However, in the late 20th century, the federal government and all states have passed considerable legislation protecting the legal rights of women. However, during the mid-1970s, a conservative backlash against feminism eroded support for the Equal Rights Amendment, which ultimately failed to achieve ratification by the a requisite 38, or three-fourths, of the states, by the deadline set by Congress.īecause of the rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment, gender equality, with the notable exception of when it pertains to the right to vote, is not protected by the U.S. Hawaii was the first state to ratify what would have been the 27th Amendment, followed by some 30 other states within a year. READ MORE: Why the Fight Over the Equal Rights Amendment Has Lasted Nearly a Century In March 1972, it was approved by the U.S.
House of Representatives in October 1971. Representative Bella Abzug of New York and feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, it won the requisite two-thirds vote from the U.S. More than four decades later, the revival of feminism in the late 1960s spurred its introduction into Congress. Senate and sent to the states for ratification.įirst proposed by the National Woman’s political party in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. This primary source set uses photographs, ephemera, political cartoons, video clips, and other documents to explore the women’s rights activism inspired by the Equal Rights Amendment.On March 22, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Despite years of protest and advocacy by NOW and other organizations, no additional states ratified the amendment during the extension period and the amendment was not adopted.
As the amendment approached its ratification deadline in 1979, thirty of the thirty-eight required states had ratified it and Congress granted an extension of the deadline until 1982. While many states ratified the amendment right away, it also ignited sharp debate, including among women and feminists. The National Organization for Women (NOW), established in 1966, was one of the organizations that took a leading role in this movement and the campaign for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Two years later, the amendment passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate and was submitted to state legislatures, three-fourths of which needed to ratify the amendment in order for it to become part of the Constitution. Representative Martha Griffiths sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment for congressional consideration in 1970. The amendment was introduced for consideration in every congressional session between 19 without ever being presented for a vote (except in 1946, when it was defeated in the Senate).ĭuring the 1960s, second-wave feminism gained momentum and a new generation of activists addressed a broad range of obstacles to women’s rights and equality in the home and workplace. First written by suffragist Alice Paul in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution that would guarantee equal rights for women and give Congress the power to enforce legal equality between men and women.
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