Examining Margaret Sanger’s Leadership Qualities

Margaret Sanger began her crusade with a moral purpose to change the minds and convictions of both women and men to respect a woman’s body and choices. Her pursuit of this purpose was accomplished through means of public speaking, written publications, door to door encounters with community members, and a commitment to succeed. As Margaret began her mission she had very few followers but as time continued her popularity and support grew stronger. She was reaching people on an intimate level of moral consideration and her convictions were forcing many to question their own beliefs.

Margaret Sanger was seen by many has a crude and inappropriate person
especially for an outspoken women of her time. Her offensive remarks towards poor and African American communities were often viewed as controversial. Despite these downfalls, Sanger triumphed on with the mission for the need for change. Building relationships of mutual respect was not a quality of Margaret Sanger. However, Sanger’s commitment to the purpose inspired others to be a part of the cause.
Margaret had an ability to establish what resembled a relationship of dictatorship with her followers. Although she was quite controversial, her followers were enticed by her words and unwillingness to fail and continued to respect her cause. Her lack of empathy towards diverse groups of individuals was a negative quality. Her convictions, although powerful and motivating, were often guided by cruel and unfair labels and characterizations of underprivileged people. "The third group [of society] are those irresponsible and reckless ones having little regard for the consequences of their acts, or whose religious scruples prevent their exercising control over their numbers. Many of this group are diseased, feeble-minded, and are of the pauper element dependent upon the normal and fit members of society for their support. There is no doubt in the minds of all thinking people that the procreation of this group should be stopped (Margaret Sanger, 1921)."
Margaret Sanger was a woman who was well scripted in the background of her cause. She educated her audiences with endless published works, pamphlets, and public assemblies ensuring that the facts were evident to all. Due to her experiences in the hospitals and clinics of low income communities she was able to produce factual number figures on the consequences of the community’s ignorance towards a women’s right to control her own body. Although she knew the consequences of not persuading the minds of the community, she too needed to be reminded of the hypocritical comments on her on part in regards to certain community members.
Over the course of Sanger’s pursuit to achieve awareness and women’s ability to be in control of their own bodies she endured many obstacles and difficult scenarios to solve. Fortunately, she was able to face those challenges with strength and perseverance which shows her coherence making quality. Through the countless encounters with the law and stubbornness of her time, she continued through the chaos and change was discovered. Margaret Sanger's fame became worldwide in 1927, when she helped organize and spoke before the first World Population Conference at Geneva, Switzerland. By 1940 the American birth control movement was operating a thriving clinic program and enjoying general acceptance by the medical profession and an increasingly favorable public attitude. In 1946 she helped found the International Planned Parenthood Federation. This was one of her last great moments (Chesler, 1992).

References

Chesler, E. (1992). Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in

America. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Margaret Sanger (1921). Speech quoted in Birth Control: What It Is, How It
Works, What It Will Do. The Proceedings of the First American Birth
Control Conference. Birth Control Review. Gothic Press. pp. 172
and 174.

Qualities of Leadership

Margaret Sanger possessed the qualities of an inspirational leader that motivated the continuation of the women’s rights movement. Looking past the controversial believes that had many Americans angry she continued to attract large numbers of followers. After years of dedication and hard work, Margaret Sanger not only accomplished what she had hoped for-making people understand the importance and necessity of birth control, but also accomplished something greater by extending women’s rights as well. Margaret Sanger was a passionate, inspirational, knowledgeable, compassionate and determined individual that flourished from her failures earning her the title of a great leader.

After graduating from the local high school and from Claverack College at Hudson, New York, Margaret took a teaching position in New Jersey, until she was forced to return home to care for her dying mother. Her mother's death in 1896 left her with a deep sense of dissatisfaction concerning her own and society's medical ignorance which was deemed as the turning point in her life towards reform for women. Soon afterwards Margaret moved to White Plains, New York, where she took nurse's training. She then moved to New York City and served in the extremely poor conditions in the slums of its Lower East Side (Kennedy, 1970). Margaret Sanger made a decision to become the voice for women, not solely in the push for contraception but for family planning, women’s ownership of their own bodies, and freedom to be heard.

Throughout her life, Sanger fought the law many times, providing her with the determination to continue on with her fight. Margaret’s controversial publications and public speeches earned her she both hefty fines and imprisonment. Margaret Sanger was a woman in the public arena fighting for the public and with each set back gained her momentum and more public attention. People watched her over the course of many years; they saw that she never gave up on her cause. Margaret Sanger proved to people that she was powerful-that women could not be ignored and that their rights must be recognized. The longer Sanger worked on her cause, the greater the number of her supporters grew. Her supporters varied from poor workers to physicians and public figures. While the number of influential supporters of birth control grew, the number of supporters of woman’s rights grew along with it (Whitelaw, 1994).

References

Kennedy, D. M. (1970). Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger. New Haven,

CT: Yale University Press.

Whitelaw, N.(1994). Margaret Sanger: “Every Child a Wanted Child”. New York: Dillon Press.