Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.Sanger, Margaret
History
Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.
Sanger, Margaret
Birth control -- United States -- Biography; Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966
In March, 1914, appeared the first issue of the _Woman Rebel_, eight
pages on cheap paper, copied from the French style, mailed first class
in the city and expressed outside. My initial declaration of the right
of the individual was the slogan “No Gods, No Masters.” Gods, not God. I
wanted that word to go beyond religion and also stop turning idols,
heroes, leaders into gods.
I defined a woman’s duty, “To look the world in the face with a
go-to-hell look in the eyes; to have an idea; to speak and act in
defiance of convention.” It was a marvelous time to say what we wished.
All America was a Hyde Park corner as far as criticism and challenging
thought were concerned. We advocated direct action and took up the
burning questions of the day. With a fine sense of irony we put
anti-capitalist soapbox oratory in print. I do not know whether the
financiers we denounced would have been tolerant or resentful of our
onslaughts had they read them, or as full of passion for their cause as
we for ours. Perhaps they too will have forgotten that emotion now.
My daily routine always started with looking over the pile of mail, and
one morning my attention was caught by an unstamped official envelope
from the New York Post Office. I tore it open.
Dear Madam, You are hereby notified that the Solicitor of the Post
Office Department has decided that the _Woman Rebel_ for March,
1914, is unmailable under Section 489, Postal Laws and Regulations.
E. M. Morgan, Postmaster.
I reread the letter. It was so unexpected that at first the significance
did not sink in. I had given no contraceptive information; I had merely
announced that I intended to do so. Then I began to realize that no
mention was made of any special article or articles. I wrote Mr. Morgan
and asked him to state what specifically had offended, thereby assisting
me in my future course. His reply simply repeated that the March issue
was unmailable.
I had anticipated objections from religious bodies, but believed with
father, “Anything you want can be accomplished by putting a little piece
of paper into the ballot box.” Therefore, to have our insignificant
magazine stopped by the big, strong United States Government seemed so
ludicrous as almost to make us feel important.
To the newspaper world this was news, but not one of the dailies picked
it out as an infringement of a free press. The _Sun_ carried a headline,
“‘WOMAN REBEL’ BARRED FROM MAILS.” And underneath the comment, “Too bad.
The case should be reversed. They should be barred from her and spelled
differently.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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