Mapping Margaret Sanger

Tags

birth control, Brooklyn, Brownsville, Carnegie Hall, Eleanor Roosevelt, Google Maps, Mapping, Maps, margaret sanger, New York, New York City, sanger

I’m not a New Yorker. I’d never even visited New York City before beginning my internship here in May. (Don’t worry, I see why everyone loves it so much, and I’m certain that I’ll be back in the not-too-distant future!) The subway system confused me for the first week or so, but I was grateful that the grid layout of the streets made sense. Slowly, I’ve figured out how to get from Point A to Point B with minimal hassle.

The Google Map of Sanger in New York City.

Walking home one day from my internship, I wondered how Sanger experienced New York. She spent some of the most important years of her career living in this city, after all, when she wasn’t traveling to spread her message. As soon as I began plotting relevant locations on a map, I realized that Sanger ranged far and wide across New York City in her quest for legal, accessible birth control. The same woman who made public appearances and gave lectures at such places as Carnegie Hall, The Plaza, and the Waldorf-Astoria sought out the bleakest neighborhood of Brooklyn to open her first birth control clinic. She finally settled on Brownsville, which she described in her Autobiography as

particularly dingy and squalid. Block after block, street after street, as far as we could see in every direction stretched the same endless lines of cramped, unpainted houses that crouched together as though for warmth, bursting with excess of wretched humanity.

I tried to include as many places as possible where Sanger lived or worked, the offices of organizations that she was associated with, and locations where she gave important speeches. I also made sure to include the important New York City landmarks — Carnegie Hall, The Plaza, the Waldorf-Astoria, and others — where Sanger gave speeches or held meetings. However, I do not pretend that this is a complete listing of every address we know of that Sanger was associated with! I have included 49 addresses.

Apart from the obvious places of interest, such as Sanger’s residences and the Brownsville clinic, a few places with which Sanger was associated were particularly interesting to me. One of these, the Gamut Club, located at 69 W. 46th Street, was founded in 1913 by actress and feminist Mary Shaw. The club held weekly Tuesday dinner meetings with guest speakers. Sanger spoke in February 1920 and was introduced by Mary Shaw; she spoke again on March 26, 1924, together with Dorothy Bocker, on the question of “Should All Women Be Mothers?” One of the primary activities of the Gamut Club was its production and sponsorship of plays dealing with feminist topics, including both original short plays by Mary Shaw, such as the radical “Parrot Cage,” as well as popular plays that were centered on women, like George Bernard Shaw’s controversial play Mrs. Warren’s Profession.

Several important events for Sanger took place at the American Woman’s Association club house, at 353 W. 57th Street. The American Woman’s Association was founded in 1921 by Anne Morgan, daughter of J. Pierpont Morgan. Miss Morgan called the AWA ”a training school for leadership, a mental exchange” where women ”can hear what other women are doing.” The cornerstone of the club house, on 57th Street, was laid in 1928, and the building was completed in 1929. It had 1,250 rooms for women, in addition to a swimming pool, gym, meeting rooms, a restaurant, music rooms, and terraces. In 1941, bankruptcy forced the club house to close; the building was converted into the Henry Hudson Hotel, which rented rooms to both men and women. The AWA passed out of existence by 1980. On November 12, 1931, the organization awarded Sanger its Medal of Achievement; Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the event. Less than a year later, on April 20, 1932, the AWA held a testimonial dinner in Sanger’s honor, at which H. G. Wells called her “the greatest revolutionary bacteriologist the world has ever known.”

Margaret Sanger Square, at the corner of Mott and Bleecker Streets.

There are a few options for accessing this information. First, I created a map using Google Maps. This shows each location and, if you click on a blue place-marker, a short blurb about what happened there. A Google Doc spreadsheet provides the address, year(s), what type of event took place there, and the same short blurb. This would be useful to look at just Sanger’s residences or just places she gave lectures. I also used MyHistro to create a timeline; this website allowed me to add images (although unfortunately not all events have images) and allows you to view the events in chronological order.

You can view the map here, the Google Doc spreadsheet here, and the timeline at MyHistro here. I’d welcome and appreciate any feedback or contributions!

For more information on the Gamut Club, see P. Cobrin, From Winning the Vote to Directing on Broadway: The Emergence of Women on the New York Stage, 1880-1927 (Associated University Presses, 2009), pp. 62-92. For more on the American Woman’s Association club house, see C. Gray, “Streetscapes/The Henry Hudson Hotel, 353 W. 57th Street; From Women’s Clubhouse to WNET to $75 a Night,” New York Times, Jan. 4, 1998.

Birth Control Exhibit Banned From NY State Fair, 1941

Tags

birth control, Charles Poletti, New York, planned parenthood

It has been a while since I have been to a state fair. From the few memories that I can recollect, there were lots of games, inflatable and fried food (my favorite being funnel cakes). However, I don’t remember there ever being an advocacy group. This could have to do with my child interests being preoccupied by greasy foods and stuffed animal prizes, but my research today has led me occupied otherwise.

In 1941, a New York State fair was held in Syracuse. The fair lasted from August 24^th to September 1^st. At this fair, the New York State Federation for Planned Parenthood was to hold an exhibit titled, Every Baby Wanted & Loved.

Charles Poletti, governor of New York State 1942 (Photographer unknown).

Now as you may have noticed I wrote, was to hold. This is because the then acting governor (Governor Herbert Lehman was on vacation), Charles Poletti, barred the exhibit from the fair.

On what grounds?

Well, two of Poletti’s statements were repeatedly published in the New York Times.

First: The exhibit was “calculated to contravene or change the declared policy of the State,” which held that “State buildings and funds should not be used to propagandize against any existing State law.”[1]

Second: “The exhibit would be offensive to a large portion of those attending the Fair.”[2]

The view that disseminating of information on birth control is detrimental to the State has been expressed by a majority of the people of New York, speaking through their elected representatives in the Legislature.That law has stood on the statute books for many years. I submit that the use of the fair operated by the State for the enjoyment of all its people, for an exhibit that would be offensive to a large portion of those attending it would be unconscionable.

(Quote by Poletti published in the New York Times, “Poletti Upholds Fair Exhibit Ban,”  Aug. 29, 1941.)

Sanger, after hearing these statements, urged the public to demand a reconsideration of Poletti’s actions. In regards to Poletti’s statement that the exhibit would “contravene or change the declared policy of the State,” Sanger claimed “on the face of it the statement is absurd,” further demonstrating “how misinformed Mr. Poletti [was] in this field of public health that Poletti.”[3]

A further statement was published from Margaret Sanger concerning the “large portion of those attending the fair”:

We have been informed that Mr. Poletti’s stand was taken as a result of protests by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church.   If this be so, we protest as undemocratic and inimical to public welfare the fact that pressure of a minority religious group can effectively bar the majority of the citizens of New York State from information they desire on a subject considered of sufficient importance as a health measure to be included in the state public health programs of North and South Carolina and of Alabama, and in 209 health department programs in 39 states.

(Statement by Margaret Sanger released by BCFA in New York World, August 28, 1941.)

Newspaper clipping from “Our Town” describing birth control exhibits banned at the Mineola State Fair following Poletti’s ruling in Syracuse, 1941 (Our Town).

The New York State Federation of Planned Parenthood was taken aback. They sent several letters to Poletti, urging him to understand that the exhibit wasn’t opposing existing State legislation.

A letter addressed to Poletti from board members of the NYS Federation of Planned Parenthood responded to Poletti’s statements.

First: Before the Fair opened, the Federation had received all necessary approval from authorities concerned. Poletti’s banishment of the exhibit happened at the “eleventh hour.” The Federation goes on to explain that Poletti’s actions were responding to pressures from those that opposed “planned parenthood” through birth control.

This, the Federation claimed, was “unfair and [could] hardly constitute the basis for a settled policy.” [4]

Second: In regards to the materials that were to be distributed at the Fair, the Federation acknowledged that no New York State law was to be violated.

Now, it is necessary to understand which law they were referring to.

According to the statute of law 1142, no information regarding birth control could be disseminated for any reason. However, there was kind of a loop hole. This is what the Federation used to support their argument.

Statute 1145 stated that only physicians could give information concerning birth control in cases of curing or preventing disease.

Using this knowledge, the Federation claimed that the misunderstanding “rested on the conflict in concepts between the declared policy of the State and the policy of the Federation for Planned Parenthood.”[5]

So what was this “conflict in concepts”?

Planned Parenthood Federation Panel, “Every Baby Wanted and Loved,” displayed at the exhibit, 1941 (Library of Congress)

The Federation of Planned Parenthood claimed that it bases its policies on the concept of maternal and child health and family welfare. It does so through legally working through physicians. This, in reference to the 1145 statute, maintains that the work of the Federation, along with the exhibit, is in conjunction with New York State law.

Now for the response to Poletti’s second statement:

First, the Federation simply undermines Poletti’s statement concerning public schools/public places. To do this, the Federation cites the example of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. The WCTU was permitted to have a booth and distribute literature at the Syracuse State Fair. The letter states that “it can hardly be maintained that the WCTU does not desire to change State law.”[6]

The Federation continues by referring to Poletti’s statement that the exhibit would be offensive to a “large portion” of attendees.

Wait. How could you hold a state fair with organizations from a variety of interest groups without offending one person? I mean even the clouds of powdered sugar drifting above my paper plate of fried batter could prove offensive.

This is exactly what the Federation said. Well, not the bit about fried foods.

If there were to be a blanket ban on everything that could be offensive to a considerable number of the audience, then the exhibits would be reduced to “such a commonplace level of general agreement as to be of little public interest.”[7]

To further counter Poletti’s statements, the Federation includes references to several state fairs, such as those in Rhinebeck, Kingston, Mineola and Buffalo, that had Planned Parenthood exhibits.

Did this response change Poletti’s decision?

Unfortunately, no.

An article was even published in the August 28^th edition of York World reporting that Poletti and his wife had stayed at the Onondaga Hotel where the exhibit was displayed in the hotel lobby. The article claims that he “studiously avoided putting his eyes on the three-panel exhibit.”[8]

This was a case of the challenge to civil liberties. The Planned Parenthood Federation wasn’t challenging the law, rather voicing its opinion. As the letter concludes, “it seems to us [] that the public authorities better serve the purposes of democracy by encouraging on public property the expression of opinions on public issues.”[9]

---

[1] MSM S19:0965.  Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “Exhibit on Birth Control is Banned,” Syracuse Post-Standard, Aug. 29, 1941.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] York World, August 28, 1941.

[9] MSM S19:0965.  Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.