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.
Margaret is a very interesting woman. I am somewhat embarrased as I had not heard of her before, nor did I know what she had accomplished. It is obvious that her Mother's situation led her to begin her crusade. It is interesting how driven she was to see change happen and dedicated her life to making this change happen. Change agents need a guiding vision and the leadership qualities she possessed, enabled her to drive such change.
ReplyDeletePassion, compassion, and inspiration are a great combination that helps a leader become great. It appears to me that Margaret was a Promoter! We will be talking about this next time we are together. It will be interesting to get your insight regarding Margaret and see if you agree based upon your knowledge.
Margaret Sanger and Diana, Princess of Wales shared some similar qualities as leaders. They were both strong willed women who at one point or another displeased many people with their choices. Diana disappointed the royal monarchy of England, as well as the public with her scandalous affairs and divorce. Margaret Sanger was dedicated to working on the controversial topic of birth control, which upset many people and was thought of as immoral. In spite of many negative opinions, both of these women held a strong sense of compassion regarding the public and were determined to help them.
ReplyDeleteWomen today can be inspired by these two courageous examples of female leaders who never gave up. Perhaps due to the fact that they both shared empathy as a quality and also had a background in teaching, they were able to understand the public a little bit more then the average leader today. Understanding the need for change and really knowing the public and how they feel are qualities all great leaders should have.