Books by Margaret Sanger

Arguably her most important and influential book, this controversial work, first published in 1922 by pioneering birth-control advocate Margaret Sanger, attempted to broaden the still-radical idea of birth control beyond its socialist and feminist roots

Promoting birth control as reform rather than revolution

"The Pivot of Civilization" was published in 1922. It contains Margaret Sanger's belief that civilization rises or falls on how it views the 'people problem.' It wasn't simply the fact that there were too many people. The kind of people roaming the planet were also a problem. What kind of people? Sanger says it explicitly: feeble-minded, defective, moronic, epileptic people. What should be done with them? They should be put into camps. They should be sterilized. They should be segregated. Does this sound familiar? It is but one small step to add: "They should be exterminated." 10 years later, Sanger introduced her 'Plan for Peace' (included in this book) which made similar calls. So it was that some of the most devilish ideas carried out by the Nazis not more than a decade later were just as popular in America. Indeed, it appears the Nazis may have gotten their ideas from American eugenicists! Sanger's book will give you a new perspective on the intellectual climate in the early 1900s and a new understanding of contemporary events and issues.

When Margaret Sanger returned to Europe in 1920, World War I had altered the social landscape as dramatically as it had the map of Europe. Population concerns, sexuality, venereal disease, and contraceptive use had entered public discussion, and Sanger''s birth control message found receptive audiences around the world. This volume focuses on Sanger from her groundbreaking overseas advocacy during the interwar years through her postwar role in creating the International Planned Parenthood Federation. The documents reconstruct Sanger''s dramatic birth control advocacy tours through early 1920s Germany, Japan, and China in the midst of significant government and religious opposition to her ideas. They also trace her tireless efforts to build a global movement through international conferences and tours. Letters, journal entries, writings, and other records reveal Sanger''s contentious dealings with other activists, her correspondence with the likes of Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sanger''s own dramatic evolution from gritty grassroots activist to postwar power broker and diplomat.

Capturing the strident activist's complexity during a formative period.

Birth control crusader, feminist, and reformer Margaret Sanger was one of the most controversial and dynamic figures of the twentieth century and one of the great women reformers in history. This title highlights Sanger's quest for the 'magic pill,' the non-barrier method of birth control she had envisioned since the early 1930s.