Emma Goldman Arrested for Birth Control Speech in New York City
Emma Goldman, anarchist, birth control activist, and opponent of World War I, was arrested in New York City on this day for a speech on birth control that she had given the week before.
The subject of her speech had been advertised as on “A Medical Question;” the subject and the words “birth control” were still taboo in public at that time. Nonetheless there was a growing interest in the subject and a large crowd came to the New Star Casino.
Her bail was set at $500 and a meeting to protest her arrest quickly followed at Carnegie Hall. In addition to Goldman’s supporters, the crowd included four police department stenographers and an unknown number of police officers in plain clothes. Also in attendance was Theodore Schroeder, leader of the Free Speech League, who spoke on the legal aspects of birth control.
Hundreds of people attended her trial. The judge found her guilty and gave her the option of paying a $100 fine or spending 15 day in the workhouse. Goldman refused to pay the fine and served her term in jail. Goldman’s arrest, conviction and jail sentence had the effect of greatly arousing public interest in the subject of birth control. Immediately after her release from jail another large meeting in support of her was held at Carnegie Hall, advertised as “Birth Control Meeting to Welcome Emma Goldman from Prison.” The events of the previous weeks had apparently shattered the taboo on mentioning the words “birth control” in public.
Undeterred, Goldman gave another speech on birth control at Union Square in New York City to a crowd of garment workers.
After the U.S. entered World War I (April 6, 1917) Goldman organized the No Conscription League to opposed the draft. On the day that Congress passed the Selective Service Act, May 18, 1917, Goldman gave an anti-draft speech at a huge rally in New York City (May 18, 1917). Federal agents circulated in the crowd, and she was arrested on June 15, 1917 (the day Congress enacted the repressive Espionage Act).
Read: Alice Wexler, Emma Goldman: An Intimate Life (1984)
Learn more about Emma Goldman and free speech here
Read Emma Goldman documents at the Emma Goldman Archive: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/goldman/
Learn more about Goldman and Berkman: Paul Avrich and Karen Avrich, Sasha and Emma: The Anarchist Odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman (2012)