In 1873, the U.S. Congress passed what became known as the “Comstock” laws. The act made it illegal to import, mail, or transport in interstate commerce obscene materials, including contraceptive devices and information on birth control. The act was named after Anthony Comstock, a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War. He also assisted in forming the New York Society for Suppression of Vice, of which he was also named the secretary. That organization mounted a campaign to regulate morality, resulting in the Comstock Laws. The Comstock Law was quickly adopted by many states in the sexually repressive environment of the 1800s. After the passage of the so-called Comstock Laws, Anthony Comstock became an inspector for the U.S. Postal Service and brought about over 2,000 convictions under this law. His writings include Frauds Exposed (1880) and Traps for the Young (1883).
In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic to be operated in the United States. Sanger opened...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Reading
Bates, A. L. (1995). Weeder in the garden of the Lord: Anthony Comstock’s life and career. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Beisel, N. (1997). Imperiled innocents: Anthony Comstock and family reproduction in Victorian America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Chesler, C. (1993). Woman of valor: Margaret Sanger and the birth control movement in America. New York: Anchor Books.
Moore, G., & Moore, R. (1986). Margaret Sanger and the birth control movement: A bibliography, 1911–1984. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
About this entry
Cite this entry
Cain, T.K. (2004). Comstock Laws. In: Encyclopedia of Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_101
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_101
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-48073-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48113-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive