1A3: Population, the Lessons of War, and the Promise of Peace

In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, new teachings on Malthusianism emerged. These were founded on the Essays on Population (1798-1826) by Thomas Malthus, which warned that while population grew geometrically the earth’s resources grew only arithmetically. As a result, overpopulation was inevitable and could be checked only by famine, disease, or war. He did not advocate birth control, but by 1900 many others did. Between 1900 and 1914, neo-Malthusians and birth control activists joined efforts and much of their work reacted on growing militarism in Western Europe and the United States. They continued to write during the war, taking into account the brutality of new weaponry and tactics, strengthening their stances on promoting future peace through birth control. While population warnings have addressed resources and the potential for war from 1798 to the present, it is during the Progressive Era when the forces of pacifists, Malthusians, and birth control activists came together. Yet, it is only after the war – a war of unprecedented brutality and destruction – that birth control was legalized. This paper examines that intersection.