Basic Information

Mary Coffin Ware Dennett was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on April 4th, 1872. Dennett is best known for her activism for women’s reproductive rights and involvement as field secretary of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. In addition, she was a suffragist, pacifist, and artisan (Mary Ware Dennett, n.d.). From 1910-14 she was the corresponding secretary of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Dennett’s passion for reform toward reproductive laws would later lead her to her conviction, in 1929, for violating the Comstock Act of 1873 for her birth control literature (Britannica, 2022).

Background Information

Mary Coffin Ware was born to Livonia Coffin and George Whitefield Ware. For the first ten years of her life, she lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, until her father’s death in 1882. After her father’s death, her mother and two other siblings had to move to Boston, Massachusetts. Due to her mother traveling for work, Dennett and her siblings would stay with their aunt, Lucia Ames Mead. During this time, Dennett would be introduced to the women’s suffrage movement and what it means to be an activist. (Malladi, 2016). Mead’s social reform work and experience with the women’s suffrage movement would be a driving source of Dennett’s influence. After graduating high school, Dennett attended the School of Art and Design at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, graduating in 1894. She would spend the next few years as a teacher of the art of interior design at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia (Britannica, 2022). On January 20th, 1900, she married William H. Dennett and had three boys (Encyclopedia, 2022). After her third son’s traumatizing birth, Mary became interested in the issues of contraception and birth control. Her doctor recommended that she should not have children but did not educate her on preventing pregnancy (Mary Ware Dennett & The Birth Control Movement, 2022). Dennett’s passion for wanting to educate people on proper sex education would blossom after this. In 1913 Mary sued her husband for divorce after learning about his affair. She won her case and custody of their children (Mary Ware Dennett, n.d.). This was a transitional time for Dennett as she could focus on the things that inspired her. 

Contributions to the First Wave

In 1910, Dennett had been serving as the field secretary of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association, and shortly after that, she moved to New York. Once she was in New York, Dennett was elected as the corresponding secretary and the principal organizer of the National American Woman Suffrage Association’s (NAWSA) literature department (Mary Ware Dennett, n.d.). After Dennett resigned from the NAWSA in 1915, her eyes were set on leveling men’s wealth and power over society.

In 1915, she wrote her revolutionary essay, “The Sex Side of Life: An Explanation for Young People,” to help guide young people, inspired by her two sons. This essay quickly gained attention, and she turned it into a 21-page pamphlet. A handful of doctors would recognize this pamphlet, some even passed it along to their patients to help guide them in educating their children. Another of Mary’s accomplishments in 1915 was co-founding the first American birth control organization with Margaret Sanger, the National Birth Control League. During Dennett’s time with the NBCL, there was a shift in how the league operated. Dennett and Sanger began to see the value in educating people and lobbying against restrictive legislation (Teasdale, 2022). Dennett was determined to change the federal laws that did not encourage the free dissemination of information about birth control. Unfortunately, despite recruiting respected men and women, the league’s lobbying attempts to change laws restricting contraceptive material from being distributed were ineffective. This prompted the shift from the National Birth Control League to the Voluntary Parenthood League in 1919 (Mary Ware Dennett, n.d.). Dennett remained the league director until 1926, when she resigned after the league voted in favor of Sanger’s beliefs that only doctors should give out information about contraception. After her resignation and last failed attempt at lobbying, she published “Birth Control Laws,” a look into the legal aspect of women’s reproductive laws, and she brought attention to the simple pleasures of sex (Britannica, 2022).

In 1873, the Comstock Act was established. This act would prohibit obscene, lewd, or lascivious, immoral, or indecent material from being distributed through the U.S. postal system. It also made anyone who would sell, give away, or own, punishable with a misdemeanor (Burnette, B.R. n.d.). A decent amount of Dennett’s time was focused on lobbying for changes concerning the Comstock Act. Her goal was for them to take out birth control as being considered in the “obscene” category of the law (Malladi, 2016). In addition, she believed it was a disservice not to be able to spread the information about women’s health, so when people contacted her regarding birth control and sex education, she began to send out her “The Sex Side of Life” pamphlet again. Unfortunately, she would soon be outed by someone named Mrs. Carl Miles, who claimed to have received the pamphlet in the mail (Malladi, 2016). 

On April 23, 1929, Dennett faced a jury of 12 in violation of the Comstock Act. In court, Dennett’s lawyer would clarify that they did not have any proof that would classify Dennett’s pamphlet as obscene and argue that this issue violates her freedom of speech. Despite this argument, Dennett was fined three hundred dollars six days later. As another act of protest to further her point, she refused to pay her fine (Malladi, 2017). After appealing the court’s decision, Dennett’s case would be reviewed on March 3, 1930. Appeals court judge, Augustus Hand, would determine that Dennett’s pamphlet was not considered obscene. However, after reviewing the material as a whole, he supported the idea that sex education should not be restricted, and “The Sex Side” of Life pamphlet was not meant to be arousing. At this time, Dennett’s conviction was dropped. For the first time, Dennett’s efforts set forth some changes in the system. The same year her conviction was overturned, Dennett wrote a book about her experience through her trial called “Who’s Obscene?” (Malladi, 2016). 

From 1931-1944, Dennett continued her work in sex education and social reform. She continued to write, publishing “The Sex Education of Children: A Book for Parents,” and she held a chair position with the World Federalist. In 1945, Dennett moved into a nursing home where she would spend her last couple of years. Mary Ware Dennett died on July 25th, 1947, at 75 (Malladi, 2016).

“If a few federal officials want to use their power to penalize me for my work for the young people of this country, they must bear the shame of the jail sentence. It is the government which is disgraced, not I.” -Mary Coffin Ware Dennett (Young, 2017)

Analysis and Conclusion

Mary Ware Dennett was a suffragist, pacifist, artisan, teacher, an advocate of birth control and sex education, and social reform. She was a pioneer of her time. From the moment of her divorce, she was sent on a path to help educate and empower women. From her first position as the field secretary for the Massachusetts Suffrage Association to her position with the World Federalists, she always advocated for positive change. Dennett took the loss of her second child and her struggles and wanted to educate as many people as possible. She felt strongly that the information about sex education and contraception should not be limited. When the majority of the Voluntary Parenthood League members believed that doctors should be the only ones handing out that information, Dennett resigned. Dennett served and lobbied for many different organizations hoping it would perpetuate the changes she and many other women desired. She never let a failed protest or lobby determine her motive in pushing the messages forward. Although she was fighting for women’s rights, her two boys significantly influenced why she wanted to help educate people. She understood that the conversation about a sensitive topic, such as sex, might be complicated for other parents to explain. She fought for women’s rights and protection until the very end and significantly contributed to the First Wave. 

 

References

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, July 21). Mary Coffin Ware Dennett. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Coffin-Ware-Dennett

Burnette, B. R. (n.d.). Comstock Act of 1873. Retrieved from https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1038/comstock-act-of-1873#:~:text=The%20Comstock%20Act%20of%201873,picture%2C%20drawing%2C%20or%20advertisement. 

Encyclopedia.com. (2022). .” Women in world history: A biographical encyclopedia. . encyclopedia.com. 27 Oct. 2022. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/dennett-mary-ware-1872-1947 

Harris & Ewing, photographer. (1913) DENNETT, MRS. MARY WARE. SUFFRAGETTE. , 1913. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016864789/. 

Malladi, Lakshmeeramya, “Mary Coffin Ware Dennett (1872-1947)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia (2016-06-22). ISSN: 1940-5030 http://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/11345.

Malladi, Lakshmeeramya, “United States v. Dennett (1930)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia (2017-06-23). ISSN: 1940-5030 http://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/11872.

Mary Ware Dennett. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.elisarolle.com/queerplaces/klmno/Mary%20Ware%20Dennett.html 

Mary Ware Dennett & The Birth Control Movement. UNSUNG HISTORY. (2022, September 19). Retrieved from https://www.unsunghistorypodcast.com/mary-dennett/ 

Teasdale, P. (2022, November 4). The Columbia Paper. Retrieved from https://www.columbiapaper.com/2022/11/remembering-mary-ware-dennett/ 

Young, A. V. (2017, September 14). Mary Ware Dennett. Women In Peace. Retrieved from https://www.womeninpeace.org/d-names/2017/6/22/mary-ware-dennett