Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America

mnsss285 Juliet Barrett Rublee Papers, 1917-1955 Finding Aid Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 7.01. Encoded by Margaret Jessup and Jennifer Smar. 2006-04-07 Finding aid written in English. Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Juliet Barrett Rublee Papers, 1917-1955 Finding Aid MS 304 2005 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Rublee, Juliet Barrett Juliet Barrett Rublee Papers1917-1955 MS 304 3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Birth control advocate; Pacifist; and Feminist. Papers include correspondence, mostly from Margaret Sanger; pamphlets on birth control and other topics; a thesis on Rublee and Sanger correspondence by Jane Bowers (1994); photographs; and glass slides used for protesting World War I. Biographical Note

Juliet Rublee, autographed to Margaret Sanger (from Margaret Sanger Papers), undated

Birth control advocate; Pacifist; Feminist. Juliet Barrett eas born in Chicago in 1875. She attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, CT; she married George Rublee, lawyer and political advisor to Dwight Morrow and later a Wilson appointee to the Federal Trade Commission in 1899. Active in modern dance early in the 20th century, Juliet Rublee became involved in the birth control movement in 1916 after Margaret Sanger's arrest. Thereafter she was Sanger's "closest friend and ally," giving not only of her time but also her personal fortune. She was a strong pacifist at the outbreak of World War I. During the 1920s she branched out even more--in 1925 she led a diving expedition for treasure in the Mediterranean, and at the end of the decade she produced a film on the Mexican Revolution. She spent most of her later years in her Cornish, NH home. Juliet Rublee died in 1966.

According to Margaret Sanger's biographer, Ellen Chesler, "More than any other figure in the country's social establishment, [Juliet Rublee] would be responsible for subsequent changes in the orientation of the birth control movement." (Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America. NY: Anchor Books, 1993).

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The bulk of the collection, and its greatest strength, consists of correspondence from Margaret Sanger, circa 1916-1955. There are also photographs and portraits of Juliet Rublee; pamphlets and articles on birth control and other topics; and a Master's thesis, examining the correspondence between Juliet Rublee and Margaret Sanger, by Jane Bowers (1994). A collection of glass slides, used for protesting World War I may be of interest to scholars of pacifism.

Note: The Sanger correspondence was indexed and microfilmed for the Margaret Sanger Papers Project in 1996.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Juliet Barrett Rublee Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Additional Formats

Correspondence between Juliet Rublee and Margaret Sanger is available on microfilm: The Margaret Sanger Papers: Microfilm Edition; in the Sophia Smith Collection, or through interlibrary loan. For more information see Margaret Sanger Papers Project Web site.

Search Terms Rublee, Juliet Barrett Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966 Birth control--United States--History--Sources Women and peace--History--20th century World War, 1914-1918 --Protest movements Additional Information 1 Correspondence, mostly from Margaret Sanger (includes some writings and clippings)1916-1955, n.d. 2 Pamphlets and articles (birth control and other)1916-1952, n.d 2 Photographs of Juliet Rublee 2 Thesis: "'Ocean's of Love': An Introduction to and Excerpts from Juliet Rublee's Letters to Margaret Sanger" (Master of Arts, University of Texas at Austin, 1994. 82 pp) 1994 3 Glass slides protesting involvement in World War I, used by Juliet Rublee, and possibly Margaret Sanger n.d. Oversize: 3 Framed watercolor painting by Margaret Sanger 3 Framed portrait of Juliet Rublee 3 Framed photo of Juliet Rublee and her sisters