<P> Contraception was legal in the United States throughout most of the 19th century , but in the 1870s a social purity movement grew in strength , aimed at outlawing vice in general , and prostitution and obscenity in particular . Composed primarily of Protestant moral reformers and middle - class women , the Victorian - era campaign also attacked contraception , which was viewed as an immoral practice that promoted prostitution and venereal disease . Anthony Comstock , a postal inspector and leader in the purity movement , successfully lobbied for the passage of the 1873 Comstock Act , a federal law prohibiting mailing of `` any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion '' as well as any form of contraceptive information . Many states also passed similar state laws ( collectively known as the Comstock laws ) , sometimes extending the federal law by outlawing the use of contraceptives , as well as their distribution . Comstock was proud of the fact that he was personally responsible for thousands of arrests and the destruction of hundreds of tons of books and pamphlets . </P>
<P> Contraception was legal in the United States throughout most of the 19th century , but in the 1870s a social purity movement grew in strength , aimed at outlawing vice in general , and prostitution and obscenity in particular . Composed primarily of Protestant moral reformers and middle - class women , the Victorian - era campaign also attacked contraception , which was viewed as an immoral practice that promoted prostitution and venereal disease . Anthony Comstock , a postal inspector and leader in the purity movement , successfully lobbied for the passage of the 1873 Comstock Act , a federal law prohibiting mailing of `` any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion '' as well as any form of contraceptive information . Many states also passed similar state laws ( collectively known as the Comstock laws ) , sometimes extending the federal law by outlawing the use of contraceptives , as well as their distribution . Comstock was proud of the fact that he was personally responsible for thousands of arrests and the destruction of hundreds of tons of books and pamphlets . </P>
who was involved in the moral reform movement
who was involved in the moral reform movement
Protestant moral reformers middle - class women
Protestant moral reformers middle - class women