Planned Parenthood Association Chicago Area records, 1917-1980

This collection is open for research use.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Gift of Planned Parenthood Association Chicago Area.

Planned Parenthood Association Chicago Area records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Memos, mailings, board minutes (incomplete), correspondence, and pamphlets related to fundraising and various policy issues. Limited information is contained in correspondence regarding various projects of the Chicago association in cooperation with hospitals and auxiliary suburban PPA groups. The collection is divided into three series; Series 1 consists of internal office files of correspondence and memoranda from the Planned Parenthood Association office in Chicago arranged alphabetically according to subject. Series 2 is composed mainly of leaflets, pamphlets, newsletters and printed material, as well as some correspondence, from the Planned Parenthood Association’s national office in New York; Series 3 consists mainly of printed material related to, but not published by, the Planned Parenthood Association, primarily newspaper clippings arranged chronologically, as well as pamphlets and leaflets arranged topically.

A committee, originally organized in 1916 by birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger, applied for a state charter and was incorporated in April 1924 as the "Illinois Birth Control League," a philanthropic and educational non-profit organization. The objective of this organization was to "develop an honest and intelligent public opinion on the subject of child-spacing, and to advance and make available, under medical direction, scientific knowledge concerning the method of contraception."

In October 1946, the organization called variously "Maternal Welfare Centers of Chicago," "Margaret Sanger Centers," "Illinois Birth Control League," and "Planned Parenthood League of Illinois" was finally incorporated in the State of Illinois as "Planned Parenthood Association, Chicago Area." Articles of amendment and incorporation were signed and verified on January 18, 1947. The association’s first annual meeting was held at that time.

Since 1947 the organization has grown in scope and effectiveness by including birth-control methods, contraception, abortion, and programs for education on such matters, in addition to child-spacing and other issues. The association has also added programs over the years for social services, medical and social research, teen education and counseling, and male education.

Various publications of Planned Parenthood are cataloged separately at Chicago History Museum, Research Center.

• Names
  • Planned Parenthood Association Chicago Area--Archives
  • Illinois Birth Control League
  • Margaret Sanger Centers
  • Maternal Welfare Centers of Chicago
  • Planned Parenthood League of Illinois
• Subject
  • Abortion--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
  • Abortion--United States--20th century
  • Birth control--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
  • Birth control--United States--20th century
  • Contraception--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
  • Contraception--United States--20th century
  • Women--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
  • Women--United States--20th century
• Geographic CoverageChicago Metropolitan Area (Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century

The collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1. Chicago office files, 1917-1980 (box 1-18)

Series 1 is arranged alphabetically according to subject. The series reflects the general functions and business of the Chicago office between 1920-1980, although the bulk of the material dates from the years 1967-1970. A majority of the material is routine correspondence concerning fundraising, nuts and bolts functions of various committees, and communications with hospitals and clinics regarding issues of planned parenthood. Board minutes and policy related materials are sparse. Office memoranda, although not complete, includes information on social issues and resolutions, and comprises a large portion of the series.

Of note, in Series 1 there are two folders under the heading "publications" that contain pamphlets and leaflets published by the PPA/Chicago Area (Box 16, Folders 5-6). Also of note are news clippings (Box 14, Folder 10) and correspondence from the 1930s (Box 7, Folder 4) that contain information on the early history of Planned Parenthood of what was then the Illinois Birth Control League in Evanston.

Series 2. National office, Planned Parenthood, 1925-1973 (box 19-22)

This series contains a smattering of material regarding the Planned Parenthood national office in New York City, including two boxes of printed material (i.e., pamphlets, leaflets, newsletters, etc.). The newsletter, The News Exchange, dates from 1947-1949 and 1958-1960. One box contains correspondence received by the Chicago office from national headquarters. This material reflects policy statements presented by PPA in a number of areas such as birth control, abortion, population control, etc. This series contains most of the national office material, however, there is some correspondence and other random items of and about the national office scattered throughout Series 1.

Series 3. Printed material, 1950-1970 (box 23-28)

This series consists of five boxes containing mostly newspaper clippings from the Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Daily News, and The Chicago Defender. They are arranged chronologically from 1950-1970 and contain certain columns and series. (Also note, Series 1 contains two folders of newspaper columns.) Series 3 also contains two boxes of printed material related to, but not published by, the Planned Parenthood Association.