Posted on 11/02/2014 2:24:16 PM PST by Morgana
There really is no such thing as having “only” one or two children, because having babies is not a numbers game. Rather, it has to do with welcoming souls into the world, however many there may be.
Sadly, Margaret Sanger, who came from a large family herself, failed to see babies as individuals with the potential to improve society and instead saw them as probable burdens to themselves and society. “The immorality of large families lies not only in their injury to the members of those families but in their injury to society,” wrote Sanger in a chapter titled “The Wickedness of Large Families”.
But here is a look at some remarkable people that the world would never have known if their parents had abided by the sociological dictates of a post-Sanger U.S. national average (2.01 children per woman or less) – and society is certainly thankful they didn’t:
Benjamin Franklin, 8th child (of 17)
If some people today had a say then, they would likely conclude the Franklins had their hands full well before Benjamin came along. But this internationally respected inventor, natural philosopher, diplomat, writer, publisher, and statesman was one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.
Harriet Tubman, 5th child (of 9) Born into certainly less than ideal circumstances, this Maryland slave girl fought for her freedom and the freedom of others as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, and also served as a spy, cook, nurse, and scout for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Grace Kelly, 3rd child (of 4)
One of America’s most classy and beloved actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood also became Princess of Monaco and a mother of three children.
Frank Capra, 7th child (of 7)
It’s not surprising that the director of It’s A Wonderful Life and other touching American classics came from a large family. What better way to learn how precious and unique each life is, no matter how many! There are no accidents.
Tim Tebow, 5th child (of 5)
The baby from a difficult pregnancy whom medical experts forebode to a life of disability grew to be one of America’s most popular athletes. Tebow helped lead Florida to a national championship and became a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.
Paul “Bear” Bryant, 11th child (of 12)
This second-youngest of a dozen in a poor family grew to become a football coaching legend who developed the winning tradition of one of the most influential legacies in sports, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 7th child (of 7)
Mozart, the youngest of seven, was a musical prodigy, creating timeless masterpieces that are still performed and cherished today.
Clara Barton, 5th child (of 5)
The American Red Cross was founded by this courageous little sister who braved the Civil War battlefields to save soldiers’ lives.
Frederick Douglass, 4th child (of 6)
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (he later adopted the last name “Douglass” after reading a Sir Walter Scott poem) was likely not only a younger sibling but a child conceived by rape on a Maryland plantation. His resilient mother, Harriet Bailey, was a woman of strong intellect despite a life of slavery, and this trait was clearly imparted to the man whose oratory is a timeless contribution to American governance.
Princess Diana Princess Diana, 4th child (of 5)
The compassionate and outreaching Princess of Wales was dubbed “the people’s princess” by Prime Minister Tony Blair, and she mothered Great Britain’s future King William V.
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd child (of 10)
One of America’s founders and Renaissance men, Jefferson was an inventor and architect and wordsmith. He authored the Declaration of Independence and served as Virginia Governor, Minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice President, and finally 3rd President of the United States. Alexander Fleming, 7th child (of 8)
This second-youngest of eight was a Nobel Prizewinning microbiologist for his role in discovering the antibiotic properties of penicillin. Can you imagine a life of infections before the availability of antibiotics?
Louis Pasteur, 3rd child (of 5) We have the third child of a poor tanner to thank for providing an Tableau_Louis_Pasteureffective way to protect us and our pets against the fatal rabies virus and a host of other diseases through the process of vaccination.
Harvey WileyHarvey Wiley, 6th child (of 7)
America’s “Crusading Chemist” pioneered national food safety by advocating the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, outlawing dangerous food additives and requiring companies to label their products accurately.
There are plenty more individuals that could be added to such a list. Whom would you include?
It is also worth considering that regardless of birth order, large families often provide an enriching environment of personality that positively influences even the oldest siblings. I personally attest to this as the eldest of 9!
Harvey Wiley had some positive accomplishments, but in the twilight of career went after the Coca Cola company because he believed in the dangerousness of its ingredients. No, not cocaine (which had been gone for a while) but caffeine! Never mind that your average cup of coffee or tea had more caffeine than a bottle of “coke”. The trial put on by the government was a 3 ring circus which Wiley eventually lost. If you were to look at the Coca Cola case alone what We would’ve called Wiley in modern terms would be a “nanny state busybody”.
CC
Adolf Hitler was an only child.
CC
Many famous and effective figures had checkered lives. I’m sometimes amused to hear candidates in such a vein hooted down as “lesser evils.” I supposed you could fold your arms, tap your toes, and wait till Jesus Christ returns. And even Ronald Reagan, who hit the sweet spot in a way few others could, had some notable bumbles and troubles.
“After all, where were the mass murderes and serial killers, et al, in the order?”
http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/Student%20Notes%20-%20Serial%20Killers.pdf
Birth Order Comparison
Serial
Killers
First Born 32.6%
Middle Born 27.3%
Youngest 25.5%
Only Child 14.7%
and just for fun.....here are their IQ’s....
6
Intelligence
The Smart
• 165 Ted Kaczynski (155)
• 160 Charlene Gallego
• 152 Carroll Cole
• 145 Ed Kemper (136)
• 140 Charles Albright
Robert Browne
• 138 Michael Carson
• 136 Ted Bundy (125)
• 134 Thomas Dillon
Jeffrey Schrader
• 130
– Lawrence Bittaker
–Harvey Glatman
–Gary Heidnik
– Marcel Petiot
– Angel Resendez
– Gerald Schaefer
• 129 Bill Heirens
-Paul Knowles
-Randy Kraft
• 128 Joel Rifkin
• 127 James Debardeleben
I know what you’re getting at HiTech. If you look for perfection You aren’t going to find it on this earthly plane. I once told a co-worker that if i only listened to musicians who had the same moral and political belief as me I’d be sitting in the dark listening to my Anita Bryant album over and over. It’s the same with politicians. I do my research, pray about it and do the best I can.
CC
We have still, at this point, a privilege that could only be dreamed of in most countries. To see people take their marbles and go home because the only available vessel for blessing is not very good, is to be heartbroken.
People are addicted to the idea that if they do not keep on slinging around defensive curses, the world will tumble in on them and they will perish. That idea stems from the fallen condition of mankind. We all (yes, all) bought Satan’s miasma of hatred. To the point that we can get very hateful about topics that ache to be spoken of with a heart of love. The faith that anything else will work is one that has to be hard-won, sometimes. And yet if you persist, suddenly you will see the grace of God engage with your picture and you get a reward you couldn’t have had otherwise.
Add at least five of J. S. Bach’s many children, composers Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Philipp Emanuel Bach, and musicians Gottfried Heinrich Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, and Johann Christian Bach.
I don’t think that anyone would shame a couple for not being able, for whatever reason, to have a big family. If anything, the feelings are empathy, with some pity and shared sadness.
On the other hand, there should definitely not be any shaming for couples that do have a bunch of children. Right now there is a lot of passive and active hatred of people like the Duggars, with 19 children.
Well said.
Not to mention they do not offer to cut lawns anymore.
Nope, everyone has to have an official illegal lawn service....
Mny did, but many also stayed and shared a home, for long times. Many seniors lived with their children for a very extended family household,
It always makes me a bit skeptical of the “living with mommy” admonishment.
Of course, I did so a good while, as well.
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