Margaret Sanger Papers Project

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Selected materials by and about the "birth control pioneer" Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) are provided here. A link to a companion site offers approximately 200 documents dealing with The Woman Rebel, Sanger's 1914 radical feminist monthly, for which she was indicted and tried for violation of federal obscenity laws.

The project plans to digitize more than 600 of Sanger's speeches and articles. At present, there are 25 transcribed speeches, 182 newspaper articles from 1911–1921, four public statements, a letter written by Sanger in 1915, and more than 50 articles from the Margaret Sanger Papers Project Newsletter, some of which contain primary source materials. There are plans to add to items regularly. Materials also include 27 links to sites offering Sanger writings, a biographical essay, and a bibliography. Links to collections of images and an MP3 file of Margaret Sanger's 1953 "This I Believe" speech are also available.

Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World

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Charting changes in women's rhetoric in the public realm from 1848 to the present is possible through this archive of more than 400 speeches by influential, contemporary women. These include prominent female politicians and scientists, as well as popular culture figures. There is an emphasis on the United States (particularly after 1900), including speeches from women as diverse as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Mary Church Terrell, Marie Curie, Helen Keller, Emma Goldman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, and Ayn Rand. A nearly complete list of Nobel lectures by women laureates provides access to acceptance speeches.

The search function is particularly useful for pulling speeches from a diverse collection into common subject groups. It also allows for the study of the language of women's public debate by following changes in the use of particular metaphors or idioms, such as the concept "motherhood."

The Supreme Court Interprets "Due Process of Law"

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Professor Ken Masugi examines the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut, in which the Supreme Court ruled that an 1879-established Connecticut law against the use of contraceptives violated a citizen's right to privacy. He looks at how this case interprets the Constitution.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to session eight, and select the RealAudio link to the left of the main body of text.

The Pill

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Designed as a companion to the PBS film, this site documents the development of the birth control pill and its effect on women's health. The site offers a synopsis of the film (approximately 1,000 words) and about a dozen primary sources, including letters between birth control pill researchers. The site also includes a timeline that documents references to birth control as far back in history as Biblical Genesis.

A Gallery showcases approximately 15 birth control pill package designs. People and Events introduces visitors to the researchers (including Margaret Sanger) who dedicated years to the project, as well as milestones in the pill's development. Special Features uses a Flash presentation to demonstrate how the pill works to prevent pregnancy, explores the many shifts in sexual attitudes that have been attributed to the pill, and asks viewers to participate in an online poll.

A Teacher's Guide features lesson plans in geography, civics, history, and society, and presents challenging exercises for students. For example, one exercise asks students to survey the effect geography had on sexual attitudes by comparing laws about contraception from state to state in 1960.

Although the site is not a comprehensive archive, the primary sources and multimedia exhibits make it valuable, especially for research into birth control and women's issues.

American Radicalism Collection

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This website contains 129 pamphlets, documents, and newsletters produced by or relevant to radical movements. Groups represented by one to 30 documents include the American Indian Movement; Asian Americans; the Black Panthers; the Hollywood Ten; the Ku Klux Klan, the IWW, and the Students for a Democratic Society. Additional situations covered include the Rosenberg case, Sacco and Vanzetti, and the Scottsboro Boys. Additional topics include birth control and the events at Wounded Knee. This is a small but useful resource on radicalism, political movements, and rhetoric.

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000

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Created by two history professors, this site was designed to provide "a resource and a model for teachers of U.S. women's history." It currently offers 45 mini-monographs, each comprised of a background essay and relevant primary source documents, organized around an analytical question concerning a social movement. Projects are organized into five subject categories: peace and international; politics and public life; sexuality, reproduction, and women's health; work and production; and race and gender. The site includes more than 1,050 documents and 400 photographs. Keyword searching, links to more than 400 sites, and more than 24 lesson plans are also provided. The site has expanded to include thousands of new documents starting in 1600 in a joint project with Alexander Street Press. The joint site requires subscription.