Schenken Suzanne O’Dea. From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in Politics (2 Volumes)

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While in prison, Sanger concluded that she needed a different strat-

egy, one based on education, organization, and legislation. In 1921, Sanger

founded the American Birth Control League, in her words, to “build up

public opinion so that women should demand instruction from doctors,

to assemble the findings of scientists, to remove hampering Federal

statutes, to send out field workers into those states where laws did not pre-

vent clinics, to cooperate with similar bodies in studying population prob-

lems, food supplies, and world peace.”

An international personality in the 1920s, Sanger organized the 1927

World Population Conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland, and in 1931,

she organized the National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth

Control (NCFLBC) to lobby Congress for changes in birth control laws.

NCFLBC developed regional, state, and local organizations with trained

lobbyists, organizers, and fieldworkers. By working with and through lo-

cal women’s clubs, religious denominations, and medical organizations,

these groups intended to pressure Congress and the states to permit physi-

cians to dispense birth control information and devices.

By 1936, Sanger concluded that the legislative route was not going to

be successful and decided to seek the changes she wanted through a court

decision. After fighting a series of court battles, NCFLBC initiated United

States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries. In the 1936 case, a federal court

concluded that the Comstock law could not stop the importation of di-

aphragms for legitimate medical use and created a distinction between le-

gal and illegal use of contraceptives. The next year, the American Medical

Association resolved that contraception was a valid health practice and

that it should be taught in medical schools. Government agencies began

incorporating birth control services into their programs in 1938.

The Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, which collected infor-

mation on the reliability of contraceptives, and the American Birth Con-

trol League merged in 1939 to form the Planned Parenthood Federation

of America.

Sanger wrote The Pivot of Civilization (1922), Woman and the New

Race (1923), Happiness in a Marriage (1926), and her autobiographies, My

Fight for Birth Control (1931) and Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography

(1938).

Born in Corning, New York, Margaret Sanger attended Claverack

College, a preparatory school. She completed her nursing training at

White Plains Hospital in 1902.

See also Abortion; Dennett, Mary Coffin Ware; Planned Parenthood Federation

of America; Reproductive Rights

References Kennedy, Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger

(1970).

Sanger, Margaret Louise Higgins 599

Schakowsky, Janice D. (b. 1944)

Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Illinois entered the U.S. House of Represen-

tatives on 3 January 1999. Schakowsky believes that Medicare is a “spec-

tacular success” and wants to expand its coverage to all Americans. She

thinks that Social Security is “one of the most successful government ini-

tiatives in our history” and wants to extend its benefits. Her congressional

priorities include federal programs to rebuild public schools and full fund-

ing for Head Start, prenatal care, affordable housing, and environmental

cleanup. Maintaining affirmative action programs, banning employment

discrimination based on sexual orientation, and promoting alternative

sentencing for nonviolent criminals are also among her priorities.

A member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1991 to

1998, she passed legislation that increased support for day care centers, li-

braries, and Meals on Wheels and that strengthened the Hate Crimes Act.

She also worked for union rights, expanded family leave benefits, and

changes in medical insurance laws that consumer groups sought.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Schakowsky earned her bachelor of science

degree from the University of Illinois in 1965. A consumer and senior citi-

zens’ advocate, Schakowsky helped lead the successful campaign in the

1970s to require freshness dating on food products. She became executive

director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens in 1985, where she

worked for lower-cost prescription drugs and property tax relief for seniors.

See also Affirmative Action; Child Day Care; Congress, Women in; Lesbian Rights

References “Jan Schakowsky” (1998); www.medill.nwu.edu/people/cook.

Schenk, Lynn (b. 1945)

Democrat Lynn Schenk of California served in the U.S. House of Repre-

sentatives from 3 January 1993 to 3 January 1995. Schenk’s policy interests

included the environment, the line-item veto, and deficit reduction. She

lost her attempt for a second term in 1994.

The daughter of Hungarian Holocaust survivors, Schenk was born in

New York shortly after her parents’ immigration to the United States. She

received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California in

1967, completed her law degree from the University of San Diego in 1970,

and attended the London School of Economics from 1970 to 1971. Cali-

fornia secretary of business, transportation, and housing from 1980 to

1983, Schenk later served on the San Diego Port Commission from 1990

to 1993. In 1998, she unsuccessfully ran for attorney general of California.

See also Congress, Women in

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America 1994 (1993).

600 Schakowsky, Janice D.

Schlafly, Phyllis Stewart (b. 1924)

Conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly founded Stop ERA and Eagle Forum

and emerged as the primary opponent of and most powerful leader

against state and federal Equal Rights Amendments. Schlafly became a na-

tional celebrity in 1964 with the publication of her best-selling book, A

Choice, Not an Echo, in support of Republican Barry Goldwater’s candi-

dacy for his party’s presidential nomination. In it, she argued that eastern

liberal Republicans had conspired to keep the party from choosing con-

servative presidential nominees since 1936, even though the majority of

Republicans had preferred more conservative candidates.

Schlafly entered politics in the 1950s through the Illinois Federation of

Republican Women, ran for Congress in 1952, and served as the federation’s

Schlafly, Phyllis Stewart 601

Phyllis Schlafly

campaigned in

Illinois against

ratification of the

Equal Rights

Amendment; it failed

to gain the necessary

number of states

needed to ratify by

the deadline in 1982

(Corbis/Bettmann)

president from 1960 to 1964. She moved to the national level in 1965

when she became vice president of the National Federation of Republican

Women (NFRW), serving from 1965 to 1967. She ran for the presidency

of the NFRW in 1967 but lost in a divisive contest. After losing, she wrote

to the 500,000 members of the NFRW and asked them to send part of the

dues to a war chest to promote conservative candidates and issues. She es-

tablished the Eagle Forum Trust Fund and began publishing The Phyllis

Schlafly Report in 1967. In 1970, Schlafly again ran for Congress and lost.

After Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, Schlafly

began voicing her objections to it, although she had not objected to it dur-

ing Congress’s consideration of it. The next year, she formed Stop ERA

and began presenting her arguments against the ERA across the nation.

Schlafly’s objections to the amendment included her belief that it would

destroy families, force women into combat, and require unisex public toi-

let facilities. She began an odyssey of testifying before state legislatures,

organizing state lobbying groups, and appearing on national television

shows. Schlafly claimed credit for slowing the ratification and for the fail-

ure of more than twenty-six ratification attempts.

She founded and became president of Eagle Forum in 1975. She or-

ganized a profamily rally at the Houston Astro Arena to protest the Na-

tional Women’s Conference (NWC) in 1977 because she said that the

NWC did not represent her constituency. Schlafly has written several

books, including Who Will Rock the Cradle (1989) and Meddlesome Man-

date: Rethinking Family Leave (1991).

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Phyllis Schlafly earned her bachelor of

arts degree at Washington University in 1944, her master of arts degree

from Harvard University in 1945, her doctor of laws degree from Niagara

University in 1976, and her juris doctor degree from Washington Univer-

sity in 1978.

See also Eagle Forum; Equal Rights Amendment; National Federation of

Republican Women; National Women’s Conference

References Felsenthal, The Biography of Phyllis Schlafly (1982); Schoenebaum,

ed., Political Profiles: The Nixon/Ford Years (1979).

Schneider, Claudine Cmarada (b. 1947)

Republican Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island served in the U.S. House

of Representatives from 3 January 1981 to 3 January 1991. Schneider en-

tered politics out of her concern for the environment. She founded the

Rhode Island Committee on Energy in 1973, served as executive director

of the Conservation Law Foundation in 1974, and was federal coordina-

tor of the Rhode Island Coastal Management Program in 1978. She was

also a television producer and talk show host.

602 Schneider, Claudine Cmarada

Schneider ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 1978 and then

won her first term in 1980. As a member of Congress, Schneider was in-

strumental in stopping the construction of the Clinch River Nuclear Re-

actor, a project she called “a notorious white elephant,” and was a leader

in the effort to ban dumping sludge and medical waste in the ocean. She

helped pass the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988. Schneider left the

House to run for the Senate in 1990 but lost.

Born in Clairton, Pennsylvania, Schneider attended the University of

Barcelona and Rosemont College, receiving her bachelor of arts degree

from Windham College in 1969. She also attended the University of

Rhode Island School of Community Planning.

See also Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988; Congress, Women in

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America: The 98th Congress

(1983); Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, Women in

Congress, 1917–1990 (1991).

Schroeder, Patricia Nell Scott (b. 1940)

Democrat Patricia Schroeder served in the U.S. House of Representatives

from 3 January 1973 to 3 January 1997. Throughout her congressional ca-

reer, Schroeder fought for equity for women, sought to reduce military

spending, and worked for policies that she believed would benefit fami-

lies. In the summer of 1987, she explored the possibility of a presidential

candidacy but decided against pursuing it.

Schroeder based her 1972 campaign for Congress on her opposition

to the Vietnam War and her support for children and elderly people. Mar-

ried and the mother of two children, Schroeder was asked after her elec-

tion how she could be a mother and a congresswoman. She explained: “I

have a brain and a uterus and they both work.”

When she entered Congress, Schroeder asked to be on the Armed

Forces Committee because of her opposition to the Vietnam War, but

committee chair F. Edward Hébert (D-LA) refused her request, saying that

she had not been in combat. Learning that several committee members

had not been in combat, she pursued the matter and received the com-

mittee assignment. In addition to Schroeder, Hébert had objected to

Ronald Dellums (D-CA) serving on the committee. To demonstrate his

displeasure with their appointments, Hébert provided only one chair for

Schroeder and Dellums in the committee room. They sat on the same

chair until the Congressional Black Caucus pressured the leadership to

convince Hébert to provide a second chair.

Three broad themes characterize Schroeder’s congressional career—

women’s rights, families, and the military—and her legislative proposals

often included some aspect of all three. A leader in the passage of the

Schroeder, Patricia Nell Scott 603

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, she supported ratification of the

Equal Rights Amendment, advocated federal funding of abortions, and

fought to grant military personnel the right to have abortions in military

hospitals. In 1984, Schroeder began working on the Family and Medical

Leave Act. She held hearings on it, modified it, and in 1993 finally saw it

enacted. The law provides for unpaid leave to care for a newborn, newly

adopted child, or seriously ill child or parent. After President George Bush

vetoed it twice, President Bill Clinton signed it in 1993.

Schroeder advocated improved child support enforcement, en-

hanced services for child abuse victims, and, as cochair of the Congres-

sional Caucus for Women’s Issues, helped develop the Economic Equity

Act. In addition to supporting cuts in the defense budget, she opposed the

MX missile system and led an effort to ban nuclear testing. She worked to

improve family housing and facilities for military service members and

persuaded the Armed Services Committee to permit women to fly com-

bat missions. She helped expose cases of sexual harassment within the

armed services and called on the military to end its discriminatory poli-

cies toward women and gays.

When Anita Hill accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence

Thomas of sexually harassing her, Schroeder and other congresswomen

sought to have the charges heard before the Senate confirmed Thomas. In

her remarks to the House of Representatives, Schroeder said: “Mr.

Speaker, we are at a very critical time in which a woman has come forward

604 Schroeder, Patricia Nell Scott

Representative

Patricia Schroeder

(D-CO) led a pro-

choice rally on the

Capitol steps against

the Hyde Amend-

ment, which banned

the use of federal

funds for abortion,

1977 (Corbis/

Bettmann)

and made very serious allegations, and there is an attempt to brush them

under the rug in the speed to have an adjournment for the Columbus Day

recess. Columbus, I think, would even be appalled that we could be hur-

rying home to celebrate this great Nation, and also tainting this great Na-

tion’s reputation for justice.” With six other Democratic congresswomen,

her image was captured as they walked up the steps to the Senate to con-

vince the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the charges before

voting on Thomas’s nomination.

Schroeder also called for an investigation of another incident of sex-

ual harassment and assault. At the September 1991 national convention of

the Tailhook Association, whose members are Marine and Navy aviators,

more than twenty-five women, some of them naval officers, were sexually

abused and assaulted. When the Navy attempted to minimize the incident,

Schroeder pressed for further inquiries into it. She connected the Tailhook

events with limits imposed upon women in the military and pressed for

policies that would permit women to fly in combat. She noted: “If women

can qualify . . . it would be silly to deny ourselves half the brain power of

this country, just because they have the wrong chromosomes.” Schroeder

retired from Congress in 1997.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Schroeder learned to fly an airplane when

she was fifteen years old and worked her way through college by running

her own flying service. She received her bachelor of arts degree from the

University of Minnesota in 1961 and her law degree from Harvard Uni-

versity in 1964. A field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board

with responsibilities in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, she did pro bono

work for Planned Parenthood in Colorado and taught law at the Com-

munity College of Denver and the University of Denver. Schroeder is the

author of Champion of the Great American Family (1989) and 24 Years of

House Work . . . and the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics (1998).

See also Congress, Women in; Equal Rights Amendment; Family and Medical

Leave Act of 1993; Hill, Anita Faye; Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978;

Reproductive Rights; Sexual Harassment

References Boxer, Strangers in the Senate (1994); Doherty, “Surface Racial Har-

mony on Hill Hides Simmering Tensions” (1998); Kaptur, Women of Congress:

A Twentieth Century Odyssey (1996); Schroeder, Champion of the Great

American Family (1989), 24 Years of House Work . . . and the Place Is Still a

Mess: My Life in Politics (1998).

Seastrand, Andrea Ciszek (b. 1941)

Republican Andrea Seastrand of California served in the U.S. House of

Representatives from 3 January 1995 to 3 January 1997. Seastrand worked

to lower taxes for working families, saying: “I oppose higher taxes, period.

Seastrand, Andrea Ciszek 605

Our national budget problems do not exist because we send too little

money to Washington. The problem is that politicians and special interest

groups never run out of ways to spend our money.” Opposed to repro-

ductive rights and gay rights, she worked to stop illegal immigration and

to prohibit welfare payments to minor mothers. She sought to create a na-

tional spaceport agency that would convert defunct military bases into fa-

cilities for commercial space projects.

Born in Chicago, Andrea Seastrand earned her bachelor of arts de-

gree from DePaul University in 1963. A teacher, Seastrand entered politics

when she managed her husband’s state legislative campaigns. After his

death, she won the seat that he had held and served in the California As-

sembly from 1991 to 1995.

See also Abortion; Congress, Women in; Lesbian Rights; State Legislatures,

Women in

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America 1996 (1995).

Seneca Falls Convention

In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and three

other women issued a call for the nation’s first women’s rights convention.

Held in Seneca Falls, New York, on 19 and 20 July 1848 at Wesleyan

Church, the convention attracted about 100 women and men, who dis-

cussed, amended, and adopted a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolu-

tions. Modeled after the American Declaration of Independence, the

Seneca Falls declaration stated in part:

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and

usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in di-

rect object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.

To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to

the elective franchise.

He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of

which she had no voice.

He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most

ignorant and degraded men—both natives and foreigners.

Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective

franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the

halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.

He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.

Other grievances listed include divorce laws, property laws, tax laws,

606 Seneca Falls Convention

employment and educational opportunities, and exclusion from the min-

istry. Of the resolutions that the convention considered, the most contro-

versial was proposed by Stanton and called for woman suffrage, and it was

the only resolution that did not pass unanimously. When the discussion

ended, sixty-eight women and thirty-two men signed the declaration. Of

the women who signed the declaration, only Charlotte Woodward lived

long enough to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920.

Over the next decade, women’s rights conventions were held in Al-

bany and Rochester, New York; Salem and Worcester, Massachusetts;

Cleveland, Ohio; and other communities. Conventions were not held dur-

ing the Civil War, and afterward, they generally took place under the aus-

pices of a suffrage organization.

References Flexner and Fitzpatrick, Century of Struggle: The Woman’s Rights

Movement in the United States, enlarged edition (1996); Ravitch, ed., The

American Reader (1990).

Separate Spheres

“Separate spheres” was a nineteenth-century phrase that articulated the

belief that men belonged in the public world and women in the private

world. Based on the assumption that men had greater physical strength

and intellectual and mental abilities than women, it was believed that men

were better suited for war, politics, work, the professions, and art. Women,

with their presumed greater morality, nurturing skills, and self-sacrificing

natures, were believed to be created for motherhood, domestic duties, and

marriage.

The concept of separate spheres did not extend to women in slavery.

Fieldwork and heavy labor were more likely their plight than even do-

mestic service. In addition, poor women, including those once married

but widowed and those whose husbands did not support them, did not

have the luxury of confining their lives to domestic activities.