Annotated Bibliography

Sheppard-Towner Act (National Maternity and Infancy Protection Act) – Carley Towns

  • History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “The Sheppard–Towner Maternity and      Infancy Act,” https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-Sheppard–Towner-Maternity-and-Infancy-Act/ (September 11, 2019)
    • This secondary source is a short article published in 2019 by the History, Art, and Archives that gives a brief overview of who helped the Sheppard-Towner Act come to pass.. The articles briefly explains who was for the act and who was against it and why. From this source I will be able to showcase not all women were for the passing of this bill.
  • “Letter from Mrs. Mae C. Mitchell Opposing the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Protection Bill, December 7, 1920.” U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/letter-mrs-mae-c-mitchell-opposing-sheppard-towner-maternity-and-infancy.
    • This picture is Anna Grosser of the U.S. Children’s Bureau next to the famous “Baby thermometer.” This thermometer was drawn to represent the research of the Bureau’s investigations into the welfare of mother’s and their babies. The thermometer proves that the lower the father’s income, the higher chance he had of losing his child. I will use this picture as a primary source to illustrate that lower income houses were at higher risk of loss.
  • Ladd-Taylor, M. “Grannies and Spinsters: Midwife Education under the Sheppard-Towner Act.” Journal of Social History, vol. 22, no. 2, Jan. 1988, pp. 255–275., doi:10.1353/jsh/22.2.255.
    • This journal entry written by Molly-Ladd Taylor in 1988 goes into detail about the career opportunities following the Sheppard-Towner Act. After the act was passed midwives were required to have medical training. The journal goes into detail of the education available under the act because midwives were now looked upon as essential parts of the healthcare system. This source will provide examples of beneficial programs that began under the Sheppard-Towner Act and show how the labor and delivery process advanced. 
  • Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921.” ThoughtCo, Jul. 23, 2018, thoughtco.com/sheppard-towner-act-of-1921-3529478. 
    • This article written by Jone Johnson Lewis was written in 2018 and provides historical and social significance of the Sheppard-Towner Act. The article explains the importance of the act in women’s history because it legitimized the needs of children and women at a federal level.  This article also explains why the Act was inevitably repealed. I will use this source to explain why the Sheppard-Towner Act highly impacted women’s history. I will also use this article to explain how the act ended.
  • Rude, Anna Elizabeth. The Sheppard-Towner Act in Relation to Public Health. G.P.O., 1922.
    • This book was written by Anna Rude in 1922 and gives an extremely detailed account of the Sheppard-Towner Act. The book explains the background, passing, and aftermath of the act as a whole. I will use this secondary source as the main information for my project because it is in great detail of exactly what happened during this time.

Abortion and the Pill – Girely

  • Allen, Henry. The Birth of the Pill, Johnathan Eig, Wall Street Journal, 0ct 11, 2014 p.C.5. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/1609912368?accountid=12967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo 
    • The author writes of how the pill became important and affected women and teen women and the reactions of a new contraceptive pill. The author talks about the four main people that contributed to the formation of the pill, who are, Margaret Sanger, Gregory Pincus, Katherine McCormick, and John Rock. The pill lead to birth rates decreasing, the age of marriage increasing, even allowing more female students to work in businesses. These four important people who contributed to the pill will each be discussed in dept to the contribution of the formation of the pill, and what programs, research, and involvement took to form the pill that changed the world.
  • Allen, Pusey. FDA Approves First Birth Control Pill, ABA Journal, Chicago, May 2019, Vol. 105, Iss.4. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/2213787307?accountid=12967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
    • The article mentions of Margaret Sanger and the development and contribution to the first Pill with Pincus and what her vision for an oral contraceptive looked like. Sanger was imprisoned many times for distributing information on family planning and contraceptives.
  • Artsor. Margaret Sanger, Birth control advocate, University of Chicago, 1915. https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822001764792
    • picture of Margaret Sanger distributing the Birth Control Review Magazine
  • Bernstein, Rosenfield A. Abortion and Maternal Health, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 1998, Vol.63, pp. S115 S1122. https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0020729298001933?token=FFA735370871E49A552DF725633B9E9F8156DEDE7416D1EC051FF21EAD162242B3DCFEC85DAC174BEC0E5E602A701D47
    • Women have tried many ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies based on culture, economic status, religion, and law. Women risk a lot such as their future, life, etc. to abort. There are many methods women have tried to get rid of a child. The talks about the medical complications of abortion, the impact of legalization, and ways one can help these women to abort safely. This information will be used as background knowledge to a topic on the medical spectrum of abortion.
  • Case Western Reserve University. History of Birth Control, Dittrick Medical History Center,2019. https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/online-exhibits/history-of-birth-control/
    • A picture of contraceptives during the 1900s
  • Chesler, Ellen. Margaret Sanger, birth control pioneer, Population Today, Apr 2000, Vol.28, p.3. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/235902560?accountid=12967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
    • The author of the article provides accomplishments, background knowledge on Margaret sanger
  • Connell, E B. Contraception in the Prepill era, January 1999, pp.7S-10S. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782498001309
    • The author describes contraceptive in the premodern era, prepill modern era, the birth control movement and pill development, and factors influencing the availability of contraception. This information will be used in the introduction portion of my topic and compare the different techniques from the past to modern.
  • Estherkatz. Brownsville Clinic Open 99 years ago, Margaret Sangers Project,October 16, 2015. https://sangerpapers.wordpress.com/tag/brownsville-clinic/
    • There is an image of Margaret sanger’s first abortion clinic.
  • Graham, Ruth. The road to the pill, Wall street journal, Dec 17,2011, p.C.14. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/911477876?accountid=12967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
    • 1873 federal law made it illegal to give information about what forms of birth control was available to the public. The wealthy had access to birth control while others had dangerous abortions. Jean Baker writes of the biography of Margaret Sanger that talks about Sanger testifying in congress and founding an organization called Planned Parenthood of America. She opened the country’s first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, challenged the 1873 law in a lawsuit, and funded research that produced the pill. The information used will be included in the topic of how the birth control came to form and who contribute in developing the pill.
  • Greenberg, Anna. Will choice be Aborted? The American Prospect, Fall 2001,pp.A25-A28. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/201122274/fulltextPDF/E728E962C69749ACPQ/1?accountid=12967
    • This article written by Anna Greenberg in 2001, talks of the political opinions surrounding pro choice and pro life on Abortion and mentions different laws passed before and after abortion became popular. This article will be used for the purpose of the ethical views Americans had on Abortion.
  • Jacobs, Steven Andrew. Balancing Abortion Rights and Fetal Rights: A mixed methods mediation of U.S Abortion debate, The University of Chicago, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, June 2019. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2276919012?pq-origsite=primo
    • from the early 1800s until 1973, abortion laws transitioned to a restrictive state after the AMA propagated the medical view that life began at fertilization, which led to a nationwide movement to pass state restrictions of nontherapeutic abortions throughout pregnancy. From the 13th century to the 19th century, abortion was seen as a common law liberty. In the 19th century it was later seen as a form of homicide, but there were exceptions, even though abortion was illegal.
  • Kennedy, Studdert. Is Birth Control Right? —A Debate, 1886-1930. July 1927, Vol. LXXVIII, Iss.No.1. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/90820909?accountid=12967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
    • This article states in 1886-1920 of the perspectives on birth control from the viewpoint of why birth control should be allowed, but also from an opposite viewpoint, the negatives of birth control, but in the article it also states that the decision is based on each couple and that everyone should have access to methods of contraceptives.
  • National Archives. The Comstock Act of 1873, Records of Rights, David M. Rubenstein Gallery. http://recordsofrights.org/records/24/the-comstock-act
    • This gallery shows the original document of the Comstock Act of 1873.
  • National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Mother’s Friend: Birth Control in 19th century America, Feb 5, 2017. http://www.civilwarmed.org/birth-control/
    • This website provides information on the different methods of contraception in the 19th century, and common practices of abortion at the time.
  • PBS Video, The Pill, Brown, Blair, Gazit, Chana, VIVA; WGBH, Virtual Library of Virginia, Robertson Media Center, 2003. https://avalon.lib.virginia.edu/media_objects/bc386j260
    • The Video filmed in 2003 explains how women in the 20th century did not have sexual education at the time and did not want to get pregnant all the time, so this led for the need and development of a contraceptive. Margaret Sanger was an outspoken advocate and her experience with her mother led her to later on set a premise for the need of a better prevention of pregnancy. The video also talks of other important figures such as McCormick, Pincus, and John Rock.
  • Sauer, R. Attitudes to Abortion in America, 1800-1973. March 1, 1974, vol 28,pp.53-67. https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/stable/2173793?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
    • This journal article by R. Sauer published in 1973 talks of the evolution of attitudes towards abortion in the early 19th century, mid 19th century, late 19th century, and 1930s to 1970s. The article talks of the ethical opinions that formed concerning abortion and how opinions have changed slightly while others were modified. This journal will be used to understand the ethical mindset that led to views today concerning abortion and how times or opinions have not changed concerning abortion.
  • Sweet, Victoria. Patients need Doctors with Conscious, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, John Hopkins University Press, Project Muse, 2019, Vol.62. https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.lib.odu.edu/article/732230
    • This article written from John Hopkins University, states of the type of relationship patients and doctors had in the 19th century that set up how women would be treated when it came towards the topic of abortion in clinics. Males had the tendency to be hesitant towards the patients and refused to prescribe birth control because of their own views. The article also mentions the conditions of “botched abortions.”
  • Thompson, Lauren Maclvor. The Politics of Female Pain: Women’s citizenship, twilight sleep, and the early birth control movement, Medical Humanities, March 2019, Vol. 45(1),pp.67-74. https://mh-bmj-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/content/medhum/45/1/67.full.pdf
    • This article states the reason for why birth control was illegal under the Comstock law, and why birth control should be permitted, and why Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett were urging public support for birth control. Sanger and Dennett both wrote and founded organizations to help bring out public support of birth control. They also had different viewpoints when it came to eugenics and sterilization, and etc. but had similar viewpoints at the end

Eugenics and Forced Sterilization – Zay Elmohammed

  • “An Excerpt from a Pamphlet Supporting the Sterilization of Individuals in Asylums, 1903.” An excerpt from a pamphlet supporting the sterilization of individuals in asylums, 1903. | DPLA. Digital Public Library of America. Accessed September 9, 2019. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/eugenics-movement-in-the-united-states/sources/1620.
    • This excerpt from 1903 written by Robert Rentoul explaining how he supports the sterilization of those with disabilities (mental or physical). He goes on to explain and defend his argument that those who have physical or mental disabilities should not be able to reproduce as this would be a “danger to the public welfare, to themselves, or a tax upon private or public charity.” From this source, We will be able to get an idea of the perspective of those who supported the movement of eugenics and forced sterilization in the early 1900s. We will also use this source to add contrasting viewpoints to my project to get a broader sense of the topic of eugenics and forced sterilization. 
  • “An Excerpt from a Pamphlet about Eugenics and Race, 1912.” An excerpt from a pamphlet about eugenics and race, 1912. | DPLA. Digital Public Library of America. Accessed September 9, 2019. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/eugenics-movement-in-the-united-states/sources/1622.
    • This excerpt from 1912 written by Dr. Prince A. Morrow that goes into detail about racial inequality and how many at the time believed sterilization was a way to purify mankind of all its defects. We plan to use this source by understanding how people back then believed that forcing those who are seen as inferior in society to sterilization was seen as a good thing so that their genes aren’t passed on to the next generation. We will get a sense of the racial and ableist superiority many felt back then and as a duty to mankind felt that they needed to cleanse the world of those unfit.
  • Cogdell, Christina. Eugenic Design: Streamlining America in the 1930s. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.
    • This book was written by Christina Cogdell in 2008 and it analyzes eugenics and biology as well as when exactly the rise of eugenics and sterilization became popular in the 30s, the ideal type of man, etc. We plan to use this resource to get background information on what exactly eugenics is and how it relates back to the rise of forced sterilization in the early 20th century. We will also use this to get a sense of the popularity eugenics and sterilization had back in the early 1900s.
  • Adair, Bethenia Angelina 1840. Human Sterilization, Its Social and Legislative Aspects. Place of publication not identified: Nabu Press, 2010.
    • This is a book published in 1922 by B.A. Owens-Adair. It discusses topics such as the legal aspect of sterilization and the legislation in the United States. We plan to use this resource to broaden my knowledge of the perspectives of sterilization during the time is was prevalent and common. We will also use this resource to understand the laws put in place back in the early 20th century that made sterilization of those viewed as inferior in society legal. This will help broaden my knowledge of specific legislation and laws put in place long ago in favor of eugenics and purifying mankind. 
  • Dorr, Gregory Michael. Segregations Science. University of Virginia Press, 2008.
    • This book was written by Gregory Micheal Dorr and published in 2008. It goes into detail about the specifics of eugenics and forced sterilization in Virginia. It dives into the history of sterilization specific to Virginia and its residents. It explains the popularity, the use to control the “feebleminded”, as well as the resistance to it. We will use this source to narrow my focus to Virginia and understand the epidemic of forced sterilization in the united states at a smaller scale. This will help me understand how the laws and legislation put in place for sterilization were enforced in smaller settings. 
  • Largent, Mark A. Breeding Contempt the History of Coerced Sterilization in the United States. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2011.
    • This book was written by Mark A. Largent in 2011. It explains the history of eugenics in the United States and provides a linear timeline for each big event during that time. This book will help me understand the exact time flow of events of eugenics and sterilization in the early 1900s and help me organize those events in chronological order. It will also help explain how each event happened as it goes through history. 
  • Black, Edwin. War against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race. Washington, DC: Dialog Press, 2012.
    • This book was written by Edwin Black in 2003. It goes into detail of the racist and ableist ideologies many of the laws had in order to sterilize those the felt was unfit to produce offspring and create the better “race”.  We will use this book to understand the bigotry that went behind the enforcement of these laws and the unfairness of legislators choosing who gets to have children and who does not. This will also help me understand the many mindsets of those behind the scenes passing these laws and legislations. 
  • Reilly, Philip R. The Surgical Solution: a History of Involuntary Sterilization in the United States. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
    • This book was written in 1991 by Philip R. Reilly. This book explains all the technical aspects of sterilization such as the heritability of those disabled, the cost, and actual data of those sterilized back in the early 20th century. We will use this book to broaden my understanding of all the background information of all the evidence and data they used to fund these projects as well as analyze the date of exactly how many were sterilized during this time. 
  • A., HASIAN JR MAROUF. Rhetoric of Eugenics in Anglo-American Thought. Place of publication not identified: UNIV OF GEORGIA Press, 2017.
    • This book was written in 1996 by Marouf Arif Hasian, Jr. It describes the different interpretations of eugenics among racial groups (specifically African American) and women. It also provides religious interpretations as well as political interpretations of eugenics as well. We will use this book to understand the different opinions of each group affected by the law and see their perspectives on it. This will help broaden my research and understand the different perspectives as a whole. 

Female Nervous Disorders: Hysteria and Neurasthenia – Bri Simmons

  1. http://courses.washington.edu/freudlit/Hysteria.Notes.html

Rachel P. Maines and Sara Ruhl believed hysteria was caused from a blockage of certain fluids released upon orgasm. People believed it was linked to sexuality and physiological cures tied to sexual malfunction in women. Maines and Ruhl try to prove that the sexual malfunction in women is connected to the sexual malfunction in men. Freud kept the sexual malfunction theory in mind but translated the physiological cause into the domain of psychology. He summarizes that hysteria is a product of upbringing and that it is a social disease.

  1. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/286589/studies-in-hysteria-by-sigmund-freud-and-joseph-breuer/9780142437490/

Hysteria is the tortue of the mind and body. Freud states that it stems from trauma in a person’s past transforming the way sexuality is thought about. 

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/09/books/hysteria-was-for-women-neurasthenia-for-men.html

George Frederick Drinka stated that mostly hysteria was linked to men while neurasthenia was linked to men. Women with hysteria showed more symptoms than men with neurasthenia, it was easier to see a women acting mentally insane while men had more hidden problems with aches, pains, and anxieties.

  1. http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/nerves/

In the 1880’s the best educated, most cultured Americans were suffering from migraines, poor digestion, fatigue, depression, and mental collapse in alarming numbers. This was called nervous exhaustion. The clinical and diagnostic profile for neurasthenia was first described in 1881 by George Miller Beard. Beard’s theory was if this energy was depleted or abused, the person fell into nervous exhaustion and its debilitating conditions. Beard called this “American nervousness” from the face paced, stressful lives of American citizens.

  1. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/01/go-rest

In the late 1800’s, George Miller Beard tried to cure neurasthenia in women and men by the rest and west treatments. He told women to go to bed in their homes and do nothing while he told the men to go to the west and participate in vigorous physical activity. Both cures existed to reinforce “proper” sexual behavior, serving to masculinize men and discourage women from entering into the professions. Both were supported in and era where science emphasized the biological differences between men and women. After World War I, doctors stopped diagnosing people with neurasthenia because it was an umbrella term for many mental and physical illnesses.