke very little in her autobiography about eugenics so I cannot really commentate on her opinions in that department.
I wondered what she would think of Planned Parenthood today, as in one way it is the realization of her dreams to have birth control clinics in every city in America. However, she seemed opposed to abortion so I wonder what she would think of that today.
Here is the ad for the first birth control clinic which was set up in Brooklyn in the early 1900s: “Mothers! Can you afford to have a large family? Do you want any more children? If not, why do you have them? DO NOT KILL, DO NOT TAKE LIFE, BUT PREVENT. Safe, Harmless Information can be obtained of trained Nurses at 46 Amboy St…Brooklyn” Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography, 216
Sanger speaks of her experiences in New York and all around the world seeing the state of the poor and practicing nursing. I felt gratitude for her work in changing legislation in our country, paving the way for more information about birth control. I know of many who have benefited from her work. She spoke very little in her autobiography about eugenics so I cannot really commentate on her opinions in that department.
I wondered what she would think of Planned Parenthood today, as in one way it is the realization of her dreams to have birth control clinics in every city in America. However, she seemed opposed to abortion so I wonder what she would think of that today.
Here is the ad for the first birth control clinic which was set up in Brooklyn in the early 1900s: “Mothers! Can you afford to have a large family? Do you want any more children? If not, why do you have them? DO NOT KILL, DO NOT TAKE LIFE, BUT PREVENT. Safe, Harmless Information can be obtained of trained Nurses at 46 Amboy St…Brooklyn” Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography, 216
July 1, 2007
I have mixed feelings about Margaret Sanger. On the one hand, she believed in the use of eugenics and she had a lot to do with the birth control pill, which I think is problematic at best, being invented. On the other hand she saw the intense problems having lots of children caused for women (and men too!) and wanted to help people control their fertility.
She definitely did a LOT to enable people to control their fertility and to not have kids if they didn't want kids. I feel like I owe her a lot of gratitude, even if I don't agree with everything she believed in.
Reading this book might help you make up your own mind about your feelings for Margaret Sanger.
She definitely did a LOT to enable people to control their fertility and to not have kids if they didn't want kids. I feel like I owe her a lot of gratitude, even if I don't agree with everything she believed in.
Reading this book might help you make up your own mind about your feelings for Margaret Sanger.
August 21, 2012
Essential for anyone who even thinks that reproductive freedoms are negotiable. Margaret Sanger, while disapproving abortion, prefers to help women gain control of their lives with birth control. A pretty thorough explanation of all the research, speaking, writing, and stubbornness that went into securing a woman's right just to find out about birth control, and develop a professional medical procedure for distributing it.
Want to read
September 29, 2017* Understanding Oppression: Women's Rights (Then and Now)
Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography by Kathryn Cullen-DuPont | A pioneer in the battle to establish birth control as a basic human right and a founder of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Sanger — a nurse who witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of unwanted pregancy — triumphed over arrest, indictment, and exile. #historical #memoir #autobiography #womenstudies
Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography by Kathryn Cullen-DuPont | A pioneer in the battle to establish birth control as a basic human right and a founder of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Sanger — a nurse who witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of unwanted pregancy — triumphed over arrest, indictment, and exile. #historical #memoir #autobiography #womenstudies
December 8, 2009
I hadn't realized just what an important impact Margaret Sanger had on our history and current lives until I decided to write a paper on her. For my paper, I read this book, and I am so glad I did -- from reading Sanger's own words about her life and her mission, I feel that I have connected with a very powerful, amazing woman.
April 25, 2012
Class reading. Don't know what to say. There was a lot of detail, and she covered her early life, her efforts to obtain birth control for women, and her later life. However, of all the women we studied this semester, I liked Sanger the least. I can appreciate what she did for women, but I don't think I cared for the person at all.
Another book I was glad to finish and leave behind.
Another book I was glad to finish and leave behind.
June 22, 2010
follows the trials and tribulations of this unapologetic activist...the successes and the failures...
March 29, 2009
Tedious but interesting
April 7, 2016
Wow ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews